Music / Punk folk
Review: Skinny Lister, The Fleece
When I saw Skinny Lister lined up for The Fleece I wasn’t expecting the show to be sold out three months before the night of the gig, but that’s how popular this London-based punk-folk band has become since they last came to Bristol in late 2016. “Next time, invite more of your friends and we will sell out the next biggest venue in the city,” lead singer Dan Heptinstall joked. The band members’ contagious enthusiasm has expanded their fanbase over the last year and on Saturday night, they all came to party with them. Singer Lorna Thomas generously handed over a beloved “Listermania” jug over the crowd and we drank from it – a rite of passage for those not bothered about germs.
The band started with the first song from their latest album The Devil, The Heart and the Fight, released last year. “Wanted” is a punchy hymn and there was no better way to incite the crowd to dance, and the whole set was a colourful and thoughtful selection of songs spanning the band’s entire discography. The band expertly navigated from gentle pieces like Colours, What Can I Say and Bonny Away to Pogues-influenced ones like If the Gaff Don’t Let us Down, Seventeen Summers and This is War. The audience was joined at times by Lorna and her crazy moves on the dancefloor, while Sam “Mule” Brace made his way through the mass of joyful fans and played a guitar solo right in the middle of us. There was an exceptional connection between Skinny Lister and the crowd and the peak of this link between band and room came with the song John Kanaka when every single person in the room sang along: “John Kanaka kanaka tura yay.” It gave me goosebumps.
It was difficult at times to hear the vocalists clearly because of all the shouting, singing and laughing but all in all, Skinny Lister is a great band to see live, even for the less devoted. The band has tales to tell, and there is nothing better to listen to stories through music, with a pint of fresh beer in hand and interspersed by a jumping session. Now repeat and mean it: “Never be misunderstood, steer your course through flame and flood, fight your fight and fight it good, beat it from the chest!”
is needed now More than ever
Read more: Review: Katatonia, Marble Factory
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