Following a run of dates across Europe, Bristol's SWX had the honour of playing host to the first UK date of the 'MY GOD HAS GOT A GUN' EU/UK tour. And boy, did Bristol show up; with the venue packed out, and the great and the good of the Bristol Alt/Metal scene (I clocked members of Mallavora, Mother Vulture, Profiler, and RXPTRS dotted around the crowd) turning out to witness VUKOVI tear Bristol a new one.
It's not long following the doors opening that the already-packed-out crowd is introduced to our first act of the evening, the Leeds-based Artio. Apparently named after the Celtic Goddess of death and bears, they bring an electronic mix to their brand of Alt-Metal (think Enter Shikari/PVRIS/Wargasm).
Vocalist Rae Brazil is accomplished in the way that they interact with the crowd (spoiler alert we will be seeing them later again in the evening). "Basement Dance" see's the crowd obliging to get down before the inevitable jump up and collective mayhem ensues.
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The biggest pop from the crowd probably comes during "Product". Alas this opening set is short but it has the desired affect, the crowd are well and truly warmed up for what is to come.
I must have been living under a rock recently as unpeople have yet to cross my radar, and for that, I must hold myself accountable as they really are a band I should be paying a lot more attention to. I knew that we were in store for something special, the whoops, the cheers, the chants emanating from backstage that could be heard from my vantage point at the barrier, I was able to hear Unpeople long before I saw them. Sprinting onto the stage, the energy from the London-based quartet was through the roof from the very first note of "waste".
Their set finished with "the garden", and saw guitarist Luke Caley over the barrier and into the crowd, orchestrating a circle pit around him as he shred the closing licks of the song.
Their musical influences (PUP, Deftones, Everything Everything and Reuben & SikTh) are clear to see in their sound. Sadly, as the band have only released a single EP to date, 2024's UNPEOPLE, their set, as enjoyable as it was, was over all too soon. That being said, they are definitely a band that I need to keep tabs on and can firmly count this reviewer (along with, I suspect, a large number of the Bristol crowd) amongst one of their newest fans.
Now for the main event, VUKOVI. You may remember the interview that we did with Janine during the release of the new album, if you haven't yet, click the link below and go and check it out:
Now that we've all had the chance to digest MY GOD HAS GOT A GUN, I was beyond excited to see some of the latest offering in the flesh.
With the venue filling with what some might call too much fog; the lights kick in, pink and green and blue and red strobes. As Hamish strums out the opening licks to "THIS IS MY LIFE AND MY TRAUMA", one thing is for sure, this evening is going to be an assault on all of the senses. A swift transition into "GUNGHO" sees Janine burst onto the stage to greet the Bristol crowd.
The crowd are barely given a moment to draw breath before our next installment from the new album MISTY ECSTASY, which flows nicely into "SLO" from 2022's NULA. By this point, the levels of mayhem were well and truly on the up, both onstage and in the crowd.
There is the briefest pause to welcome Artio's Rae to provide assistance on Lasso.
Sporting a fetching surgical mask for the evening (it was giving 2020 flashbacks), but such was the energy of their performance. Were it not for the face covering, you would have no idea that Hamish has been feeling under the weather for a large chunk of this tour.
Giving Hamish and touring drummer Martin a track off to recuperate, Janine makes her way down onto the barrier at the front of the crowd for an intimate rendition of "Colour Me In". For the first time tonight, the crowd was virtually silent, phone lights in the air, and engrossed in every word of Janine's performance.
The fifth of the newest tracks "BLADED" sees the first serious flurry of surfing from the crowd. You may remember from our interview (if you've not read that yet, sort it out and go and read it now) that "BLADED" was one of Janine's favourite tracks from the new album, and its clear to see why.
On the home stretch now and forgoing the cliche, 'let's pretend to go offstage and come back for an encore', Vukovi just fill the end of their set with a slew of certified bangers. The section kicks off with a shamisen intro; the last of the offerings from the new album, the titular track "MY GOD HAS GOT A GUN". Things are then turned up to 11 with NULA's "I EXIST" and "Run/Hide" from 202's FALL BETTER.
Drawing the evening to a close, Janine cemented her "absolute fucking mad lad" status by hopping up onto the barrier, then out atop the crowd as the first drop of "La Di Da" (from the 2017 self titled album) took hold. Managing to surf her way practically to the sound desk and back, all without missing a note, if the Bristol crowd weren't in a frenzy before they were down right feral come the end of the set.
UK fans, if you missed out on this tour, then don't fret it's already been announced that VUKOVI will be making appearances at 2000 Trees and Radar Festivals this summer.
