Michael Prince heads down to JT Soar for Sophie Diver, Diablo Furs and The Flatmates...
It was good to be back at JT Soar.
Sophie Diver was first up with a selection of her poetry. Personal, incisive and acerbic, she recited tales of toilets conversations, pigeons, and sibling rivalry, all presented with joy and clarity.
I hadn’t seen anyone giving a poetry reading for a while; Sophie’s poetry was confident and humorous and definitely needs publishing. She already has a Radio 4 play under her belt (The Cupboard) and this is just another string to her bow.
Diablo Furs were next, and a complete contrast to Diver. Noise, noise, noise, and so much energy. They have described themselves as punk, post punk and pop, and don’t appear the take themselves seriously, something that paradoxically shows how professional they are.
Thumping good raucous tunes, they were full of energy. They rocked the night – with their punk credentials, they gave it their all.
It’s sometimes good not to know a connection with the bands past. It turns out that Diablo Furs is the new band from Birdland lead vocalist Rob Vincent, who I saw down at Venus on Stanford Street in Nottingham years ago. Thanks to Ian from Horowitz for enlightening me over a post gig pint in the Billy.
One thing that connected the evening was the DIY ethic. Sophie’s poems that deserve publishing, Diablo Furs who show their passions, and following performers The Flatmates, who continue to follow their pop path they started years ago. JT Soar is the perfect, if slightly small, venue for all of this.
The Flatmates’ Martin has gained a beard through lockdown, though he wants to remove it now. I think he should keep it. Rocker was still reeling from his tale of a Nutella and banana pizza and Lisa as ever was beaming from ear to ear.
Some classics and some new, it seems strange that the new incarnation of The Flatmates has been around longer than the original line-up were in the 1990s, when they produced a couple of brilliant singles as part of the Bristol indie scene, dominated by Sarah Records and The Subway Organisation.
Sadly, mainstream success eluded them at the time, but undeterred in the 2000s with a new singer and new songs, they hit the road again. Finally, they released their long-awaited debut LP – which has a nice picture of a horse on the cover!
Swedish Punk moth Lisa bounces around with so much energy, though during the set she admitted it’s not always easy to dance like this and sing at the same time. But this is live music and exactly how it should be, not a sterile recording-backed stadium gig.
Compact JT Soar might be, but it has a massive heart.
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