Holiday Ghosts are fresh off a UK tour and have become regulars at the 6 Music studio for sessions with Marc Riley. It is therefore fitting that SOURCE cooks dinner for the last time ever to the final dinner time show Mr Riley will broadcast, before heading down to the Green Door Store for this Acid Box show.
Walking into a venue that is packed with a who’s who of the truly fabulous current crop of local bands from Welly to The Leaning via Lambrini Girls, we arrive in time to catch Jeuce play a refreshingly northern set full of punk vocals and incredibly inventive drumming, that is jaw-on-the-floor captivating. Were Top Of The Pops still a thing, it is safe to say Jeuce will not be on it, with their hilarious song about ‘Pegging’. One song, sung in Spanish provides a particularly satisfying moment.
It does not take long for our Cornish friends, who now live in Brighton, to take to the stage, with their brand of Billy Childish or Velvet Underground skiffle punk that would have fitted in perfectly on the infamous C86 compilation.
Kicking off with ‘Credit Note’, from last year’s EP of the same name, the band witnesses a mass stampede from the outdoor area back into the gig room, and a joyful atmosphere spreads through the now tightly packed crowd.
Surprisingly, of the 17 songs, only five are drawn from new album ‘Absolute Reality’, which was released on beautiful blue vinyl. ‘Blue’, which is this writer’s favourite track off the album is one of those omitted. Still we’re having far too much fun enjoying the playful bonhomie of the group, with plenty of participative banter from Katja about the quality of tour-issue Holiday Ghosts tea towels and some very relaxed guitar solos from Sam.
The set even includes a new and as-yet-untitled composition during which Ben, the acoustic guitarist, takes the lead. No resting on their laurels for this band, and the song holds promise for album number four.
For the encore Sam leaps on to the bass drum and holds his guitar aloft soloing over ‘Sardines’ in a moment of rock’n’roll abandon from this quietly charming band.
With a big smile on our face, we drift from the gig space to the merch table chatting as we go. Sadly, the banter has worked. The tea towels are long sold out. SOURCE was simply too slow.
Green Door Store, Thursday 18th May 2023
Words by Nick McAllister
Photos by David Ma / Lochandas Thakurdas
