BODEGA – RESIDENT, BRIGHTON 11.3.22 & THE PRINCE ALBERT, BRIGHTON 12.3.22
Last weekend saw Brooklyn arty post punk band BODEGA play no less than four gigs in Brighton – a Friday in store at Resident records, followed by three gigs at The Prince Albert (Friday evening, plus a matinee and evening set on Saturday). I was excited to catch the first and last of these performances.
Resident Records Friday 11 March:
With the launch of their second album ‘Broken Equipment’, BODEGA started the weekend with a Resident in store.
This was their first UK performance with their new line up. The pandemic forced them to hit pause and thus they used the opportunity to regroup. Founder members Ben Hozie (vocals and guitar) and Nikki Belfiglio (vocals) are now joined by Dan Ryan (guitar), Adam See referred to as ‘The Professor’ in his introduction (bass guitar) and Tai Lee (drums/stand-up percussion). They replace Madison Velding-VanDam (guitar) and Heather Elle (bass), who both played in The Wants as well as BODEGA for a while and Montana Simone (drums).
Their in store set on Friday was showcasing their new ‘Broken Equipment’ album. The set was dominated, but not overshadowed, by the enthusiastic new drummer, Tai Lee. It wasn’t a stripped back acoustic set, as some in store performances are. There were still their spoken word samples, which start some of their tracks.
A short, but overall a very good set, both as a great introduction to both the new album and live gigs to follow later in the weekend. Judging by the audience reaction, their performance went down well. There was a very good atmosphere for an in store, with several people in the audience dancing along to BODEGA’s new material.
Resident Instore setlist:
‘NYC (Disambiguation)’ (from 2022 ‘Broken Equipment’ album)
‘Thrown’ (from 2022 ‘Broken Equipment’ album)
‘Statuette On The Console’ (from 2022 ‘Broken Equipment’ album)
‘Pillar On The Bridge Of You’ (from 2022 ‘Broken Equipment’ album)
‘Doers’ (from 2022 ‘Broken Equipment’ album)
‘No Blade Of Grass’ (from 2022 ‘Broken Equipment’ album)
The Prince Albert, evening gig – Saturday 12 March:
BODEGA at The Prince Albert on Saturday was a brilliant gig. As you’d expect, a more varied set than their Resident promo set, combining their new material and even some unpublished tracks, with old favourites from their debut album ‘Endless Scroll’ and EP ‘Shiny New Model’.
The founder members Ben and Nikki shared vocals effortlessly complimenting each other. They were able to shine in a more traditional stage set tonight. Nikki, who was partially hidden between shelves of CDs and vinyl at Resident on Friday, was front and centre at The Albert, and a great focal point for the band.
Tai on drums was still a star, setting the tempo of the evening with just two drums and a cymbal (think Bobby Gillespie when he was the drummer in The Jesus and Mary Chain before Primal Scream). Amazing energy, given it was their fourth gig in two days. It didn’t over dominate, as the previous evening, but was more balanced with the guitar and vocals. The other new members Dan and Adam on guitars fitted in seamlessly.
The new tracks worked well and slow numbers mid-set showed how the band have developed. With more space and time, in contrast to their in store set, some of the songs were extended, notably ‘Can’t Knock The Hustle’.
From the opening track ‘How Did This Happen?!’ from their debut album, to the final song, ‘No Vanguard Revival’, there was a great atmosphere. The audience were fully engaged throughout the set, which was well over an hour with a very short break before a four song encore. Most of the audience were buzzing at the end of the gig, and in the bar afterwards you could hear many conversations about how good the gig was and how the new drummer added to the band’s live set.
I first saw BODEGA at The Great Escape Festival in 2018, when they played three songs in Jubilee Square introduced and championed by 6 Music’s Steve Lamaqu and later at Concorde 2. There was something about their New York art-punk sound back then. A few years later and with a lockdown line-up change, they still have that New York confidence with a new drumming style that can’t be ignored and sets a higher tempo and edge to their sound.
Their Prince Albert was the best performance I’ve seen from BODEGA, and the future looks bright for this Brooklyn band.
The Prince Albert Saturday night setlist:
‘How Did This Happen?!’ (from 2018 ‘Endless Scroll’ album)
‘Top Hat No Rabbit’ (from free flexi with Dinked Edition of 2022 ‘Broken Equipment’ album)
‘Gyrate’ (from 2019 ‘Witness Scroll’ album)
‘Domesticated Animal’ (from 2019 ‘Shiny New Model’ EP)
‘Bookmarks’ (from 2019 ‘Witness Scroll’ album)
‘Knife On The Platter’ (from 2019 ‘Shiny New Model’ EP)
‘Pillar On The Bridge Of You’ (from 2022 ‘Broken Equipment’ album)
‘The Art Of Advertising’ (unreleased?)
‘Shiny New Model’ (from 2019 ‘Shiny New Model’ EP)
‘NYC (Disambiguation)’ (from 2022 ‘Broken Equipment’ album)
‘Thrown’ (from 2022 ‘Broken Equipment’ album)
‘Statuette On The Console’ (from 2022 ‘Broken Equipment’ album)
‘Jack In Titanic’ (from 2019 ‘Witness Scroll’ album)
‘Everybody’s Sad’ (from 2022 ‘Thrown’ single)
‘Memorize W/Yr Heart’ (unreleased?)
‘After Jane’ (from 2022 ‘Broken Equipment’ album)
‘Name Escape’ (from 2019 ‘Witness Scroll’ album)
‘No Blade Of Grass’ (from 2022 ‘Broken Equipment’ album)
‘Tarkovski’ (Bodega Bay track) (from 2014 ‘Cultural Consumer’ single)
‘Treasures Of The Ancient World’ (from 2019 ‘Shiny New Model’ EP)
‘Truth Is Not Punishment’ (from 2019 ‘Witness Scroll’ album)
(encore)
‘Territorial Call Of The Female’ (from 2022 ‘Broken Equipment’ album)
‘Can’t Knock The Hustle’ (from 2019 ‘Witness Scroll’ album)
‘Doers’ (from 2022 ‘Broken Equipment’ album)
‘No Vanguard Revival’ (from 2019 ‘Shiny New Model’ EP)
Visit the official BODEGA website HERE.
