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Review: Blues Pills, Thekla
Swedish hard rockers Blues Pills played their first Bristol show at the Fleece ten years ago. This was followed by a swift move up to the Bierkeller in 2015 and the Marble Factory a year later. The question was how big they could get, but then covid intervened, as did other stuff (the photograph of a heavily pregnant Elin Larsson on the cover of new album Birthday gives a hint of this). Finally back on these shores after a lengthy absence, they’ve taken the ‘back to the clubs’ approach with this Happy Fucking Birthday tour, which sees them downshifting to the Thekla. That might be a useful strategy for indie acts who fear their fans may have moved on to the next fad, but rock audiences tend to be rather more loyal and the boat is packed with punters who never expected to see the whites of the band’s eyes again.
First up are Canadians Daniel Romano’s Outfit, who take an unusual approach to their support slot. They bash out song after song, running each into the next without pausing to introduce themselves or await applause. Mr. Romano doesn’t even speak to the audience for a full 25 minutes. His Outfit trades in spirited garagey rock, heavy on the vocal harmonies, with a side order of Americana and power pop and a dash of hardcore punk. Romano himself looks a little like Pete Townshend circa 1971, and certainly seems to have closely observed the Who mainman’s stage moves, even indulging in the occasional windmill. All that’s missing are the white trousers.
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The lights go down, the intro music plays, Blues Pills come on to a huge cheer and . . . nothing happens. There seems to be some kind of technical fault with Zack Anderson’s guitar, prompting much tinkering while the rest of the band shuffle their feet and Elin tries to think of something to say. Eventually we’re off, and it proves well worth the wait as they’re on top form on this last date of the UK tour and play a lengthy set dominated by Birthday, which keeps up the band’s high standards admirably. Bad Choices, in particular, is classic Blues Pills, with Elin belting out the lyrics in familiar ‘Janis Joplin with a light Swedish accent’ style. There’s an unexpected dip back into the band’s first EP for Bliss, featuring a great psychedelic solo by Zack Anderson, whose switch from bass to lead guitar has been impressively seamless.
Elin bounces around the Thekla’s bijou stage throughout, headbanging, shaking her waist-length hair and jumping up and down, as though enjoying a vigorous postpartum workout, which in many ways she is. During Proud Woman from Holy Moly!, she even bounds into the audience for high-fives. The heartfelt Like a Drug is another highlight from Birthday. Then it’s back to the classics from that great debut album for High Class Woman, Ain’t No Change, Black Smoke and Little Sun.
They’re playing in Paris tomorrow, so time constraints mean they don’t bother with the encore thing and just pretend they’ve been dragged back from their dressing room. The thunderous I Don’t Wanna Get Back on That Horse Again is another Birthday highlight and we all get to sing along with Bye Bye Birdy. But there’s one classic that Blues Pills haven’t played yet. Here it comes: the lung-ripping Devil Man, which Elin still sings as though she’s performing some kind of self-exorcism. The hiatus seems to have been only a minor interruption to Blues Pills’ steady upward trajectory and they’re certain to be back in bigger venues before long.
Read more: Metal & Prog Picks: October 2024
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