(Review by Ben ‘Jerry’ Robinson)
PERSONAL TRAINER – RESIDENT, BRIGHTON 3.8.24
What with ‘Pride’ in full swing outside on the streets of Brighton, fun was in the air this evening and it was going to be no different inside Resident Music Store, as us lucky punters were in for a real treat.
Having seen Personal Trainer twice already in the past ten months, first in November at The Con Club in Lewes, (Review HERE) and again at the Concorde 2 in April (Review HERE), Personal Trainer have fast become one of the most exciting bands to see live for me, it’s just always such a unique experience. So when I heard news of their second album ‘Still Waiting’s release date and that it was going to be hand in hand with an in-store performance I could not have pre-ordered mine any faster.
Doors opened at 18:30 hours and the long line of eager fans quickly filled the shop. We didn’t have to wait long as the band had been rehearsing while the store was still open so it was all systems go at 18:42, as the band came out taking up their positions at the front of the shop. For this run of in-store shows, the band has said they will be playing a stripped down set with just four of their usual seven band members. Lead vocalist and guitarist for this evening; Willem Smith welcomed us “Well here we are, thanks for coming, this is our second one today, we were in Portsmouth earlier which was really nice, so I hope you can top it”. A true statement that I must have to admit had concerned me during the day, wondering how on earth they were going to make it through the road closures around Brighton in time on such a busy day, but here they were all set and ready to roll.
The band started with a very jazz club-esque warm up with their instruments, Kilian Kayser gently teasing his 2 cymbals and 2 drums, Abel Tuinstra tinkling the piano tones on his Roland Keyboard and getting some bass sounds off his Yamaha Reface CS Synthesizer, and last but not least Mart Boumans giving a us a ditty on his flute.
Now ready, Willem announced “Alright, we are going to play some songs off our record released yesterday, this is the last song on the record” and away they went, a nice slow soft start to the set with a simple piano arrangement the song was called ‘What Am I Supposed To Say About The People And Their Ways’, it progressively built with Mart starting off on the flute, but mid song busting out the sax, interestingly I noticed he gently placed the flute inside the saxophone while playing it.
Next up was a song that has been no stranger to their live sets over the past year, it was ‘Round’, this one is a fab lively number, probably my favourite song on the album, today’s rendition was very saxophone heavy giving it a very different sound to the earlier released single version.
Next up was ‘New Bad Feeling’ another I’ve heard live previously, this one started calm with just Willem singing and playing his acoustic guitar with Mart’s soulful flute accompaniment, but it was not long until Abel was really hammering the piano keys and Kilan was jumping about pounding those drums, it’s one of those songs that builds momentum and tempo as it progresses, before bang, it hits limit then stops.
‘Upper Ferntree Gully’ came next; this was introduced as the longest song on the album, with Willem adding it was also the hardest to play. For this one Mart is back to the saxophone, the song changed tempo at various points, sometimes getting frantic, then slowing right down, then back up. All four of the band members here smiling and watching each other as they went, hard to play it may have been, but they pulled it off with big applause at the end.
The next song was dedicated to Greg, I am not too sure who this was, but the song was ‘I Can Be Your Personal Trainer’, I recognised this one from when they played it at Lewes, tonight’s version sounding very different with all of the saxophone and piano, Willem introduced a guest singer Louise who joined in on the chorus vocals whilst sitting on the counter top. By this point the band were all really settled into things and clearly enjoying this more unique way of showcasing their tracks.
Louise continued with backing vocals during ‘Cyan’, it starts off so beautifully and soulful, a nice steady drum beat, flute and piano bringing those calming qualities, but not before long the sax is back, Willem’s guitar is ramping up, the whole band are echoing the chorus and you just cannot help but dance along, it had a really funky vibe going towards the end. I look forward to hearing the album version and seeing how it compares.
“Sweaty” exclaimed Willem as it was getting incredibly warm and humid in the shop. Next up was their most recent single release ‘Intangible’, another funky danceable song, tonight played in a very jazzy vibe, Willem took the opportunity mid song to introduce the band, prompting Mart to go for a bit of sax solo.
We were straight into ‘You Better Start Scrubbing’ with Mart giving us a crazy sounding flute introduction before switching back to sax, this song had more of a manic feeling to it, a fast and frantic number, at times reminding me a bit of Madness, especially the piano and saxophone.
“We are doing the full album, just in wrong order, sorry about that” joked Willem, he then reminded us all they will be “playing some more new songs at Chalk, next March where there will be more of them (all 7) and more going on, and more vibes, but a little less sweat” referencing his now soaking wet t-shirt, “I really do get sweaty don’t I!”, he joked “especially when playing guitar, I thought it would be less extreme playing a stripped down set, but it’s actually much worse”
The final two songs of the set were ‘Testing The Alarm’ and ‘Still Willing’, the latter being almost like the slow comedown, bringing us to a nice gentle close.
Willem thanked Simon Raymonde for putting out the record, Simon formerly of the Cocteau Twins and of course the Record Label owner of Brighton based Bella Union who the band are now signed with. I had spotted Simon over in the corner of Resident and he had danced and moved throughout and gave Willem a resounding double thumbs up, a great signing indeed.
Tonight was truly a unique experience, on a bigger stage with the full band, all sorts of chaos and carnage can ensue, but I think with the tight space and the stripped down arrangement it really took the band in a bit of a different path, I don’t think I’d ever dare pigeon hole Personal Trainer, their music is fun, they have brilliantly written songs, the band members just get so into playing their instruments and Willem’s warm and humble personality always puts you at ease when watching them, I honestly can’t wait to hear the album, which I’ll sadly have to wait until next week to collect as I had to run for my train.
Their second album is out now, so do go and check it out and don’t forget they will be playing at Chalk, Brighton on the 1st March 2025 which takes the live performance to a whole other level. Unmissable. Grab your tickets HERE and HERE.
Personal Trainer:
Willem Smit – vocals & guitar
Abel Tuinstra – keyboards
Kilian Kayser – percussion, drums & cymbals
Mart Boumans – flute & Saxophone
Louise – guest backing vocals
Personal Trainer setlist:
‘What Am I Supposed To Say About The People And Their Ways’
‘Round’
‘New Bad Feeling’
‘Upper Ferntree Gully’
‘I Can Be Your Personal Trainer’
‘Cyan’
‘Intangible’
‘You Better Start Scrubbing’
‘Testing The Alarm’
‘Still Willing’
Find out more about Personal Trainer HERE.
