On 13th June 2017, the best-dressed boys in music, The Strypes, headed to Camden’s Dingwalls for what turned out to be probably one of the best gigs that venue has seen.
Before The Strypes, the crowd were warmed up first by Sasha Adamczewski who killed it with his raspy vocals and blues-y, rock n’ roll grooves atop an extremely talented backing band. Songs like ‘Jet Black Jelly‘ and ‘Deep Blue Sea‘ are definitely ones to check out. At only 23, expect big things from him.
Man and The Echo came on next with smart and sometimes political lyrics, much appreciated anti-tory banter, and a retro sound. Although their sound mixing was a little bit off, they were still a great watch, and definitely worth a listen.
Then the main event: The Strypes. Coming on with ‘Behind Closed Doors‘ they then showed off a whole host of new material, which all went down really well. They have one of the most energetic live shows I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing. There wasn’t a moment they were stood still and the crowd definitely picked up on that – I don’t think there was a single person in the room not going absolutely insane. Extra props to Pete the bassist who cut his finger in the first few minutes, and carried on playing like a pro without a plaster.
The first half of the set was more full of new material from upcoming album ‘Spitting Image‘. Having only released ‘Great Expectations’, ‘Behind Closed Doors‘, and ‘Oh Cruel World‘, it was nice to hear what they’ve been working on for the past two years. It’s definitely closer in sound to ‘Little Victories‘, than their debut, ‘Snapshot‘, and it’s definitely looking like a wonderful album.
As great as the crowd were during the first half of the set, from ‘Get Into It‘ onward, it was something else. The Strypes could have got away with not singing songs like ‘Scumbag City’, ‘What a Shame‘, and ‘Blue Collar Jane‘, as the crowd were screaming along, probably not far from actual human combustion with the amounts of energy being expelled.
The gig was everything you want from a band in a small venue: great sound mixing, stupidly high levels of energy (and sweat), and loud, fast, and downright brilliant music. All in all, you can’t fault The Strypes’ live shows or their music.