KID KAPICHI + DUMB BUOYS FISHING CLUB + DEAD PONY – CONCORDE 2, BRIGHTON 28.3.24
It’s been a whole six days since I had the experience of watching Hastings hottest property Kid Kapichi play their ‘Hometown Release Show’ at the White Rock Theatre and tonight I am making the trip over to Brighton to see the boys in action on the first of two sold out nights at the Concorde 2 on what is officially the opening night of their 12 date UK tour. There is no rest after that though as the boys are then hitting Europe in April and the USA and Canada in May. Given their heavy touring schedule it shows that Kid Kapichi are continuing in an upwards trajectory towards immortality in the political Punk Music Hall of Fame. The recently released single ‘Zombie Nation’ featuring Ska royalty in Suggs hits on the apathy of this country regards politics as the incumbent government desperately cling onto power. Nothing has improved politically since Kid Kapichi’s last album ‘Here’s What You Could Have Won’ in spite of numerous promises, and the only benefit is that it gives the band plenty of fuel for more songwriting material. Fast forward eighteen months and the sh*tshow that is the Houses of Parliament has had at least one positive as Kid Kapichi have just released their new album ‘There Goes The Neighbourhood’ with inspiration from the elite that ru(i)n our country.
Opening up tonight’s gig we have a band who have travelled approximately 450 miles south from the beautiful city of Glasgow in God’s Own Country to entertain us here in Brighton, even bringing the cold weather with them. I saw Dead Pony, who describe themselves as anti-punk, play live for the first time last year at ‘2000 Trees’ and my first impressions were positive though I wasn’t overwhelmed. Fast forward eight months and the band are about to release their 16, yes you read it right sixteen track debut album, which will be available on a rather swanky chrome vinyl from 5th April.
The stage has the unusual set up of drummer Euan being far stage right as there is no other space for his drum kit. The opening song is giving off Prodigy vibes and the Hell Kitten herself Anna Shields enters the scene close to a minute after the rest of the band and immediately you can sense something special about her stage presence. Having seen the tracklist for their new album I wasn’t expecting my favourite song of theirs to be played, but I was very pleased when Anna announced “this one’s an old song ’23, Never Me’”, which Anna happens to have tattooed on her upper left arm. A catchy number which I remembered well from my previous encounter with the band. They play their latest single ‘Rainbows’ which is about loving yourself which isn’t easy when growing up but you need to remember that things can improve. It was recently track of the week on Kerrang! Radio which is a sign of the band’s growing reputation.
The last track of their half hour set is ‘Mana’ for all the zombie killers in the audience! For me I have to say that I was particularly impressed with Liam’s heavy basslines throughout. Anna has previously said that Dead Pony is music for misfits who struggle to fit in anywhere else, which says a lot about tonight’s crowd who are highly appreciative and are soon moshing away after a wee bit of encouragement from Blair. Apparently ‘The Great Escape Festival’ last year produced one of the best mosh pits at any of their gigs so given tonight’s appreciation it hopefully won’t be too long before they visit the south coast again. After this lively start to proceedings you can ‘Ignore This’ band at your peril. You can catch them at numerous festivals this summer including a dream come true for Anna by playing Reading and Leeds, plus a return to ‘2000 Trees’. It’s safe to say that they have won over this misfit with this performance.
Dead Pony:
Anna Shields – vocals
Blair Crichton – guitar, composer, and producer.
Liam Adams – bass
Euan Lyons – drums
Dead Pony setlist:
‘Voodoo People’
‘Ignore This’ (from forthcoming 2024 ‘Ignore This’ album)
‘MK Nothing’ (a 2023 single and from forthcoming 2024 ‘Ignore This’ album)
‘23, Never Me’ (a 2020 single)
‘About Love’ (a 2023 single and from forthcoming 2024 ‘Ignore This’ album)
‘Rainbows’ (a 2024 single and from forthcoming 2024 ‘Ignore This’ album)
‘Cobra’ (a 2023 single and from forthcoming 2024 ‘Ignore This’ album)
‘Mana’ (a 2023 single and from forthcoming 2024 ‘Ignore This’ album)
Second course on tonight’s menu is the Dumb Buoys Fishing Club whom I had never heard of until they were announced as the main support for tonight’s gig. It’s a bit of a left field support with this Hip Hop local fishing community supporting duo composed of Dan D’lion and Havelock taking to the stage, as usually you get a heavier punk/indie guitar band supporting Kid Kapichi. Dan D’lion hails from Reading and is based in London whilst Havelock is also London based but has connections to Hastings as I’ve been informed that he ended up staying with Kid Kapichi guitarist Ben during the days of Covid lockdown. If I’m honest I have never got into hip hop but any band that has played at ‘Glastonbury’ must be doing something right.
This turns out to be a fun set as from the off, they are full of energy bounding around the stage chaotically like an older version of PJ and Duncan. Seeing grown men do slut drops during their opening track ‘Life Jacket’ and all the synchronised dance moves being done with a smile on their faces is infectious. The crowd lap it up and the mosh pit is actually quite lively with the younger generation, especially when Havelock clears the barrier to join in towards the end of the set. The lyrics are often fish related and environmentally friendly, and if anyone can get in a line about tickling an octopus then it’s these boys. They even donate 10% of sales from their merch store to Marine Conservation Society so are worthy of high praise for that alone. They released their album ‘Wrecked’ last September and surely their next album has to be named ‘Never Mind the Pollocks here’s the………’. Dan tells us he is going to stretch out the audience in preparation for Kid Kapichi and its mission accomplished judging by the crowd’s reaction.
Dumb Buoys Fishing Club:
Dan D’lion – vocals
Havelock – vocals
Dumb Buoys Fishing Club setlist:
‘Life Jacket’ (from 2023 ‘Wrecked’ album)
‘Fortune Teller’ (from 2023 ‘Wrecked’ album)
‘Drop In The Ocean’
‘Formula’ (from 2023 ‘Wrecked’ album)
‘Redzone’ (from 2023 ‘Wrecked’ album)
‘Heat’
‘Drinking Town With A Fishing Problem’ (from 2023 ‘Wrecked’ album)
‘Scream’ (from 2023 ‘Wrecked’ album)
‘Pull Up’
‘Chandelier In The Sky’ (from 2023 ‘Wrecked’ album)
‘Skeleton Town’ (from 2023 ‘Wrecked’ album)
My body has a chance to recover between acts from the heavy bass that was pumping through my body during the DBFC set before the main offering of the night.
And now for the main course. For me Kid Kapichi are one of those bands that it can take me a couple of listens of their recorded material before it clicks, but when you see them live you really do get what it’s all about and there’s an instant gratification of their music on my part. They have so much swagger, energy and stage presence that transcends most other current live acts. Eddie has a menacing demeanour on bass and is the heartbeat behind getting the crowd going, Ben’s rugged good looks make him the ultimate cool guitarist, whilst George may be hidden away at the back on drums and behind a Palestinian flag, but he keeps the band together and is no shrinking violet when it comes to rousing the crowd. Then there’s the head honcho Mr Jack Wilson himself. It has been said that he is the quieter sensible one, but when he gets onstage he comes alive. His soft tongue in cheek lyrics and the way he delivers them are exemplary with that slightly cheeky demeanour. The band have received high praise from both Liam Gallagher and Suggs though it is apparent that neither can pronounce the band’s name! Maybe when this issue is rectified then Kid Kapachi will conquer the world! Maybe it’s time for a name change boys?
On their new album they have found the perfect opening song for any gig in ‘Artillery.’ A call to arms for the general public which is long overdue and to stop being taken for fools. If only we had the attitude of the French when it comes to protesting change. Jack gets out his Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar for the crowd favourite singalong ‘Party At No.10’ which tonight is minus the usual post f*ck the Tories chant, and ‘Jimi’ a poignant song which brings a lump to the throat as it recalls Jack’s friendship with the Hastings music legend that was Jimi Riddle until his sad death. Jack dedicates it to anyone who has lost a Jimi (a special person in their life) and you can visibly see the emotion etched over Jack’s face and hear it in his voice. He stumbles slightly when he goes all jazz with his guitar, but styles it out with recognition of his error and a little chuckle. You can tell they have hit the big time as Jack makes a massive 14 guitar changes during the set. As their back catalogue increases so does the difficulty of choosing my favourite songs at each gig as there are just too many strong contenders and I can now add ‘Let’s Get To Work,’ ‘999,’ and ‘Can EU Hear Me’ to the ever-growing list.
For ‘New England’ we have the DBFC crew join KK onstage for the Bob Vylan rap section of the song and their antics lighten the mood somewhat. ‘Smash The Gaff’ has rightly sealed itself as the finale of any Kid Kapichi gig and there really can’t be many, if any, better songs or mosh pits to end a set. A special mention must go to the sound engineer for what sounded pretty darned good to me.
Brighton once again gets the step-dad analogy as Jack cracks that he is like a step-dad to the city in that he only sees you twice a year at Christmas and birthday but you get a PS5 because he feels guilty. He does reassure us that he is of the good step-dad variety and to be fair he has treated us to a cracking 19 song set in just over 80 minutes. Last week in Hastings felt extra special as it is their hometown but tonight is a good start to what promises to be another great tour. Selling out two nights at the Concorde 2 is no mean feat and as much as I love seeing the band in cosier venues here’s hoping that Jack and the boys get their wish to headline Brighton Dome on their next tour as it would be richly deserved.
Kid Kapichi:
Jack Wilson – vocals, guitar
Ben Beetham – guitar, vocals
Eddie Lewis – bass
George MacDonald – drums
Kid Kapichi setlist:
‘Artillery’ (from 2024 ‘There Goes The Neighbourhood’ album)
‘Let’s Get To Work’ (from 2024 ‘There Goes The Neighbourhood’ album)
‘999’ (from 2024 ‘There Goes The Neighbourhood’ album)
‘5 Days On (2 Days Off)’ (from 2022 ‘Here’s What You Could Have Won’ album)
‘INVU’ (from 2022 ‘Here’s What You Could Have Won’ album)
‘Tamagotchi’ (from 2024 ‘There Goes The Neighbourhood’ album)
‘Rob The Supermarket’ (from 2022 ‘Here’s What You Could Have Won’ album)
‘Tar Pit’ (from 2022 ‘Here’s What You Could Have Won’ album)
‘Party At No.10’ (from 2022 ‘Here’s What You Could Have Won’ album)
‘Working Man’s Town’ (from 2021 ‘This Time Next Year’ album)
‘Death Dips’ (from 2019 ‘Sugar Tax’ EP)
‘Zombie Nation’ (from 2024 ‘There Goes The Neighbourhood’ album)
‘Can EU Hear Me’ (from 2024 ‘There Goes The Neighbourhood’ album)
‘New England’ (from 2022 ‘Here’s What You Could Have Won’ album)
‘Get Down’ (from 2024 ‘There Goes The Neighbourhood’ album)
‘Jimi’ (from 2024 ‘There Goes the Neighbourhood’ album)
‘Special’ (from 2022 ‘Here’s What You Could Have Won’ album)
(encore)
‘Sardines’ (from 2021 ‘This Time Next Year’ album)
‘Smash The Gaff’ (from 2022 ‘Here’s What You Could Have Won’ album)
The pride of Hastings. Excellent gig. These guys are fabulous and great review. You have really caught the atmosphere.