Benjamin Brown Archives - Full Pelt Music

Three Wise Monkeys, Colchester

Friday 3rd December 2021

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BEANS ON TOAST – COLCHESTER – LIVE REVIEW

This is our first visit to Three Wise Monkeys in Colchester and we discover a fantastic little venue above the pub on a vibrant and Christmassy Friday night in the town centre. Our reason for visiting is cult folk singer Beans On Toast, as he hits the road to support new album, ‘Survival of the Friendliest’.

The support slots tonight from local singer Benjamin Brown and main tour support Kitty Liv sail by, which is a complement to both for their delightful performances.

Soon enough it’s time for the man himself to grace the intimate stage and for this tour he is joined by Liv, and Mystery Jets bassist Jack Flanagan to fill out his sound during portions of the set.

The first portion of the show sees the three-piece serenade the audience with a mixture of old and new tracks. New songs ‘A Beautiful Place’, ‘Blow Volcano Blow’ and ‘Not Everyone Thinks We’re Doomed’ take centre stage and showcase his wonderful new album ‘Survival of the Friendliest’.

As with all Beans On Toast shows, there are sing-a-longs galore with ‘Watching the World Go By’, ‘I’m Home When You Hold Me’ and ‘The War On War’ all coming early on. Soon its left for Beans alone to break out a number of favourites and rarities such as ‘A Whole Lot of Loving’ and ‘Peter Pan’s Playground’.

Towards the end of the night Liv and Flanagan return for another superb collaboration on songs such as ‘Humans’ and ‘Let’s Get Married Again’ from that new album.

At the end of his encore, Beans On Toast is joined on stage by long time friend and collaborator Frank Turner for ‘The Album of the Day’. A great treat for fans, and evidence that you should expect the unexpected at a Beans show.

A fantastic evening of songs, stories and laughs is closed out with ‘On & On’ which sees the main man backed by Flanagan, Liv and Turner for a truly spectacular finale. Tonight was just further evidence that Bean On Toast is an underground national treasure!

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Check out Episode 3 of The Full Pelt Music Podcast with our guest Beans On Toast!

The Snuts

Colchester Arts Centre

Tuesday 23rd November 2021

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THE SNUTS – COLCHESTER ARTS CENTRE – LIVE REVIEW

Winter is most definitely coming! It’s rather cold as we join the queue to enter the beautiful Colchester Arts Centre. Surprisingly for a sold out gig, despite arriving just five minutes before doors opening, the queue is somewhat sparse.

Once inside, the venue does slowly begin to fill during the opening set from local music scene regular Benjamin Brown (Dingus Khan/SuperGlu). Whilst those familiar with his work enjoy his set, there is a general ambivalence amongst the rest of the crowd.

By the time our next support act, Grace Barr, takes to the stage the venue is packed. Sadly most of those in the venue are more interested in talking to each other than listening to Barr, which makes it quite hard to hear her performance. What is audible does sound very good, so it’s a shame the crowd don’t seem to care.

The mood changes the instant our headliners The Snuts grace the stage. The compact venue is then transformed from noisy Wetherspoons to Reading Festival main stage. Instantly there are people up on shoulders and pints, bottles and cups flying across the crowd. It would appear that The Snuts have certainly captured the hearts of what is often coined the lad rock crowd.

WATCH ‘GLASGOW’ ON YOUTUBE

The Snuts – ‘Glasgow’

There is no doubt that this band are going to be huge, and they are already creeping up next years’ festival posters. A number one album, sold out shows and the audience reaction tonight all hint to that destiny. But, if they are to achieve it they will need great music to back them up.

Thankfully for them on the evidence of tonight, they have that in abundance. That number one album, ‘W.L.’ is naturally the focus of the evening and ‘Glasgow’, ‘All Your Friends’, ‘Always’ and ‘Juan Belmonte’ provide a stunning opening to their performance.

Read our review of ‘W.L.’

‘Maybe California’, ‘Burn the Empire’, ‘Elephants’ and ‘Top Deck’ are all highlights too as the band blast through their set to the delight of the crazed audience. The crowd are sent off into the night with an encore of ‘Sing for Your Supper’.

Another successful gig in the bank for The Snuts, who are unlikely to be back in venues this small anytime soon! Expect to see their name everywhere over the next few years.