Marmozets Headline At The Fleece

Marmozets are currently in that stage of their career as a band; they have exploded onto the scene and are now touring their socks off, delivering high-energy shows to crowds of hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of awestruck people worldwide. There was a feeling at this gig, at the moderately sized Fleece in Bristol, that they wouldn’t be playing venues of this size for much longer - this show and many of the others on their current UK tour sold-out long in advance.

Bristol’s own Thought Forms kicked off the night, delivering a wall of brash, effect-laden noise-rock. Following them was Steak Number Eight who wowed the crowd with their long, riff-filled hardcore songs. I was massively impressed with how much energy the band put into their performance, especially lead singer, Brent Vanneste, who could hardly speak between songs because of how out of breath he was.

There was a sense of anticipation in the air when waiting for Marmozets to come on stage. From the moment they walked on, the mass amount of energy given off by the band was truly something to behold. Kicking off with their hit, Move, Shake, Hide, lead singer, Becca Macintyre, glided and twisted across the stage and over the crowd, captivating them with her fantastic voice and unstoppable energy. She did not hold back, hitting every note and roaring through every verse impressively well. Compared to so many singers of heavy bands, who hold back live to preserve their voice, Becca set a bar of performance that others could only aspire to emulate. I saw in a recent interview that her idol is Freddie Mercury, and it’s easy to see his influence rub off on the style of her performance.

Throughout the show the venue was in complete chaos, with a band-induced stage invasion during Vibetech which led to many of the security guards having a mini-breakdown. Why Do You Hate Me? led to the crowd battling it out to get on top of each other after a promise of free T-shirts from guitarist, Sam Macintyre.

Every time I see this band they manage to (somehow) better themselves. They truly are honing their individual and raw sound into a live show that many bands would cower at having to follow. With main stage slots at Reading & Leeds coming this year as well as tours worldwide for the next six months, Marmozets’ quest for world domination seems inevitable, and 100% deserved.