Dirty Hit Tour Takes Over Thekla

Is there a better way to celebrate the end of term than with three awesome bands in the coolest venue in Bristol? It’s on a boat! Not in my opinion. Dirty Hit Records’ inaugural annual tour, showcasing the best of their signed talent, was a really great night.

Pale Waves opened the night with their guitar-driven, synthy pop. Their tunes were catchy and sweet without being sickly, and it’s a shame that there weren’t more people there to watch their set.

Next up was King Nun, with their punky, shouty, energetic indie rock, and they were LOUD. The frontman came on wearing a plastic bag as a top. Apparently, he ‘couldn’t decide what to wear’. He ripped it off halfway through the set. It did look uncomfortably tight, to be fair. There were fans of theirs in the crowd who were headbanging along and there were plenty of mosh pits – a great warm up band before the main act.

Then came Superfood, and they were wonderful. They thanked the crowd for still caring about them after two years off the radar and seemed relieved that their songs were still fresh enough in the audience’s minds for them to be able to sing along. They opened with new song Double Dutch, which experiments with sound samples and synth sounds, recreated on stage with a synth pad. This new style was reflected in all of the new songs that were played and were received well by the audience, despite being quite a departure from their previous music. They got the crowd dancing almost as much as the old songs – cue more smiles from the band. No doubt then that the new album will be successful. It was really nice to see this welcoming attitude to the new songs, considering that audiences often get impatient during new material, only wanting to hear what they already know.

Of course, there were also some old favourites within the set. Many of these had been given a new life with new arrangements, which was a refreshing change for someone who has now seen the band four times.

The one disappointing thing was that Superfood didn’t play for long. On the other hand, after their forty-minute set, I was shattered – Superfood fans go all out every time. It was boiling hot, suffocating, and knackering but bloody brilliant. Welcome back, Superfood.

_Photo credit: Carolina Faruolo._