LIVE REVIEW: DEATH VALLEY GIRLS AND LAZY JANE AT THE LEXINGTON, LONDON

Another Wednesday, another gig in town. With this being the first of three gigs in four nights, I was going to need to make sure I was eating my Shredded Wheat every morning. I love the Lexington as a venue. The lighting is amazing, lending itself to photos that can look as though they were taken at Wembley Arena. Well, maybe not always my photos, but I was going to try my best.

With Hannah Hu pulling out due to illness (get well soon!), we were left with a slightly later start and two bands to focus on. First up were Lazy Jane, a five-piece from East London who had clearly brought a few supporters along with them. It was lovely to see a decent crowd in the place from the off.

Lazy Jane describe themselves as a DIY band playing loud, lo-fi indie pop. So definitely not the sort of pop that Rick Astley would make you listen to. With three guitars at their disposal, they produced a level of noise that would have had Rick running for the hills. Absolutely a very good thing in my book.

I’ve occasionally seen support bands playing to three people and a dog, but Lazy Jane had the place rocking from the start, and the crowd clearly loved them. They were a great way to kick off the evening, and if you get the chance to catch them in London before they start hitting the road, I’d recommend doing so. They’re definitely doing something right.

After what looked like the band coming on, only to disappear again, Death Valley Girls finally took to the stage. They were dressed as though they were ready to embrace Halloween at some point, but perhaps not quite yet. They looked far too happy to be genuinely scary, anyway.

Given the tragedies that have hit the band over the past year, they would have been forgiven for taking some time out to regroup. Singer Bonnie lost her home in the California fires, followed by her dog, and in April the band suddenly lost their keyboard player after completing their album. A hell of a year, to put it mildly. But rather than retreating into their shells, Death Valley Girls came out all guns blazing, looking as though they were loving every minute of being back on stage.

This was the final night of their UK tour, and they were clearly determined to go out with a bang. Their upbeat, joyful energy was infectious, shining through in the music and making it impossible not to get caught up in the occasion. I think they played virtually all of their thoroughly commendable new album, Welcome to Earth (see Joyzine’s Lauren Powell’s review here), interspersed with a few old favourites. Death Valley Boogie? Oh yes! Some things are always worth celebrating.

By the time Bonnie went walkabout in the crowd, any remaining doubters had surely been converted, if they hadn’t been won over much earlier. There was a wonderful sense of a band determined to celebrate what they do best, despite everything life had thrown at them. The Halloween outfits might have suggested something darker, but the feeling throughout the venue was one of sheer enjoyment.

Lazy Jane had got the evening off to a cracking start, and Death Valley Girls brought it home in style. A brilliant end to their UK tour and an absolute triumph!