Blood Red Shoes / The Fleece / Bristol

Jun 15

Jun 15 Blood Red Shoes / The Fleece / Bristol

I had planned on seeing Blood Red Shoes at Nottingham’s Rescue Rooms back in January, but when the tour was postponed (Covid strikes again) there unfortunately weren’t dates available for Nottingham. This was a show I was determined not to miss and even better I’m back at one of my favourite venues in Bristol and a night at The Fleece !

In December 2021 we got to review their latest album release “Ghosts on Tape” which came out in January 2022. It got a solid gold 10 then, and to this day, it is a release that gets regular play round here.

A decent sized crowd arrived early for this one, and were entertained by a great set from CIEL, who have recently signed to Blood Red Shoes’ record label Jazz Life. The trio from the UK, Spain and the Netherlands brought their dark indie pop vibe to the proceedings and it clearly resonated with the crowd. The driving force in their sound is the grungy, effect pedal distorted guitar playing of Jorge Bela Jimenez backed up by stead beats from drummer Lawrie Miller. Layered over the top of this are the softly sung vocals of bass player Michelle Hindriks.

This was the first night on the tour and their first ever UK show, and in the opening 2 or 3 songs it showed a little, but I’m sure as their confidence grows and the tour progresses, it will result in an awesome set from start to finish. Lots of distorted contorted guitars, it reminded me a little of Pale Waves / Hot Milk, that kind of stuff, but with a darker edge to it.

A most enjoyable set, and definitely one to watch out for. CIEL are touring the UK later in the ear, and I’ll certainly be looking to catch them again.

As Blood Red Shoes took to the stage, they got the set off the mark with Elijah from the 2019 album ‘Get Tragic’, a monster of a track with lots of great fuzzy guitar tones and a great groove to it before the first track from the new album Morbid Fascination, for me a stand out track. Despite expecting the majority of the night to be a homage to the new album, there were actually only three songs from ‘Ghosts on Tape’ through the 18 song set list. I Wish I Was Someone Better from 2008’s ‘Box of Secrets’ was p next and wowed !

However, this was no disappointment at all, and the set was a great reflection on the best material from their 18 year career and six albums. There is so much depth, and great material in there I don’t think anyone could be disappointed by the selection on offer tonight !

With a second guitarist to add additional depth, and filling in for some of the synth tones and lines on the album it worked really well - the combination of lead lines complementing the raw, gnarled rock sound from Laura-Mary Carter’s guitar nicely.

The 90-minute set reflected the wealth of material that the band had to draw from and it had the crowd gripped from first note to last. With Steven Ansell’s drum set positioned front of the stage right, positioned sideways so the audience really felt part of his performance, at times climbing up on the set to the delight of the crowd. His energy levels are simply incredible.

Their relaxed style led to an easy and relaxed interaction with the crowd. Two of the three new album tracks played, Murder Me and Sucker were saved until close to the of the main set. Murder Me is one of my favourites from the album, and the delivery tonight is exceptional.

The night closed with the excellent singles God Complex from their latest album ‘Ghosts on Tape’ and Colours Fade and here they were at their absolute best. A fitting end to a great night.

What really struck me about Blood Red Shoes, was the incredible chemistry between Laura-Mary Carter and Steven Ansell, who seem to know each other inside out and compliment each other perfectly.

Blood Red Shoes delivered a highly entertaining night and showed why they have lasted so long. I can’t wait for the next chance I get to see them live !

Set List

Elijah

Morbid Fascination

Howl

I Wish I Was Someone Better

Don’t’ Ask

Cold

Lost Kids

This is Not for You

Red River

Je Me Perds

An Animal