It’s been two years since indie rock band Porridge Radio last played in Nottingham. Now back with a fantastic new album Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me, the quartet led by frontwoman Dana Margolin brought their powerful live show to Rescue Rooms for the first stop on their UK tour. We went along to check it out…
Kicking things off tonight are newcomers Casual Smart, an indie quintet from Cardiff. They were unknown to me before tonight, and I suspect it would have been the same for the reasonable crowd that has gathered to watch their opening set.
“This is our first show in England” reveals pianist and vocalist Peter Martin; “in fact, this is our first show outside of Cardiff.”
With the band all donning sunglasses, they keep their cool throughout, even when faced with a couple of technical difficulties early in the set. Brushing these off, they hugely impress with their classical-tinged indie, reminiscent of Black Country, New Road. One of the standout moments is when Peter Martin politely asks the audience to shut up, as guitarist Emily Beal then plays a song solo to near pin-drop silence. Then after performing their debut single It doesn’t get any easier, named after advice from another band, their set ends with all five members gathered around the microphones, passionately singing the refrain “I didn’t need you then and I don’t need you now”. A stirring performance that definitely marks them as ones to watch going forward.
After a short interval to top up our glasses and catch a glimpse of the snowfall that has begun outside, it’s then back inside for tonight’s headliners - Porridge Radio. Dancing their way onto the stage to trance classic Born Slippy by Underworld, a flashing orange glow emerging from the stage lights as they do, it’s then straight down to business with wonderful recent single, Sick of the Blues.
Tonight’s setlist pulls heavily from their most recent album, with all but one of the tracks from that record getting an airing tonight. Given the strength of that album, it’s no bad thing, as songs like I Got Lost and A Hole in the Ground both sound fantastic.
“Thanks for being at the first UK show of this tour and thanks to Casual Smart,” says frontwoman
Dana Margolin, addressing the crowd for the first time this evening. It’s then into one of the highlights of their new album, and indeed tonight’s set, as God of Everything Else manages to pack even more of an emotional punch live than it does on record, thanks to Margolin’s raw, angsty
vocals.
“We’ve been a band for 10 years and it’s the first time I’ve ever had two guitars on stage – proof you can always grow,” jokingly reveals Margolin, switching to her electric acoustic for a gorgeous performance of Wednesday. After that, it’s into the thunderous roar of You Will Come Home, the poetic howls of Lavender, Raspberries and the dark melancholic swirls of duo In A Dream I’m A Painting and Anybody.
It's then time for the band to reach back into their discography, performing crowd-pleaser Long, from their Mercury Prize-nominated album Every Bad, followed by riveting standalone 2020 single, 7 Seconds.
The main set is brought to an emphatic finish thanks to Back To The Radio, with a few people in the audience noticeably singing along.
The band are offstage for barely a moment before they are called back for the encore, beginning with the beautiful sways of Pieces of Heaven, which is another strong highlight of the night.
“Someone messaged requesting this song and we’ve never actually played it with Dan (guitarist) in the band” explains Margolin, as they roll out the scintillating Born Confused. It’s the first performance of the track live for two years, which ends in devastating fashion thanks to Margolin’s anguished cries of “Thank you for making me happy!”. The rare outing for the song comes at a price though, as another big fan favourite in The Rip is seemingly dropped from the setlist altogether. It’s a shame for us folks catching Porridge Radio for the first time, but it’s hard to be too mad as the band close the night on a blistering rendition of another Every Bad cut, Sweet.
A band I’ve been wanting to see for a few years now, Porridge Radio didn’t disappoint – even with
my favourite song being cut from the setlist. In a way it’s quite clever, as it just means I’ll have to catch them again, either at an upcoming festival or next time they come to Nottingham. On the latter, here’s hoping it’s not two years again before they return.
Porridge Radio performed at Rescue Rooms on 18th November 2024, with support from Casual Smart.
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