Bully, Lola, Dude York: Buyers Club, Liverpool

Bully

Bully hit The Buyers Club and Getintothis’ Neal McGrath was there for a taste of Sub Pop’s sweetest offering.

Bully hit the the stage like a volcanic, Cobain roar.

Drenched in red, bathed in a wall of thunder, Alicia Bognanna rippled like water, her blonde hair draped over her face.

The perfect pop grunge of Trying threw the audience into an hysterical fever that they never recovered from. A vicious Mosh Pit threw limp bodies into the night.

Any human that insists on recording their music to tape ensures their passage to heaven. Perhaps that explains a band so willing to cut the throats of an audience as Bully? Their victory is so ensured, as we as the audience can do nothing but allow the waves of melodic rock ‘n’ roll wash over us. The albums are good, the live performances are truly great.

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Lola were the local opening band – their infectious hooks, funky guitar playing and rolling basslines easily garnered attention. Their clever use of dynamics and big chorus’s marked them out as a band to watch, with every member of the band playing with attitude and soul. It won’t be long before they themselves are the top of the bill.

The difference between Dude York and Lola was about a 100 miles of touring. Dude York at the top of their game, showed their road weary aplomb, racing through a grunge set as though their life depended on it.

Open tuning experimentation, droll one liners and audience participation made the audience question who was actually headlining, until the massive, wall of sound of Bully brought the room back to an alternative reality in which we would all want to live.

Images by Getintothis’ Tom Adam