SKATING POLLY + ALL BETTER – THE HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON 22.3.22
Oklahoma’s Skating Polly hit The Hope and Ruin tonight, their first show of a UK tour. Blending 90s grunge and riot Grrrl with indie-pop sensibilities.
The threesome made up of Kelli Mayo, Peyton Bighorse, and Kurtis Mayo are not only a close-knit band but also family, with Kelli and Peyton being stepsisters and their brother Kurtis.
Kelli is dressed in eye-catching red patent platform ankle boots, striped blazer and pink hair and proceeds to high-kick her way through the bouncing ‘Queen For A Day’ whilst playing a white Fender Mustang bass with the words ‘Ugly Pop’ emblazoned on the body.
Peyton is stage left playing a beautiful looking orange and white St. Vincent Sterling guitar again with the ‘Ugly Pop’ moniker, and Kurtis is sat behind a Ludwig kit, keeping an impeccable beat.
The songs bounce along sweetly, and many stick out like the beautiful ‘Little Girl Blue And The Battle Envy’, with its subtle bassline. The discordant ‘Sing Along’ blasts away a few cobwebs with its rocking intro. ‘Stop Digging’ is another of the set that grabs hold of me, with a soft intro and verse that leads to a crushing chorus.
Most of the songs follow this quiet, quiet, loud approach, like the calm before the storm, with vocals split between Kelli and Peyton on several tracks.
Highlights of the set were at the tail-end, with Kelli moving to guitar and Peyton to bass. ‘Hail Mary’ has a dark country feel that breaks into a rousing chorus, but ‘Camelot’ is an out and out punk rocker, and if it weren’t for the Covid wary crowd and band this evening, this would have got the bodies bouncing off the walls at any other time. They finish with the superb ‘They’re Cheap (I’m Free)’ with more musical chairs going on with Peyton on drums, Kurtis on guitar and Kelli back on bass. Unfortunately, the shouts for an encore go unheeded, and we are left to go on our merry way.
Skating Polly setlist:
‘Queen For A Day’
‘Free Will At Ease’
‘Louder In Outer Space’
‘Little Girl Blue And The Battle Envy’
‘Hickey’
‘Pretective Boy’
‘Nothing More Than A Body’
‘Sing Along’
‘Stop Digging’
‘Oddie Moore’
‘Perfume For Now’
‘Play House’
‘Hail Mary’
‘Camelot’
‘They’re Cheap (I’m Free)’
More on Skating Polly can be located at www.skatingpolly.com
Support tonight came from Brighton’s own All Better, who are Nick Burdett on bass/vocals, Chris Childs on guitar/vocals, Sam Perkins on drums. They are a last-minute replacement to the advertised band, but it didn’t stop them from delivering a cracking punk-pop set which took me back to the 00s and beyond, reminding me of New Found Glory, Green Day and other punk-pop bands of the time.
‘Kicking And Screaming’, ‘Joker’s Song’ and ‘Weird’ all get the crowd warmed up for the main event, but the highlight of the brisk eight-song set was the belting ‘Hard And Cold’ with some great split vocals and a wicked beat that gets the feet stomping. If you fancy a fix of fun poppy punk rock tunes, then check out All Better, as they’re sure to put a smile on your face!
All Better setlist:
‘Laughing Stock Of Me’
‘Let Go’
‘Weird’
‘Kicking & Screaming’
‘Dramatics’
‘Losing Forward’
‘Hard & Cold’
‘Joker’s Song’
Find out more about All Better by visiting their ‘linktree’ HERE.
