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Live Reviews

The Hunna

The Hunna

Junction, Cambridge

Monday 30th October 2023

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THE HUNNA – CAMBRIDGE – LIVE REVIEW

📸 (c) Denis Gorbatov / Full Pelt Music

It’s the night before Halloween and it’s a typical autumnal evening in Cambridge. The bars and restaurants are bustling and the Junction is doing what they do best and welcoming music fans in for an eclectic night of entertainment.

BAND OF SILVER

The first act to grace the stage this evening is Band of Silver hailing from Nashville. The sibling trio have a modest early crowd to win over, but they set about doing just that. The three bands tonight are an eclectic mix as already mentioned, but Band of Silver are pretty darn eclectic themselves!

Mixing rock and pop with elements of new wave and prog, there is an awful lot going on with their sound. This isn’t a bad thing and certainly makes for an interesting half hour, although the audience doesn’t really reciprocate the energy exuded from the stage. Further exploration of Band of Silver is definitely on the agenda though as the band do the most important thing and leave a mark.

SICK JOY

The main support act on the tour are Sick Joy who slow things down with their darker, grungier sound. The crowd has grown in both size and intensity as the venue is captivated by the groovy rockers.

Following the release of their debut album last year, Sick Joy are already building their next phase and recent single, ‘Hypodermic Sunshine’, gives a positive glimpse of what’s to come. The band are well on the way to establishing themselves as a must see act and shows like tonight will only grow their fanbase further.

THE HUNNA

Cultivating a fanbase isn’t something that has been a problem for our headliners The Hunna. Ever since the band broke through in 2016 they’ve been on the cusp of huge things. Their debut album has ensured that the band will always be able to pack out venues like tonight and it’s no surprise that by the time the band come on the venue is full and raring to go.

From the moment the band arrive onstage you feel in the presence of something special and the atmosphere ramps up throughout the likes of ‘We Could Be’, ‘Fugazi’, ‘I Wanna Know’ and ‘Can’t Break What’s Broken’.

Self-titled album, ‘The Hunna’ takes centre stage tonight amidst a well structured, career-spanning setlist. The album continues the bands momentum and is a great collection of songs, many of which come across well live tonight with ‘Apologies’ and show ender ‘Trash’ particular highlights.

The main set closing run of ‘She’s Casual’, ‘Bonfires’ and ‘Dare’ is electric as you’d expect and with the tease of new music on the horizon, it’s very clear that The Hunna still have plenty more to offer.

There were no tricks at the Junction tonight, but for those in attendance there were an abundance of treats!

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Read our review of ‘The Hunna’ from The Hunna

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Live Reviews

Frank Turner

Frank Turner

Junction, Cambridge

Friday 30th September 2022

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FRANK TURNER – CAMBRIDGE – LIVE REVIEW

You know that gig season is in full effect when you head along to a Frank Turner show. Yes, the man that is always on tour is on his rearranged ‘Never Ending Tour of Everywhere’. Tonight that means the Junction in Cambridge and another sold out show.

It’s almost a guarantee at a Turner show that you’ll be greeted by some fantastic support acts and this tour is certainly no different. Up first are Truckstop Honeymoon who serenade the crowd with their entertaining bluegrass folk sound, and their whimsical quips! The duo will be picking up many new fans on this tour as they introduce themselves properly to the UK.

The main support act on this tour is non-other than Pet Needs, who have featured on both our ‘Discover’ New Music and Full Pelt Music Podcasts. The band are intrinsically linked to Mr. Turner at the moment. He has produced both their albums and taken them on tour around the world. That said, it really feels like the band are breaking out and solidifying their own name.

Shows like tonight will go a long way towards that and it’s telling the amount of Pet Needs merchandise on display in the audience. Early fan favourites such as ‘Tracey Emin’s Bed’ and ‘Kayak’ intermix with new songs ‘Ibiza In Winter’ and ‘Fear for the Whole Damn World’ as the band showcase their enormous potential.

WATCH ‘GET ON THE ROOF’ FROM PET NEEDS ON YOUTUBE
Pet Needs – ‘Get on The Roof’

Read our review of ‘Primetime Entertainment’ from Pet Needs

Closing their generous time on stage with ‘Overcompensating’, ‘Toothpaste’ and ‘Get On the Roof’, anybody not yet alert to Pet Needs now surely are. The crowd give the band a huge ovation as they depart ready to continue to plot for world domination.

The audience is hot tonight and as Frank Turner takes to the stage the atmosphere is palpable. Imagine then the reaction as Turner bursts straight into a run of ‘Four Simple Words’, ‘The Gathering’, ‘Photosynthesis’, ‘Punches’ and ‘1933’ – hardly time for band or audience to breathe!

Turner’s latest album, ‘FTHC’, is a punk record and that ethos is certainly captured on this tour. Thankfully for Turner his audience are open to this change in pace and band and crowd are one tonight making this a great Friday night out.

Frank Turner is known to take particular care over his setlists and tonight is a typical career spanning affair with fan favourites, deep cuts and new tracks all on offer. Highlights tonight include ‘A Wave Across A Bay’, ‘Be More Kind’ and ‘Non Serviam’.

WATCH ‘NON SERVIAM’ FROM FRANK TURNER ON YOUTUBE
Frank Turner – ‘Non Serviam’ (Live)

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At this point you know what you are going to get from a Turner show, and that’s an amazing time. Realistically that makes him a very difficult person to review, his consistency and endurance are unrivalled and you never really get a misstep.

Tonight the show climaxes with an encore of ‘I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous’, ‘Recovery’, ‘Try This At Home’ and ‘I Still Believe’, which drains every remaining drop of energy out of the venue. Don’t take Turner for granted, get down to a show and have a great night!

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Read our review of ‘FTHC’ from Frank Turner

Watch Episode 1 of The Full Pelt Music Podcast with guest Frank Turner

The Full Pelt Music Podcast – Episode 1 – Frank Turner

Read our review of Arkells live in Norwich

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Live Reviews

Lonely The Brave

Lonely The Brave

Junction, Cambridge

Wednesday 21st September 2022

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LONELY THE BRAVE – CAMBRIDGE – LIVE REVIEW

It feels like an eternity ago that Lonely The Brave burst onto the scene with their incredible early EP, ‘Backroads’. That’s probably because that actually was almost a decade ago, and wow has the world been through some tough times since then.

It hasn’t all been smooth sailing for the band either, with the switch of vocalist in 2018 a major hurdle. Thankfully the band secured the talented Jack Bennett to fill the very big shoes of David Jakes.

The problem for the band now is that just when they would need momentum the most, the world stopped moving. The pandemic disrupted all people in all walks of life with the music industry hit very hard.  Imagine then the impact on Lonely The Brave as they looked to move seamlessly into their new era.

New album, ‘The Hope List’, was released in the midst of lockdown in January 2021 and plans to tour in support were naturally delayed. That time has belatedly arrived now and tonight they play a special hometown show at the Junction in Cambridge.

There are two support acts on tap with VLMV up first, captivating the early audience with a sonic smorgasbord of guitars, synths and vocals. Cult icon Jamie Lenman then blasts though a short set of new material which ramps up the intensity in the venue. Both acts have done a good job warming up a slightly lethargic crowd ready for the hometown heroes to arrive.

Welcomed warmly onstage Lonely The Brave instantly mix new tracks such as ‘Keeper’ and ‘Distant Light’ with old favourites like ‘Black Mire’ and ‘Trick of the Light’. This is a theme that continues throughout the evening.

WATCH ‘TICK OF THE LIGHT’ ON YOUTUBE
Lonely The Brave – ‘Trick of The Light’

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Bennett as we say has had big shoes to fill vocally and he manages to do those old favourites justice tonight whilst also adding new layers both sonically and corporeally.

There is an unusual tense atmosphere in the venue tonight, which feels highlighted by this being a hometown show. It’s only really when the likes of ‘The Blue, The Green’, ‘Backroads’ and ‘Black Saucers’ appear towards the end of the show that the audience relaxes a bit.

Performance wise the venue witnesses three strong sets tonight from three acts at varying stages of their careers. The industry is in a tough spot right now, but you’d hope there is enough talent on show here that these acts can kick on from here.

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Read our review of The Xcerts live in Cambridge

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Live Reviews

The Treatment

The Treatment

J2, Cambridge

Thursday 28th April 2022

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THE TREATMENT – J2 CAMBRIDGE – LIVE REVIEW

All 📸 (c) Denis Gorbatov / Full Pelt Music

Cambridge rockers The Treatment released their latest album, ‘Waiting For Good Luck’ a year ago now. With the country still in lockdown at the time, the band are only now getting to properly tour what is perhaps their best work.

As we talked about in our review of the album, constant line-up alterations have somewhat stifled the growth of the band. That is until now, and as the band discussed with us on The Full Pelt Music Podcast, they feel that they are entering a settled phase and are ready to push onwards and upwards once again.

‘Waiting For Good Luck’, was a positive indication but for rock musicians the bread and butter is in the live performance, so how are they holding up on that front? We head to the J2 in Cambridge to find out!

Read our review of ‘Waiting For Good Luck’

SOUTH OF SALEM

Opening up this evening are South of Salem who themselves have a pandemic era album to present. Tracks such as ‘Let Us Prey’, ‘Cold Day In Hell’ and ‘Demons Are Forever’ translate well on stage and get the early crowd suitably warmed up for what’s to follow.

PISTON

Hotly tipped rock group Piston follow on stage and ramp up the atmosphere further with a run through of tracks from their self-titled album. They finish their set with a rousing rendition of Creedence Clearwater Revival hit ‘Proud Mary’, which really gets the audience in the party spirit.

THE TREATMENT

That party truly gets going as locals The Treatment finally arrive on stage. The five-piece burst straight into ‘Let’s Get Dirty’ and ‘Let It Begin’ as those in attendance really let go.

Musically the band are tight and quickly demonstrate that they are fighting fit with the likes of ‘Devil In The Detail’ and ‘The Doctor’ sounding great. All new songs fit in well and sound excellent with ‘Wrong Way’ particularly standing out.

The band is an established act now with a dedicated following, but they’ve always had the potential to do more. With latest frontman Tom Rampton owning the stage and the rest of the band cohesive and polished, hopefully that long held potential can finally become reality.

As for tonight, a firing on all cylinders The Treatment plus an excitable hometown crowd equals a very memorable evening; an encore of ‘Rat Race’ and ‘Running With The Dogs’ sending fans home happy.

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Watch The Full Pelt Music Podcast with guests The Treatment

The Full Pelt Music Podcast – Episode 5 – The Treatment

Read our review of Ricky Warwick live in Norwich