Priestgate at Bodega, Nottingham
- Ruby Atkinson
- Mar 15, 2023
- 4 min read
A wonderful night with a band who wants to do things people in Driffield don't do
Review by Ruby Atkinson
Images by Lauren W
Edited by Lia Qin
We received this gig review in a very A Lucid Dream way. I met Ruby last November at one of the Fontaines D.C. shows - she had a super neat face paint so I had to snap a picture! We later found each other online, chatted about the gigs we had planned for 2023, Ruby was particularly excited about seeing Priestgate and kindly offered to write about it after she sees them. It all happened organically, which is what we're proud of and also grateful about this little community. We love (LOVE!!!) when our friends, both new and old ones, are comfortable enough to share their magical evenings with us. Every piece you've sent us is special and amazing and sexy and beautiful and super fun to read. Thank you all for being so kind and trusting for the past 6 months, stay connected with us, join us, and most importantly, enjoy your read of Priestgate's Bodega show last month!
My first gig of 2023 was not one that I had been anticipating for a while, but by the time it came around I was counting down the days. Priestgate, described in NME as “a rousing and euphoric blend of dream-pop with a gothic post-punk undercurrent”, were a band recommended to me by my friend and frequent gig companion Anna, but it had taken me time to listen to them. However, after watching a few live shows on youtube (such as their amazing performance at XOYO filmed by Lou Smith - click here to watch) and discovering their full (if short) discography, I fell in love with their sound and captivating on-stage performances. It was at Bodega in Nottingham, the final show of their tour for Dork magazine hype list, that I got to see the band that I had had on repeat for weeks. The small size of the venue was perfect for their lively and interactive style, and we ended up front row.
The first support of the evening was local band Victory Lap, who had a dramatic and powerful atmosphere, and showed a lot of emotion in their playing. They were followed by Bleach Lab who were joining Priestgate on a few dates of their tour. They had a soft, melodic sound, and I really loved singer Jenna Kyle’s voice. Both were bands I would love to see again.
Finally, it was time for the main event. Anticipation had been building during the short interval, and when the band came on stage to set up we really started to get excited. The musicians of the band (guitarists Isaac (Zac) Ellis and Connor Bingham, bassist Kai Overton and drummer Bridie Stagg) led us in with the intro to Memory Loser, an unreleased song that I’ve seen them open with on a couple live performances on youtube. Singer Rob Schofield then burst onto the stage in his usual emphatic fashion, running to scream into the microphone before kicking off with his lively dance moves, straddling the mic stand and whipping his head side to side. The atmosphere was already electric as they moved to their second song, a released song called By the Door, with its catchy, head-bobbing intro, but emotional lyrics.
Throughout the concert, the band played all 8 of their as-yet-released songs, including the brilliant new single White Shirt, as well as 5 songs not yet out, of which my personal favourite was Lucifer (or Lucy Fur, going by the name on the setlist). Rob was an incredible frontman – walking into the crowd, hanging on to the arm of Zac Ellis, taking the roses we had brought (and which ended up decimated on stage) and doing some impressive high kicks. We left largely uninjured, although I did at one point take a mic stand to the face, which only seemed to add to the experience. The set was brought to a close by the beautiful Summ(air), a melancholy song lyrically but with a bright danceable tune, followed by the unreleased Objects of Use. It felt too soon for the gig to be ending, and I could definitely have listened for hours more.
Afterwards, we went to the merch stand, where we talked to Bridie and Zac, and were lucky enough to get a photo with them and Rob. We had also managed to grab setlists which we got signed by all of the band, and after having told them maybe too many times about how much we loved the show, we finally dragged ourselves away from what was easily a contender for the best gig I have ever experienced. I cannot encourage anyone enough to listen to them, and if you have the chance to go to one of their live shows for the unmatched performance that they put on. They deserve to be absolutely massive, and I hope we get more gigs and music from them soon!
Setlist (11/Feb/2023):
Memory Loser
By The Door
Eyes Closed For The Winter
Feel It
Lay By
Now
Credits
White Shirt
Bedtime Story
Lucifer
Some Things Never Change
Summ(air)
Objects of Use
Check out Priestgate on their Official Website, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, and Facebook
Don't forget to also give their new EP 'One Shade Darker' a spin (Spotify/Apple Music/Amazon Music)
As always, we're looking for anyone who would like to join A Lucid Dream by writing a gig review/album review or selecting songs for our weekly playlists - please don't be shy and get in touch with us with any idea via email (notaluciddream@gmail.com), Instagram DM (@notaluciddream) or the contact form on our website. Love you lots! See you in the next article.
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