A few months back now, I moved from London, back (well much closer anyway) to my hometown of Southend. My long term friend Sophia, a fellow music lover (and creator of the amazing Southend zine- Noisy!, which sadly no longer exists but you can read about in this book) pointed out to me The Subways would soon be playing in Southend. From there, I found out about the amazing Indie Cult Club, who have been putting Southend on the musical map by hosting big names by the seaside. You can read my interview with Indie Cult Club here to find out more.
After seeing just how fantastic The Subways are live last year, there was no way I was going to be missing this gig! Chinnerys was always my favourite gig venue in Southend, and having not been there for many years, it felt like some sort of time warp to be treading it’s slightly sticky floor once again. It didn’t take long though to feel like I was at home. As we arrived the Indie Cult Club DJs were playing a great mix of indie tracks to get everyone in the mood for a rock n roll party.
The party started full on, when support act Dirty Blonde came to the stage to kick off proceedings with a bang. The Manchester based band played kick ass, dirty, slightly bluesy LOUD rock n roll. I wasn’t familiar with them, but I really enjoyed their sassy energy.
A few more banging tunes kept the mood up in the short wait before band of the evening The Subways took to the stage. Having found a perfect spot near the front (but safely to the side- I can’t handle a mosh pit)! the energy that radiated from the band as soon as they came on was palpable. Kicking off with oldie but a goodie ‘Oh Yeah’, got the energy high from the get go.
The set was sprinkled with more past hits like ‘We Don’t Need Money to Have a Good Time’ and ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’ alongside current tracks from latest album ‘Uncertain Joys’- ‘Influence Killer the Rock Star’ and the epic ‘Black Wax.’ The Subways have an impressive back catalogue but that wasn’t even the most impressing thing about this show. What makes The Subways such a good live band is their clear love for the fans, and the music. After almost every song, singer Billy Lunn was beaming, and expressing his gratitude. Bassist Charlotte Cooper seemed to have limitless energy, never stopping moving around the stage in a blur.
Thanks in large part to the contagious energy The Subways emit on stage, they now count as one of my favourite bands. Their music is awesome to listen to, but is turned up to 11 both in sound and awesomeness when they play live. Ending with their non encore encore (the band believe encores are a bit silly), polishing it all off with an epic version of ‘Rock N Roll Queen’ complete with Billy crowdsurfing, my ears were left ringing but a big smile on my face. What a band!
The setlist was:
- Oh Yeah
- Young for Eternity
- Black Wax
- Kalfornia
- Alright
- Taking All the Blame
- We Don’t Need Money to Have a Good Time
- Incantion
- Turn Around
- I Want to Hear What You’ve Got to Say
- Influencer Killed the Rock Star
- Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
- At 1AM
- I Won’t Let You Down
- Girls and Boys
- With You
- Rock and Roll Queen
The Subways are now off to do some festivals out of the UK, but will be playing with The Enemy and The Holloways in October, dates can be found here
Indie Cult Club’s next club night will be on the Bank Holiday Monday 27th May and will be with Brit Pop Legends Echobelly. You can buy tickets here
Follow The Subways- Official Website/ Facebook/ Instagram/ Twitter
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Article by Hayley Foster da Silva
Photographs by Hayley Foster da Silva and Miguel da Silva
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