Slowthai’s Banquet Records concert Review: manic but unforgettable!
The Northampton-born alternative artist played two back-to-back Banquet Records gigs in Kingston (Greater London) last weekend. The concerts showcased the love him and his fans share for new album ‘UGLY’!
The shows followed his six-date run of £1 ticket small pub shows at the beginning of March and a week following the release of his newest project ‘UGLY’. The album that includes a fusion of both punk and grime perfectly illuminates Tyron’s talent with creative lyrics, raw vocals and stripped back production.
Ty’s transparency and vulnerability in his storytelling is what enables him to connect to Britain’s younger generation.
This set of dedicated fans mostly made up of patchwork tattoo and mullet owners did not disappoint and really brought the frantic high energy you would associate with the punk genre to the venue of just under 2000.
Slowthai welcomed fans with a smile asking “how are we feeling? do you feel good? Do you feel great? Do you feel alive?” before joking “I heard a lot of you have been in spoons, so hopefully you’re a lively bunch tonight!”
Setlist:
- Selfish
- Sooner
- Feel Good
- HAPPY
- Sorrymum
- Wotz funny
- 25% Club
- adhd
- feel away
- falling
- Tourniquet
- Deal Wiv it
- Doorman
- Yum (encore)
Slowthai began the setlist with 7 songs from the new album including upbeat singles ‘Feel Good’ and ‘HAPPY’. As soon as the music started the crowd instantly began pushing, jumping, drink throwing and opening up the mosh pit in true punk fashion.
The live band played flawlessly adding so much more to the performance and overall atmosphere. The small venue allowed everyone to have a great view of the stage and the option of being a part of the intense pushing or watching safely from the side-lines.
Tyron himself seemed overwhelmed with joy and contentment as he performed, taking complete ownership of the stage. After receiving a bouquet of flowers from a loving fan he went on to express his gratitude for the people in the room as well as his friends and family.
Slowthai then calmed it down, playing a collection of slower ballads. This includes two slower more emotional songs off his last album ‘TYRON’ (that reached number 1 in the Official Charts) called ‘adhd’ and ‘feel away’. Whilst watching his faultless performance I noticed a handful of listeners in the crowd being reduced to tears highlighting just how meaningful his tracks can be. Although, to ruin the wholesome moment between Slowthai and his admirers the mosh-pits (rather embarrassingly) continued.
To end the incredible show, Slowthai performed two older songs from 2019, fan-favourites ‘Deal Wiv it’ and ‘Doorman’. The crowd’s jumping had the whole room shaking at one point. And to be honest being at the edge of the mosh pit for a whole 10 seconds was enough for me, although it felt like a near death experience – it was completely worth it.
The encore was the opening track to the new album ‘Yum’ and was the ideal ending to what was a lively and euphoric show, Ty left the stage thanking fans and telling them he will be back again soon.
Slowthai took to twitter after the show, saying “tonight was banging” and retweeted a video from the show captioning it “beautiful”.
Overall, I was seriously impressed by Slowthai’s vocals and overall performance. As a frequent Banquet Record’s show attender, I would say this has been my favourite of all, topping huge mainstream artists such as Stormzy. This is simply due to the enormous amount of energy and emotion that Tyron radiates that he feeds straight back into the crowd.
