Gengahr Live at The Joiners
Off the back of their beautiful and highly praised second album, Gengahr have embarked on their latest UK tour. I had the pleasure of going down to see them in The Joiners, Southampton’s famous top venue. The Joiners has hosted huge acts in their indie days from Oasis to Radiohead and a few years ago almost closed down, luckily this didn’t happen and still continues to put on incredible acts, just like Gengahr.
The venue was relatively quiet to start with, just before the first support act come on it starts to pick up. Indigo Husk saunter onto the stage playing to a crowd who, like myself, probably didn’t know them prior to this. By the end of their set, however, the group were firmly planted in the minds of everyone there. Thrashing about the stage with great pace and a control over the crowd like I’ve never seen, Indigo Husk killed the opening slot.
Indigo Husk by Toby Henley
Next up we had Mystic Peach, Southampton local trio of lads we covered in a discovery article recently. Initially, we described them as having a psych shoegazey vibe, this remains true, however, it’s more than that. Mystic Peach were quite literally insane, like The Wytches on Scarface levels of coke. The musical talent this band possess is easily top class, and the pure power that comes through their music forces its way into your ears with ease. That tube screamer pedal got beautiful use even whilst the lead started punching it, to the point of bleeding. I couldn’t recommend this act more.
Mystic Peach by Toby Henley
An extreme change of pace came from final supports Low Island. To ease us into the softer styles of Gengahr, funky upbeat group Low Island jump on stage. Armed with three synths, a guitar, bass, and drum kit between the four of them, Low Island provided an incredibly different vibe but one that was so welcome. It was a mix of synth pop, indie rock, and funk. Angelic voices danced over the top of these big beats that made you want to dance non stop and were a beautiful lead into the headline act.
Low Island by Toby Henley
Gengahr walk on stage to huge applause. Covered by smoke and backlighting the group burst into their set. It was the perfect mix of tracks from both of the bands incredibly popular albums. Not only is the music good, but for a band of generally a softer tone with their psychedelic dream pop vibes, they damn well know how to perform. Incredibly pleasant to watch and beautiful to see such music come to life. With calls for several songs, a final call for “Carrion” lead to lead Felix saying “This isn’t a request show you know”. Obviously, ‘Carrion’ ended up being the closing track. The band are as lovely to talk to as they are to watch and if you get a chance to see them on their next tour I’d wholeheartedly recommend it.
To find more photos of all the bands check out Toby’s work here.