GIG REVIEW: The Bar Stool Preachers + Dead Wet Things @ Independent, Sunderland, Friday 3 April 2026
The Bar Stool Preachers have become one of my favourite bands since I first saw them at Rebellion Festival in Blackpool back in 2015.
I’ve seen them almost 30 times since, in everywhere from pub venues to main stages at festivals, but they still have the ability to delight and surprise.
They did just that at a busy Independent on a night which turned out to be a very Good Friday. First things first, a mention for the opening act, up and coming local punkers Dead Wet Things.
I’ve seen the self-described ‘council estate scumbags’ half a dozen times in the last couple of years, and they’ve got better every time. Theirs is a very modern take on punk rock, and my other half, who was seeing them for the first time, said she really didn’t know what to make of them.
I felt the same the first time I saw them, but have since become convinced that they can be as big as they want to be, if they get their act together.
They’ve got the songs, the energy, and a hugely charismatic frontman in Pablo, who one friend nervously described as “unhinged”. Sadly, they haven’t got round to making an album yet – the final step in showing just how good they are.
Songs like Camp Freddie, Skint, Cinderella and Weekend Lover would sound fantastic on vinyl or CD, rather than stream or download. Howay lads, get it done, even if it’s a compilation of all your digital releases!
Talking of charismatic frontmen, The Bar Stool Preachers have one of their own in TJ McFaull, and it’s party time every time he and his five bandmates hit the stage. Originally a ska-punk band, they’ve morphed into much more than that.
Formed in Brighton in 2014, the North East has become a home far away from home for them, and a couple of hundred or so are gathered tonight for their first visit since they supported the Levellers at The Fire Station in Sunderland in July last year (reviewed here).
They’ve just come off a tour of academy-sized venues supporting Less Than Jake, The Bouncing Souls and The Aquabats on their UK Winter Circus tour, and they’re ready to stretch out and play a full set in front of their own crowd.
As soon as they launch into regular opener Call Me On The Way Home, it’s clear they’re firing on all cylinders, and they show over the course of a 75-minute show why they’re rightly tipped as future Rebellion Festival headliners.
They play songs from all three of their albums to date, with standouts including Trickledown and One Fool Down from debut album Blatant Propaganda, Choose My Friends from follow-up Grazie Governo and All Turned Blue from 2023’s Above The Static. There’s also a rare outing for Drink from the second album – so rare, in fact, that I’m not sure I’ve heard it live before.
TJ’s old man is Colin McFaull from street-punk legends Cock Sparrer, and the Preachers have claimed one of their songs, Suicide Girls, as their own. It prompts a singalong just as big as any of their own stuff.
Both sides of their 2020 lockdown EP Soundtrack To Your Apocalypse get a welcome airing, and after a brief interlude due to a power cut during When This World Ends after TJ kicks a monitor while dancing around the stage, we’re back underway with a thunderous Doorstep.
The Preachers are self-releasing their fourth album, Party Eternal, in October, and its lead single Pick A Side, which raised money for Medical Aid for Palestinians, is an example of them at their political best. Thankfully, TJ doesn’t don the red, white and blue tracksuit and wig he wears in the video, as it’s a bit Jimmy Savile.
The song’s a belter though, and I can’t wait to hear the rest of the album, which they’re crowdfunding HERE, with lots of vinyl variations and merch to choose from.
We’re nearing the end now, and there’s another huge singalong for 8.6 Days (All The Broken Hearts) which closes the main set. We’re not done yet though, and TJ and Alex return to the stage for Lighthouse Keeper, a heartfelt piano ballad which has become one of the band’s best-loved songs.
A brilliant Flatlined raises the bar even higher, and after a big knees-up down the front for traditional closer Bar Stool Preacher, we’re done.
Top marks to JS Promotions for taking a punt on this gig the same weekend Manchester Punk Festival is being held.
They’re bringing the Preachers back to the North East in November, to Digital in Newcastle as part of their Party Eternal tour. Tickets for that and all other dates are available now HERE.
