This Halloween, The Bodega was haunted by a particularly aptly named headliner; Deadletter. Giving an energetic, tight and memorable performance, the post-punk sextet cast their magic on Nottingham’s punters for a night of pure fun...
Before Deadletter took to the stage, we were offered a support radiating a different energy to the headliner’s sardonic sourness. Sun King presented a wonderfully warm set, comprised of feel-good jazz, funk and rock tracks. One of their newer tracks, ‘My God is the Sea’ particularly dazzled, with frontman NAME showing off some true classic rock style vocals, accompanied by the gorgeously bright keyboard motifs from Jeanie. They’ve got a bundle of energy and are infectiously fun to watch. I also especially enjoyed the dissonance between their monochrome outfits, in the spirit of Halloween. We had robbers, harlequins and the most incredible striped corset I’ve ever seen. A+ for effort.
And then, a gang of cats took to the stage. Donning cat ears, whiskers and black slip dresses, Deadletter opened their set with an excellent crowd-warmer; ‘The Snitching Hour’. From the offset, we were introduced to frontman Zac Lawrence’s unique performance style as he stone-faced, brows furrowed sang out ‘love thy neighbour’, accompanied by the incredibly excited crowd. George Ullyott, on bass, offered a similar intensity, with the extra spooky addition of red gemstones on his eyelids to create the illusion of possessed eyes; a whimsical bit that he still stone-faced played into, in a way that kept making my eyes dart over, slightly freaked out (in a good way).
I wasn’t quite sure if a pit would be formed during the gig or not before it started, as in terms of age range, it leaned a little more towards 6Music dad than students, but I was pleasantly surprised that by the time we were halfway through song 2, ‘Hero’, one had formed. For boisterous post-punk, a pit is well warranted, and I’m glad Nottingham provided, but in a way where everyone could still feel part of the gig, whether they wanted to participate or not.
While a fair few of the tracks played haven’t reached streaming services just yet, each one still attracted similar levels of enthusiasm from the audience. However, ‘Fit For Work’, summoned the beast from the crowd, with fans surrounding me singing it back word perfect, with unified outbursts of the title as the song demands, with fists in the air raised.
Zac Lawrence took a trip into the crowd sitting down with the audience towards the back end of the set, sat ever so similarly to a cat, befitting the costume. Slinking out of the crowd, still never bearing anything even close to a smile, he managed to play with the audience, baiting them out before the band recommenced to order a pit. It’s clear that the band understand how to put on a good show and engage with their audiences, without losing their commitment to their artistry and to the atmosphere they’re looking to provide. Deadletter are a band that know exactly what they’re doing.
They’ve got it all; brass in the form of Poppy Richler on saxophone, fleshed out and incredibly well-crafted interweaving riffs and chords from guitarists Will King and James Bates and thrashing rhythms from drummer Alfie Husband.
If you’ve not seen them already, then do. They’ve got both tricks, and treats.
Deadletter performed at The Bodega on 31 October 2023
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