BLACK HONEY + BAD NERVES – CHALK, BRIGHTON 31.3.23
Black Honey played the home town gig of their 15-date UK tour at the Chalk venue in Pool Valley on Friday, courtesy of promoters FORM. The tour coincided with the release of their third album, ‘A Fistful Of Peaches’ on 17th March on Foxfive Records. Their sold-out show at Chalk was the same day that ‘A Fistful Of Peaches’ entered the UK Album chart at No.6 (one place higher than its predecessor ‘Written & Directed’ reached in 2021) and No.2 in the Vinyl Album chart.
Black Honey formed back in 2014 and released their self-titled debut album in 2018, which reached No.33 on the UK album chart. Since then, they haven’t really looked back.
Bad Nerves
Opening for Black Honey at Chalk were Bad Nerves, a fiery quintet hailing from Essex. They are led by the raw energy of Bobby Nerves on vocals, with Sam ‘The Riff’ Foster and Ryan Wardell on guitars, Tommy Jones taking charge of the drums, and George Harris adding depth with bass.
Bad Nerves’s infectious sound is a blend of garage punk and indie rock, with similarities to the Ramones and The Strokes. Their melodies are like the Buzzcocks played at 100 mph.
There was a good crowd in early when Bad Nerves took to the stage. Bobby opened with “How the f*ck are we doing Brighton? Good to be back.”, as the band kicked off the evening with ‘Don’t Stop’, a loud fast punk number. There was no gap, just a couple of clicks from Tommy’s drum sticks, before the next song, ‘Baby Drummer’.
The whole band were full of energy and very lively. Bobby was often at the very front of the stage and at times across the photographers’ pit onto the barriers belting out the songs. Both guitarists, Sam and Ryan, adopted classic rock guitar poses during the set, while bassist George could often be seen jumping in the air while playing.
The track ‘USA’ was introduced by “This is an old one. You’ll have to pretend you’re in America”. Looking back at the growing mosh pit, Bobby commented, “That’s more like it, Brighton.” During the next track ‘Mad Mind’, singer Bobby jumped from top of bass drum onto the stage, then over the barrier into the audience. He was never just going to observe the mosh pit from a distance.
After Bobby returned to the stage, the band took a few moments for a deserved drinks break. Even the bass guitar needed towelling down a few times in the set.
Before the start of the next number, the four band members other than Tommy on drums stood motionless in a line at the front of the stage. The simple tapping on the drums was interrupted by a shout of “1 2 3 4” and straight into ‘Wasted Days’ at top speed.
Bad Nerves closed their set with ‘Dreaming’ which saw Bobby cover every inch of the stage, often standing on the monitors to belt out the final song of the set. During that final number, part of the drum kit was knocked over in the frenzy.
It was a great opening set from Bad Nerves played at full throttle and with a contagious energy which spread from the band to the lively audience. It was difficult to tell how many of the audience knew of Bad Nerves before their support slot for Black Honey. They won’t forget that performance in a hurry, and judging by their reaction many of them thoroughly enjoyed it.
Bad Nerves:
Bobby Nerves – vocals
Sam ‘The Riff’ Foster – guitar
Ryan Wardell – guitar
Tommy Jones – drums
George Harris – bass
Bad Nerves setlist:
‘Don’t Stop’ (a 2021 single release)
‘Baby Drummer’ (from 2020 ‘Bad Nerves’ album)
‘Terminal Boy’ (from 2020 ‘Bad Nerves’ album)
‘Can’t Be Mine’ (from 2020 ‘Bad Nerves’ album)
‘Radio Punk’ (from 2020 ‘Bad Nerves’ album)
‘USA’ (unreleased?)
‘Electric 88’ (from 2020 ‘Bad Nerves’ album)
‘Mad Mind’ (from 2020 ‘Bad Nerves’ album)
‘Wasted Days’ (from 2020 ‘Bad Nerves’ album)
‘Dreaming’ (from 2020 ‘Bad Nerves’ album)
Black Honey
After an over long gap between bands, the lights were dimmed as Brighton indie rockers Black Honey took to the Chalk stage.
Black Honey are fronted by Izzy B Phillips with her lovable but villainous, Milky-Bar-Kid-meets-Debbie Harry persona, that is very much at the heart of the band. Her fellow band members are Tom Taylor (bass), Chris Ostler (guitar) and Alex Woodward (drums). They burst onto the local music scene in 2014 with their squalling guitars, vivid colours and cinematic vignettes, and are arguably one of the UK’s fastest rising bands.
As is often the case with many bands, Black Honey’s musicians took to the stage before their lead singer. With Tom, Chris, and Alex already in place, Izzy bound on stage.
Black Honey began their set with the opening track from their new album ‘A Fistful Of Peaches’, ‘Charlie Bronson’. This was a raw and unfiltered rant by singer Izzy about her experiences with the weight of society’s expectations on women. The second song ‘All My Pride’ had a mellower feel after another fast start and included some classic rock guitar solos.
‘Tombstone’ from the new album started with a very heavy drum beat which carried on through the track. Alex’s drumming was a key feature throughout Black Honey’s set. By contrast the following song ‘Beaches’ was a jaunty pop song with a B52s feel to it.
Black Honey lowered the tempo on the next song ‘Spinning Wheel’. For much of that song Izzy sang with just an understated guitar accompaniment. With no place to hide, this showcased the quality of her vocals. ‘Spinning Wheel’ sounded as if it could have appeared on the soundtrack of the cult TV show ‘Twin Peaks’.
‘Cut The Cord’, which Izzy introduced as a new song, sounded like it had been written as a stadium rock song, whereas ‘Back Of The Bar’ from ‘Written & Directed’ was a cheerful ditty.
Another side of Izzy’s vocal talents was shown on ‘I Like the Way You Die’. Under the surface of the innocence sweetness of her voice was a darker more menacing tone, which perfectly fitted the lyrics “I like the way you die boy”. While on ‘I’m A Man’, a song about giving consent, there was an anger in Izzy’s voice as if she was shouting instructions or orders. She sang most of that song through gritted teeth.
After one of the band’s early songs ‘Somebody Better’, Izzy recalled how they started by “playing to three people at the Green Door Store”. They’ve certainly come a long way since those shows.
Introducing ‘Up Against It’ from the new album, Izzy explained how it is a song to her younger self and advice she’d give. In the middle of the song, Izzy switched to a spoken narrative giving instructions on a balanced life and how it’s ok to give yourself a break. Wise words.
Before playing ‘Heavy’ Izzy proclaimed “I’m a big fan of drag. … We’ve got a surprise for you”. The band were joined on stage by Dakota Schiffer, who directed the video for ‘Heavy’. (Dakota Schiffer, is a drag performer who competed on the fourth series of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’ and lives in West Sussex.) After the song Dakota told how directing the video was such a proud feeling, and left the stage to a huge cheer from the crowd.
For ‘Run For Cover’ Izzy crossed over the photographers’ pit and sang on the barrier, which saw even more mobile phones recording the evening’s performance. Afterwards she pronounced “You can’t say we don’t spoil you, Brighton”. Something the whole audience would have agreed with.
Before the closing number of their set ‘Corrine’, Izzy explained how the band came to Chalk to celebrate diversity. She asked that women and non-binary people in the crowd come to the front, and that they had a space where they could feel safe. ‘Corrine’ was a more laid-back song to close their set, which saw Izzy in the crowd singing that last song. Afterwards she left not via the stage but through the crowd.
There was no encore to Black Honey’s 20 song set. One or two people were heard muttering that Black Honey should’ve played an encore. I expect that was less of a criticism, but simply wanting to hear more of their favourite band. The lights went up and somewhat cheesily the PA system played ‘Just Like Honey’ by The Jesus and Mary Chain. (Not that I’d ever complain about hearing a Jesus and Mary Chain song.)
Overall, it was a very polished and professional performance by Black Honey. It was lively and very entertaining. From this very first song, the sold-out crowd were singing along and screaming with excitement. Going by the moshing, dancing and their overall reaction throughout the set, the crowd at Chalk really enjoyed themselves.
Black Honey:
Izzy B Phillips – vocals and guitar
Tom Taylor – bass
Chris Ostler – guitar
Alex Woodward – drums
Black Honey setlist:
‘Charlie Bronson’ (from 2023 ‘A Fistful Of Peaches’ album)
‘All My Pride’ (from 2016 ‘Headspin’ EP)
‘Tombstone’ (from 2023 ‘A Fistful Of Peaches’ album)
‘Beaches’ (from 2021 ‘Written & Directed’ album)
‘Spinning Wheel’ (a 2015 single release)
‘OK’ (from 2023 ‘A Fistful Of Peaches’ album)
‘Cut The Cord’ (from 2023 ‘A Fistful Of Peaches’ album)
‘Back Of The Bar’ (from 2021 ‘Written & Directed’ album)
‘I Like The Way You Die’ (from 2021 ‘Written & Directed’ album)
‘Somebody Better’ (a 2017 single release)
‘I’m A Man’ (from 2023 ‘A Fistful Of Peaches’ album)
‘Rock Bottom’ (from 2023 ‘A Fistful Of Peaches’ album)
‘Disinfect’ (from 2021 ‘Written & Directed’ album)
‘Hello Today’ (from 2018 ‘Black Honey’ album)
‘Up Against It’ (from 2023 ‘A Fistful Of Peaches’ album)
‘Out Of My Mind’ (from 2023 ‘A Fistful Of Peaches’ album)
‘Midnight’ (from 2018 ‘Black Honey’ album)
‘Heavy’ (from 2023 ‘A Fistful Of Peaches’ album) (Joined on stage by Dakota Schiffer (director of ‘Heavy’ video))
‘Run For Cover’ (from 2021 ‘Written & Directed’ album)
‘Corrine’ (a 2015 single release)
Find out more about Black Honey at ffm.bio/blackhoneyuk
