Bicurious + The Kites live @ the Underground,
Plymouth - 10/02/2022
There are three parts to this review and some of it is more of a rant than a review so forgive me but sometimes things need to be said.
Part 1
Criminally, this was my first visit to the Underground in Plymouth but it immediately felt like home. Descending the stairs in to a subterranean world where the ceiling is lined with old band t-shirts, the floor is black and sticky and bar was beautiful in its uncluttered simplicity was a moment of rare normality in what have been a turbulent few years. This was my first venture out to a proper gig in over two years and I was welcomed by the rock'n'roll strains of local quartet the Kites. My immediate sense was that this was a 90s grunge-rock throwback with strains of Soundgarden coming through in the excellent guitar playing and a little Pearl Jam influence in the vocals. As the set came to a close, however, there was a real sense that the band had been plundering an even older era for inspiration and that's not just based on their impressive hair.
Part 2
The main reason for venturing out on a cold February Thursday was to catch Dublin duo Bicurious who had brought their largely instrumental brand of experimental rock to Plymouth for the first time. As I had hoped, they brought songs like 'We're All Totally Fucked', 'Japanese Puppy' and 'I Don't Do Drugs, I Just Sweat A Lot' out to play and they were just as intricately beautiful but twice as powerful in the live environment. For a duo that use drums and multi-looped guitar melodies, they still manage to pack in a huge amount of onstage energy and audience rapport. For the uninitiated, their sound was like Tom Morello's love child standing in for a Biffy Clyro jam session with a drummer who is part Animal and part Viking on a stag weekend. It's a fantastic experience which wasn't witnessed by nearly enough people which brings me on to...
Part 3
On chatting with the band afterwards and grabbing some merch (a copy of their excellent debut album '(re)constructed' on vinyl), I thanked them for bothering to venture beyond Bristol on their tour and they said "well, we were arned against it but we thought....what the hell". And that's where the rant comes in - why won't bands come on tour further west than Bristol? I get it, the roads aren't great and the towns are small but the music fans are passionate, the promoters work hard and the venues are inviting. So don't turn around at Bristol, keep coming down to Exeter, Plymouth, Barnstaple, Tavistock and whole host of places around Cornwall. We're here and we're ready for you.
More information:
Bicurious - https://www.facebook.com/bicuriousbandofficial
The Kites - https://www.facebook.com/officialthekites