Red Stripe Fuelled Madness:
Motel Thieves hit the Bunkhouse,
plus support from
French Alps Tiger, String Theory and The Rotanas
July 12th 2019.
7 months as a band, 6000 hits on a debut single and a sold out show
on the Kingsway’s finest venue. This is Motel Thieves -one of
the most exciting bands to emerge in the last year.
Walking up to the Bunkhouse, I could already tell it was going to
be a good night, so many people hanging outside I thought It was the
queue to get in . As it happens that was just the smoking area. I’d
only seen the half of it. Inside the bar was wall to wall with gig
goers of every variety from pit fiends to indie adolescents, all familiar
faces of the local scene out in full force for some homegrown hit
makers.
For support acts, they couldn't have made a better selection.
It was like an arsenal of next big things bred from the same places
as the crowd. French Alps Tiger delivered a hell of an introduction
with a Bass Drum Of Death type sound, String Theory brought their
usual blend of hard hitting rock paired with indie angst, but for
the final stretch on the runway to the Thieves you couldn't have had
better than The Rotanas. The four piece gritpop powerhouse took it
up a notch. With a perfect amount of stage swagger paired with massive
energy they led the transition from head nodding to pits with the
catchiest tunes in the West (Glamorgan). Armed with tambourine in
hand, frontman Harry Watton conducted the crowd into a frenzy. The
pins were all there for the Thieves to knock down, the crowd were
sweaty, and thirsty for more indie bangers. Here comes Motel Thieves.
They wasted no time before throwing the energy at you.
in the first few chords things felt electric. People bounced and moved
to the songs, every track more enjoyable than the last. On stage the
band of seven months seemed at home. Watching them felt like a true
experience. As the audience moved to the energetic sound explosion,
the band members stayed in a cool groove; It was the indie equivalent
of walking from an explosion without turning back.
A set expertly crafted the pacing ebbed and flowed for maximum punch
when required. An acoustic rendition of band original ‘Future
Is Now’ set up a more intimate feel for the remainder of the
gig. Suddenly everyone had time to really sit back and enjoy the night
for what it is- A close knit gig community coming together for the
passion of music; I don't think that feeling ever shifted for a moment
after that point. Gradually the pace began to shoot up again. A cover
of Boys Don't Cry was rocket fuel for the atmosphere. Adrenaline was
pumping and people were asking the question, ‘When are we going
to get to hear Stitches?’. Well it turned out not for long. The
music halts and enter the stage two costumed hype men. I’d never
seen a single introduced by God and a banana man before, but after
that show, I don't know how else you could introduce a song. Stitches
kicks off and the crowd go wild for it. It’s got this surfy carefree
attitude that the indie of the era is all about, you can dance, you
can mosh, you can just nod your head. It's all appropriate. Here is
a song that will hold your ears with the shear amount of swagger it
packs. If you haven't had the pleasure of listening to Motel Thieves
yet then i absolutely recommend you check out Stitches on any streaming
service you can. With its light surf vibe, it slots into your summer
playlists like it was born to be there. In my opinion it sums up their
feel and ethos expertly, everything an introduction should be. 10/10
for execution on the recorded debut.
Following the show I had a chance to chat to the lads
about how they felt the gig went, how they approach a gig and their
plans for the foreseeable future. Read the interview here.
https://www.facebook.com/MotelThieves/
Dom Waters
Pix by Rosey - more here
and here
