MAN/WOMAN/CHAINSAW + LADYLIKE + VAN ZON – THE HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON 1.3.24
Those at The Hope & Ruin in Brighton on Friday were treated to a very special sold-out show from Man/Woman/Chainsaw courtesy of JOY. promoters. The night was made even better by the wonderful support from upcoming local Brighton bands Ladylike and Van Zon. All three gave exceptional performances with exciting, unique, even unpredictable sounds. Let’s look at each of these artists, starting with headliners Man/Woman/Chainsaw.
Man/Woman/Chainsaw are a noisy, unadulterated art punk six-piece from London. I caught them at Green Door Store’s ‘234 Fest’ and ‘Mutations’ last year, where they really stood out, and I was excited to see them return to the city for their headline show.
Their “Orchestral Mayhem” (as they aptly describe it) had a uniqueness and nonconformity. There was an intense energy in their ferocious guitar riffs, pounding drumming, and gritty vocals, whilst they also kept a sense of fun. Within their intricate song structures, their skilful musicianship allowed them to switch in an instant from memorable choruses and sing-along melodies to stunning art-rock crescendos.
Before their first song, they warmed up with a chaotic jam, which was a short taste of what was to follow. ‘The Boss’ started with stop start guitars increasing in volume as bassist Vera shouted out the lyrics, before Clio’s violin outro. ‘Back/Burden’ was launched at breakneck speed, with space invader video game sound effects added. The enthusiasm and fun within the band was clear. Clio could be seen excitedly grabbing guitarist Billy’s microphone to join the singing between her violin parts.
Billy took over on lead vocals for ‘Sports Day’ with its harsh post-punk sound. ‘Ode To Clio’, with its mellower start, showed another facet of Vera’s vocals. There was a shift in direction mid-song as the volume and pace increased. With Man/Woman/Chainsaw the song structures are never straightforward, which makes them so interesting and keeps the listeners on their toes. The next song, ‘Rome’ included a particularly good keyboard part from Emmie.
In contrast to the two previous numbers, which started slower before speeding up, ‘Maegan’ was a short sharp burst of intense sound. Switching again, ‘Grow A Tongue In Time’ with its slower violin start and softer vocals was a beautiful, almost understated piece. Lola’s change to a softer drumming style fitted perfectly.
The next song was introduced with “This is a new one. Forgive us if we get it wrong”. They didn’t. With the violin and bass prominent on its intro, Lola’s drumming was key to the tempo changes across that track. The tightness of the band and quality of their musicianship meant the whole band changed style instantly as one. There were even hints of a country style in the vocals on this song.
Vera then announced that they had “Two songs left”, which guitarist Ben quickly corrected, “It’s three songs.” This got a big cheer from the crowd, as they were getting an extra song. That “extra” song was ‘Any Given Sunday’. Its mad chaotic sound was well matched by the stage lighting. There was a tension in Billy’s spoken narrative, which perfectly matched the distorted sound from Ben’s guitar.
After correctly joking “Now there’s only two more songs”, Vera’s great bass line started ‘EZ/PZ’. Clio’s strikingly fast violin had a sort of hoedown or jig feel to it. While being one of the fastest and loudest songs in their set, it also featured some dreamier vocals in parts.
Their latest single ‘What Lucy Found There’ closed an extraordinary set. Its big powerful sound worked so well with Billy’s shouted, almost disturbed, vocal narrative.
Man/Woman/Chainsaw’s energetic, entertaining performance had a rare combination of intensity and fun. There was no doubting the crowd’s enjoyment from their loud applause and cheering both during and at the end of the set.
You can catch Man/Woman/Chainsaw, when they return to Brighton for ‘The Great Escape‘. Judging by that showing, and latecomers being unable to get into their ‘Mutations’ set last year, there could be long queues to see them in May. You’ve been forewarned!
Man/Woman/Chainsaw:
Billy – vocals and guitar
Vera – vocals and bass
Ben – guitar
Emmie – keyboards and vocals
Clio – violin
Lola – drums
Man/Woman/Chainsaw setlist:
‘The Boss’ (unreleased)
‘Back/Burden’ (a 2023 single)
‘Sports Day’ (unreleased)
‘Ode To Clio’ (unreleased)
‘Rome’ (unreleased)
‘Maegan’ (unreleased)
‘Grow A Tongue In Time’ (unreleased)
“Untitled” (unreleased)
‘Any Given Sunday’ (a 2022 single)
‘EZ PZ’ (unreleased)
‘What Lucy Found There’ (a 2023 single)
Brighton four-piece Ladylike (stylised as ‘ladylike’) were the second band on the bill. Ladylike provided an innovative blend of folk, post-rock and psychedelia. There was a beautiful slow-burn to their song structure and sound, which soon drew in the packed crowd.
Without any introduction, Ladylike opened with Archie’s bass line on ‘Temporary Laughter’. Georgia and Spencer soon joined on guitars. There was an indie pop feel to the band’s folk-psych sound on that track. Their next song ‘The Frame’ was more up-tempo with a rockier feel. Spencer added some atmospheric synth (sounding like a windy day), which worked well, contrasting with the louder parts of the song.
Georgia would often wander around while playing guitar, sometimes playing with her back to the audience, but never losing their attention.
‘Southbound’, their debut single, is about the awkward mundaneness of life in your twenties. It began with a short thrashing intro, then quickly settled. Georgia’s soft vocals were sung over warm guitars and drums. As with most of Ladylike’s songs, there were peaks and troughs throughout, with cleverly crafted bursts and then pulling back. Georgia’s voice adapted effortlessly to those changes. In all of that, Spencer played some intricate guitar parts.
There were changes in Ladylike’s sound later in their set. At one point, there was a wall of sound from the three guitarists and thumping drumming from James. At others the sound dropped for quiet vocals.
Some of those at The Hope & Ruin may not have heard Ladylike before. After their performance, a commonly shared sentiment was “What a great sound. Why haven’t I heard of this band before?” Ladylike had taken some time off playing live in the latter part of last year to work on new material. They have come back stronger, more assured with an even better sound.
You can catch Ladylike, when they support Lime Garden at Chalk on Friday 8th March – Tickets HERE. They are also playing with Van Houten at The Hope & Ruin on Tuesday 2nd April – Tickets HERE.
ladylike:
Georgia Butler – vocal and guitar
Archie Sagers – bass
Spencer Withey – synth and guitar
James Ely – drums
ladylike setlist:
‘Temporary Laughter’ (unreleased)
‘The Frame’ (unreleased)
‘Southbound’ (a 2023 single)
“Instrumental untitled” (unreleased)
‘Horse’s Mouth’ (unreleased)
It may only be the start of March, but this was the third time this year I’ve seen Van Zon. The enigmatic five-piece from Brighton brought together acoustic folk with otherworldly electronic soundscapes. Their angelic vocals sat beautifully over synths and often featherlight guitars and drums.
They opened with the violin and clarinet on ‘Oh Messiah’ accompanied by the synth. In common with the rest of Van Zon’s set, the song started softly building to a crescendo near the end, with various twists and turns within it. Later in the song Daniel’s clarinet had more of a freeform jazz feel, with a deliberately distorted sound. Ewan’s softer drumming style and clever use of the cymbals added to the atmospheric feel of the band’s sound.
The as yet untitled second song had an interesting mix with a harsher avant-garde feel of late 60’s New York bands such as The Velvet Underground plus influences from mediaeval folk. Mina’s and Lottie’s mystical backing vocals harmonised well with Charlie’s lead.
Charlie, Mina and Lottie shared lead vocals across their set. Bassist Lottie took lead on ‘Madeline’, as Mina swapped her violin for a lute. ‘Madeline’ had a haunting tune and darker feel, with almost violent guitars later in the song.
Before ‘Cannon Fodder’, Charlie announced it was to be their last song, quickly adding “But it’s the longest”. It was, and you could imagine it was several songs cleverly crafted into one. After a folky start it swapped around featuring more upbeat parts, a free jazz style section, and even screaming vocals, among other things. This kept Daniel busy as he swapped between clarinet and keyboards on this song. Mina’s violin part reminded me of Dexys Midnight Runners’ ‘Come On Eileen’ as it and the other instruments picked up the pace to close the song and set.
Across their quality four song opening set, Van Zon fitted in so much variety to create another delightfully captivating performance.
Van Zon’s next Brighton shows are supporting C Turtle at Green Door Store on Sunday 10th March – Tickets HERE. And also with Shovel Dance Collective at The Hope & Ruin on Friday 5th April – Tickets HERE.
Van Zon:
Charlie West – guitar and vocals
Mina Alexander – violin, lute and vocals
Lottie Skala – bass and vocals
Daniel Scott-Warren – clarinet and synths
Ewan Vellinga – drums
Van Zon setlist:
‘Oh Messiah’ (unreleased)
“Untitled” (unreleased)
‘Madeline’ (unreleased)
‘Cannon Fodder’ (unreleased)
After only the first song of the evening, one of Van Zon asked “Is everybody having a good night?”. To which another band member wittily replied “It’s too early to tell”. I’m confident in saying that the answer was a resounding “Yes”. It was one of the best nights of live music I’ve seen in a long while.
What was more remarkable, each of the three bands played largely unreleased material; only four songs across the whole night had been released. Each had a track so new it was listed as “untitled”. There is so much promise and potential from all three bands.
