A year into their career, Nashville four-piece Bully have already accumulated a diverse and avid fanbase. Darts were up first with a fast-paced set that unveiled agile tempo changes and thundering drums. The frantic yelling of guitarist Angus Ayres fell into balance with the sweeter calls of bassist Jessie Fernandez and guitarist Ally Campbell-Smith.
Rolling Blackouts’ sprawling folk rock narratives about love couldn’t quite match the intensity of Darts’ set. Vocals were shared among the band’s three guitarists, and whilst it’s an interesting move, Rolling Blackouts weren’t punk enough to make up for the flat delivery of all three singers. However, they hit the sweet spot with a change in tone on Wide Eyes, moving into a crunchier sound. This peaked with the dense instrumental French Press.
Bully began with I Remember, and churned through their first three songs without pause. The voice of frontwoman Alicia Bognanno cut throughwith its raspy edge; a beast much more powerful in the flesh. This abrasive quality extended to the rest of their sound also.
Bognanno was a laidback yet mesmerising frontwoman: “I don’t have anything to say,” she laughed during one prolonged break between songs, saving her voice for a performance that matched her honest lyricism. Her band mates mirrored her animation, whilst her cathartic screams pierced through the fuzz.
On songs such as Trash and Bully, Bognanno impressively flipped from a soft drawl to an intense howl. A cluster of punters threw themselves around down the front, their energy gradually seeping through to those surrounding them. Middle-aged men – keen for a ’90s throwback – nodded at the back and eagerly lined up for vinyl afterwards.
Bully gave us a no frills performance, and the brevity of their appearance corresponded perfectly with their robust noise. The band were their own roadies, kept words to a minimum, and punched through with intensity. Milkman finished off a set that drew exclusively from their debut album Feels Like. They had barely left the stage before reappearing for a furious encore of Butthole Surfers’ Who Was In My Room Last Night?
BY ANGELA CHRISTIAN-WILKES
Photo by Anna Madden
Loved: Wine dads dancing.
Hated: Worrying about my hummus breath when Bognanno sat near me during Darts’ set.
Drank: Aldi cider. Beforehand at home. Alone.
