SKINNY LISTER + NOBLE JACKS – CHALK, BRIGHTON 15.12.23
On November 30th this year, the world of folk, punk, Irish music and everything in-between lost Shane MacGowan, a musical hero beloved by many for his picturesque commentaries and insights into the world of Irish immigrants and for being a spearheader in bands like The Nipple Erectors and, more importantly, The Pogues. A sadness fell upon the musical landscape as we lost a significant figure in modern music; however, celebrations too did occur, commemorating his life, music and songs! Unfortunately, I never got to experience the privilege of watching Shane perform with The Pogues, but Friday night down at Brighton’s Chalk, a modern-prolific folk punk collective won over the hearts of many and brought an energy that matches that of The Pogues’, complete with swaying, booze-filled sing-alongs, frantic and melodic Celtic rhythms and a communal atmosphere that is full of nothing but love and affection for your fellow man. The band in question? Skinny Lister. These guys are currently a five-piece group originating from Greenwich, with the core trio of lead vocalist and guitarist Dan Heptinstall, singer Lorna Thomas and her brother Max on various accordions and vocals, being the only constant in the band since their 2009 inception. Now joined by drummer Tim Hillsden and bassist Scott Milsom, they’ve been enjoying a fruitful tour celebrating their ‘Shanty Punk’ that dropped a couple months back, heralded by critics as their best work yet.
The band were fortunate to have Brighton-based folk band Noble Jacks join them for the final three shows of their tour in Bristol, Brighton and London, albeit as a duo of Will Page on vocals, guitar, violin and percussion, and guitarist George McCannan (the band tend to have a much bigger instrumentalist-led backdrop in their headline shows). Shortly after I spend a bit of time hanging around the front of the stage, singing along to XTC’s ‘Senses Working Overtime’ from the speakers (an adroit song choice to have play by the way!), Will and George make their way up the back steps of the stage and set up shop behind their instruments. Following a brief welcome, the duo kick straight into the opening ‘Gun Hill’ with stop start kick drums and virtuosically slick violin lines from Will. The band are well-regarded for their distinctive Americana flair, something that definitely comes through in their performance and soundplay; this is significantly prominent in the subsequent instrument track, ‘Trip To The Forge’, with several moments of increasing tempos, harmony-based violin performances and a dynamically entrancing physicality to the way Will and George play. The song ‘Ramblers Steam’ is a particularly fun cut, with George now donning a gorgeous orange Gretsch electric guitar and Will now behind an acoustic guitar and harmonica. As a result, the sound carries a lot more weight, with the pair’s harmonies reminiscent of local Brighton folk band MudCoffee.
‘Stay Awake’s soft intro gives way to more high-octane stomping from Will with George’s stunning guitar tone backing an infectious chorus that makes for the start of several audience sing-alongs within the night ahead…! The duo take a brief moment to thank some dedicated fans in the crowd for the support of their latest album ‘Last Of The Wild’, which dropped in 2022. Now back to the original instrumental set-up of Will on violin and George on acoustic guitar, they treat us to ‘Never Been Here Before’, a song that paints a very vivid picture of apocalypse underneath a more dynamically flexible structure. Unfortunately, this performance was coloured slightly by a small gathering of muttering and chit-chat behind me (insert disgruntled face here). Despite this distraction, it certainly did not falter my enjoyment of the following song ‘Oceans’, which was by far my favourite song of the entire set! A song about courage and coming home, this sweet little track has got a gorgeous progression throughout, with an immaculate interlocking connection between the violin and guitar. ‘Late Night Train’, complete with slick yet rugged guitar solos and harmonica performances, seemed to win over the entire crowd with the biggest cheer of the set so far… and rightfully so! Following the swashbuckling and sea shanty-esque ‘Better Man’, Will takes a brief moment to plug the new album as well as some merchandise; now I’ve seen some great pieces of merchandise over the years from Phil Elverum’s ‘Microphones in 2020’ book to Ibibio Sound Machine’s traditionally-woven lampshades, but Noble Jacks selling bespoke pendants made out of their old violin and guitar strings? Genius. The pair have one last hurrah on the stage in the form of ‘The Blacksmith Stomp’, leaving the audience at their most vibrant with a strong energy and a great climax too… a perfect warm-up for Skinny Lister!
Noble Jacks:
Will Page – lead vocals, violin, guitar, kick drum
George McCannan – guitar, vocals
Noble Jacks setlist:
‘Gun Hill’
‘Trip To The Forge’
‘Ramblers Steam’
‘Stay Awake’
‘Never Been Here Before’
‘Oceans’
‘Late Night Train’
‘Better Man’
‘The Blacksmith Stomp’
Well I must say, I rather enjoyed that; a marvellous set from Noble Jacks! It’s actually a well-known fact that when going to see a folk punk band live, it’s important to experience some Americana beforehand as it benefits your health! I cannot cite my sources though, so you’ll have to take my word for it…! Anyway, before long, the mighty quintet of Skinny Lister make their way up, with vocalist Lorna accompanied with a huge ceramic gallon jar, within which holds a concoction of rum. Straight out of the gate, with next to no time wasted, the band immediately won me over with the song ‘Wanted’, instantly displaying some of the most natural musicianship I’ve ever witnessed, with each member faultlessly playing to their strengths! Never before have I been so impressed by a live band by the very first song, I must say…! Lead vocal duties switch from Dan to Lorna going into ‘George’s Glass’, a drinking song that features many rhythmic palate switch-ups from section to section, as well as Max jumping around like a lunatic while playing his accordion. The band’s intensity does quieten down a little on the track ‘Tragedy In A Minor’ with a more progressive song structure, but still a lot of fun; there’s even a cool little double bass solo from Scott partway into the track! The galloping groove and droning accordion of ‘Rattle & Roar’ was a pretty refreshing moment in the set, with Lorna dancing away in-between sections as Dan serenades us.
Many a Pogues sound à la ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’ come through on the track ‘Unto The Breach’ where the pace kicks back up, with many audience members swaying each other, arm in arms, like the biggest Brighton piss-up you could ever wish to take part in. Max begins to flex his multi-instrumental skills as he swaps over to a mandolin for the more rustic ‘Colours’. Packed with washes of cymbals and grouped chorus vocals, the gradual build-up and marching snares from Tim makes for a brilliant climax for the crowd to sing along to. Now, one could mistake the opening beat to ‘Cathy’ for The Jesus and Mary Chain’s ‘Just Like Honey’, but an eventual bounce in musical propulsion drives the song forward with most of the audience jumping in time to the chorus. While Max tends to a broken mandolin string, Scott sends his double bass on a walking riff, strutting through as the song’s low-end backbone. The penultimate track on the band’s most recent ‘Shanty Punk’ album, ‘William Harker’, was written and performed by Lorna and Max’s father, known as Party George, who joins as a special guest at this show! Here, I stand in amazement with the widest smile on my face for this beautiful music hall pub folk camaraderie from the now-sextet.
‘Arm Wrestling In Dresden’ sees the Celtic punk vibes return, now with Lorna jaunting across the crowd, literally arm wrestling with Skinny Lister patrons (her scoreboard for the night stood at one-all with two different audience members). This wonderful communal atmosphere stays intact entering the more country-like ‘Mantra’, stated by Lorna to be one of her favourites to sing. It clearly seems to be one of Scott and Max’s particular favourites too as they come through with some truly stellar performances on their respective bass and accordion. Talking of bass, Scott exchanges the double for the electric on the track ‘Geordie Lad’ (known as ‘Yorkshire Lad’ that night in lieu of any actual Geordies present). Lorna takes yet another moment to join the crowd, this time, trying to dance with as many people as possible in the song’s allotted three and a half minute run-time. Remember the ceramic jug of rum hooch from earlier? Well, in the track ‘Damn The Amsterdam’, it acts as the proprietor of the ultimate drinking song with audience members passing it around (skipping my teetotal self, of course!). ‘Bold As Brass’ seems to be the band’s most volumetric song of the set, stretching from a slow and quiet introduction to foot-stomping, mosh-mania in a matter of minutes! Let’s also not forget the big sing-along that is obligatory at a Skinny Lister show…!
From ‘John Kanaka’ to ‘Rollin’ Over’, the five-piece do not seem to falter or lose their pace in the slightest, providing a slightly blues-oriented progression, yet groovy as hell folk rhythm, with one of the catchiest choruses of the set thus far. The band stopped to really take in the atmosphere, stating that while they had one show left on their tour, they truly felt they had peaked too early with us… now there’s a compliment if ever I’ve heard one. The swinging folk punk of ‘This Is War’ pulls us back in with galloping floor toms and walking bassline, as well as a super slick key change into a more punk-flavoured chorus (if only I could live my life with as much energy as these guys have!). ‘What Can I Say?’ is a much needed breather in the setlist; a slower song, with, despite a slightly irregular-feeling waltz pattern, a more heartfelt and intimate tinge to it compared to most of the set so far. Following a brief moment for the band to have a quick photo with the crowd, we come to one of the biggest drinking choruses of the set in the form of ‘Company Of The Bar’ (I’ll give you three guesses as to where the drinking comes in…). I could truly hear Shane MacGowan’s ghost raising a glass from the front of the crowd as I began to join the central huddle of Skinny Lister attendees, jumping arm in arm together in wonderful harmony.
Now, we come to the final song of the setlist and one of the band’s biggest fan favourites: ‘Trouble In Oxford Street’. This track has the punkiest rhythm of the entire set yelling vocalisations from Max as the dancing pit in the crowd grows bigger and bigger throughout. The crowd proceeds to stomp and cheer for more as the band makes their way off the stage… they do come back of course, despite the lack of a written encore on the stage setlists. Noble Jacks’ Will Page joins also, armed with a violin in his land, before the band head into a wonderful ode to Shane MacGowan in the form of a cover of ‘Fairytale Of New York’. The group stays pretty close to the original with its piano intro replaced by Dan’s guitar, but the effervescent jamboree still going strong as the crowd sings the song, loud and proud either towards the band or to any adjacent attendees. The band wished us a fond farewell with Party George heading back out onto the stage, as well as Chris, the group’s merch stand attendee, joining on the mandolin, for the final song of the entire night, ‘Six Whiskies’. This song was a perfect show closer, with one of the most beautifully catchy and heartwarming melodies I’ve ever heard and subsequently sung back in a live show! I’ll say this: I went into this live show, not knowing what I was expecting, bar the style of folk punk being the thing that drew me in… what eventually followed was nothing short of a powerfully euphoric and communally-enthralling Friday night; not just one of the best gigs of the year for me, but ultimately, one of the best live experiences of my life!
Skinny Lister:
Dan Heptinstall – lead vocals, guitar
Lorna Thomas – vocals
Max Thomas – melodeon, accordion, mandolin, vocals
Scott Milsom – double bass, bass guitar, vocals
Tim Hillsdon – drums, vocals
Skinny Lister setlist:
‘Wanted’
‘George’s Glass’
‘Tragedy In A Minor’
‘Rattle & Roar’
‘Unto The Breach’
‘Colours’
‘Cathy’
‘William Harker’
‘Arm Wrestling In Dresden’
‘Mantra’
‘Geordie Lad’
‘Damn The Amsterdam’
‘Bold As Brass’
‘John Kanaka’
‘Rollin’ Over’
‘This Is War’
‘What Can I Say?’
‘Company Of The Bar’
‘Trouble On Oxford Street’
(encore)
‘Fairytale Of New York’ (The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl cover)
‘Six Whiskies’
You should have sent someone to review Mary Wallopers playing at Chalk a few weeks ago. Packed out and a heaving crowd to bring back memories of early Pogues gigs.