GIG REVIEW: Bruise Control + Fast Blood + Sorority Grrrls @ The Little Buildings, Newcastle, Saturday 29 April 2023
Bruise Control‘s first-ever Newcastle gig was part of a headline tour for debut album Useless For Something, released a couple of weeks ago.
They played to a sold-out Little Buildings, and it was a privilege to catch them in such an intimate venue, as they’re a band who look destined for much bigger things.
First things first, the two local bands who opened for them, and helped make this a gig to remember.
Sorority Grrrls are a four-piece from Newcastle who were new to me, but their new wave of riot grrrl slipped down a treat. Founded in early 2022, they’re normally a five-piece, though there were only four of them here.
Inspired by the sounds of Sleater-Kinney and Bikini Kill, they have a couple of singles on Spotify – American Sicko and Dead Babies On The Floor – and both were part of their short set.
Vocalist Erin has great stage presence and can switch from sounding vulnerable to absofuckinglutely furious in the space of one song, as she does in anti-abortion rager Dead Babies…
I believe Sorority Grrrls are still in their teens or thereabouts and they made an enjoyable noise, despite playing without a bassist. Check them out on Bandcamp HERE, or, even better, get along and support them at a gig.
Next up were are Fast Blood, a four-piece from Newcastle featuring members of Pure Graft, Voorhees and Natte. They have an EP and three singles to their name, most recently last year’s Pulling Teeth.
I’d seen them before, but not since 2019, when they were a new band. They kicked up a fine racket, and I was excited to learnt that they’re taking a break from gigs for a while as they finish writing their debut album, which is being recorded at Blank Studios in Newcastle in June/July.
The standout song of their set was Love Lost, from their self-titled debut EP, but my abiding memory of this set is singer Abi sitting on the bass drum to (unsuccessfully) try to stop it creeping towards the front of the stage as drummer Scott hammered seven shades out of it. It was an enormously fun set, and I look forward to hearing more from Fast Blood.
Time then for the main attraction, Manchester quartet Bruise Control, whose debut album Useless For Something (reviewed here) came out on TNSRecords in mid-April.
After seeing reports of them tearing Manchester Punk Festival a new one recently I was looking forward to seeing them for the first time, and wasn’t disappointed.
They were absolutely blistering from the off, blazing their way through 10 songs in a set lasting barely half an hour. Starting with opener Useless they played the album’s first four tracks in order.
Stripped
Taxman was the pick of the bunch, and then they changed things about a bit by throwing in Come On Down after Dead On Arrival. By this time three of the four members were stripped to the waist as temperatures in the tiny venue began to soar.
Bruise Control are even more hardcore live than they are on record, with bemulleted vocalist Jim Taylor the centre of attention, writhing around as he belts out “Fuck Wetherspoons, fuck Priti Patel, fuck abusers, see you all in hell.” Brilliant stuff.
A breakneck Bruise Control gets a lively moshpit slamming in front of the stage, with Taylor disappearing into the crowd as they join in with the chorus “I wanna be a Bruiser!“
Before we know it the band are entering the final straight, with an epic HMRC bringing things to a close.
Once seen, Bruise Control are a band that aren’t easily forgotten, and the only disappointment is that their set is over just as they seem to be getting warmed up. I can’t wait until they have another album or two under their belt.
