Gig review: Skating Polly at The Bodega

It is always good to see local bands getting the opportunity to open for touring bands. Tonight, first up on stage in support are local band Push Rope, who get warmly welcomed by the (local) crowd. Almost apologetically they inform us that this is their first live show since March and so hope they aren’t too rusty. They really shouldn’t have worried as they launch into a short but powerful set of infectious melodies, driving riffs and catchy tracks. They open with Spirals which has the crowd chanting along before dropping Normal which they inform us is the first song they ever wrote together. Singer Georgia is in great form especially on tracks such as Forbidden Fruit which goes down a storm.

But the highlight has to be the brilliantly named Fake It Until You Make It, pretty much the anthem of my life (lol), which is punchy, bright and lively. They round off the set with Every Fall Is Forever from their 2026 EP Every Fall. It has a wonderfully laid back vibe running through it.

A great set, and the perfect way to start tonight’s proceedings.

Next up are Lord Friday the 13th, a band I’d not heard of before this tour. I’m not sure if it was a co-headline tour, but the tour posters teased were striking being all white, with black writing, and two sets of lips, in a very Rocky Horror-esque fashion. One set showing teeth pointy like a vampire…

Lord Friday the 13th are based in LA and describe themselves as "a dollar store trash-glam-punk band". Fronted by siblings Felix (vocals) and Sloane (guitar) Lenz, their sound has been described as the Velvet Underground meets the New York Dolls, with elements of early Iggy and the Stooges thrown in for good measure.

As the band take to the stage it is hard to garner an idea of what to expect. The bass player sports a retro ‘70s vibe like a member of The Doors, the drummer is casual and could be in be in a hardcore band, and Sloane on guitar is in a short, elegant black dress. 

Then Felix takes to the stage. Tall already, but in platform boots, he towers over the crowd. He is dressed in a leather jacket, covering a short black leather dress with a spray-painted smiling face on it, and sporting a wild black head piece with large ‘bat-like’ wings, which reminded me somewhat of the Marilyn Manson Mickey hat. Turning to face the audience, his teeth are painted into sharp points like on the poster. You know this is going to be VERY different.

They open the set with Daipers and grab the room by the scruff of the neck and shake every last ounce of energy from the crowd. At the heart of their sound is the age old two-and-a-half-minute punk track. Short, snappy and to the point, but they embellish it with swathes of glam rock tones and nuance. Sloane and Felix work effortlessly off each other, delivering vamp-like performances.

It is chaotic and wild and yet somehow feels warm and reassuring. The songs, including Babe Spoiler Alert and Bad Mother, focus in on relationships (both positive and inappropriate, such as a crush on a much older guy).

Then there is St. Judy, a tribute to the icon who is Judy Garland, which goes down a treat with the packed Bodega. The songs also touch on political/cultural issues (Bigots Beware).

As the set progresses, Felix’s costume reduces in size. First the jacket and headpiece go, then the dress, and he now struts round the stage in big boots and a long camisole underwear outfit. Felix later steps down into the crowd to sing, and reappears to the side of the stage, camisole gone, now simply sporting a jockstrap. His utter confidence and comfort in his own skin is admirable.

Lord Friday the 13th end their set with Big Mac (hazard a guess about what?), and the Nottingham crowd lap it up. It's chaotic, it's raw, it's emotional. It wasn’t just visual shock, it was great, entertaining glam-punk. A band certainly worth watching out for.

Then it’s time for tonight’s headliners, Skating Polly. Hailing from Oklahoma City, Skating Polly were formed by step-sisters Kelli Drew Mayo and Peyton McKenna Bighorse (who is Native American Cheyenne and Arapaho descent). The siblings are multi-instrumentalists and first formed the band when they were just nine and 14 years old, respectively, in 2009! 2017 saw the addition of Kelli’s brother Kurtis Lee Mayo on drums.

They dropped their debut album Taking Over the World as early as 2010 but rose to prominence with the release of Hail Mary (co-written with Louise Post and Nina Gordon of Veruca Salt) in 2017, a song about being addicted to poisonous and toxic people, and struggling to break free from a destructive relationship or environment. Skating Polly are from the pop-punk mould, alongside UK artists such as Lauran Hibberd and Ugly Ozo, but add a hefty dose of utter mayhem to the mix.

They start their Nottingham set with Singalong from their 2023 album Chaos County Line followed by Hickey King and they immediately impress with their energy and vitality. Peyton and Kelli are complete opposites on stage, both technically very skilled, while Peyton is quiet, Kelli is flamboyant and crazy. There’s a wild edge to her on stage persona, akin to something like the Lambrini Girls.

All the hits are here starting with the excellent Little Girl Blue and the Battle Envy, which starts with a slow, solemn bass line as Kelli delivers the vocals with raw emotion, and then in the chorus sections, the track simply explodes into life, packed with anger and emotion.

The middle of the set sees a run of newer material, including latest singles Grannies and Krobus and Man Out There from their latest album. On the album they are joined by David Yow; for the live show he is replacedby Felix from Lord Friday the 13th who returns to the stage now fully dressed and with a headdress on. The band jokes how he and Kelli are physically like twins and they share the same interest in men. The juxtaposition of Petite Kelli and giant Felix is comically good, and they seem to feed off each other’s energy through the song. 

Louder in Outer Space sees Peyton take over the main vocals. A fantastic track and another example of how they effortlessly mix slow, melody with raucous riffs. The chorus of “Can you hear that harmony, I can hear it in my sleep, I can hear it even louder in outer space” is sung heartily by the crowd. It's infectious and a modern pop-punk anthem. Another classic, Camelot, sees Kelli in full flow, belting out the lyrics, whilst high kicking and bending over backwards towards the crowd. The energy levels have not dropped once since the start.

As the set draws to a close, Kelli and Peyton switch roles, with Kelli on guitar and Peyton on bass as they deliver a stunning rendition of their hit Hail Mary. It's a great song, packed with raw emotion and expression about a difficult subject, and they handle it sensitively. Again, as the chorus sections loom, the track explodes into life, like a release of tension and frustration... Powerful stuff.

They close the set with They’re Cheap (I’m Free), an older but hard hitting track written about a high-class businessman / politician who cheats on his wife with prostitutes; Kelli sings it from the perspective of the wife. Here Peyton takes over on drums as Kelli returns to bass, and Kurtis takes up the guitar using a drum stick to saw against the strings creating a wall of noise. It's dark, moody and powerful and yet still retains that punk anarchy at its heart. The crowd are just in awe and going crazy. 

And before we know it, it’s all over. Unfortunately, with a club night right after the show, there is not much time for meeting the crowd, but Skating Polly delivered a memorable night. I was sorry to see the fantastic Tiger at the Drugstore not make the setlist, or one of their earliest numbers Carrots which has simply one of the best anthemic chorus sections of all time (“Carrots….. they’re green at the top and orange at the bottom").

Push Rope set the night going in grand style, Lord Friday the 13th delivered a wonderfully quirky and mischievous set, and to top it all off Skating Polly wowed the crowd with some of the best pop-punk going. I’m already looking forward to their return to our home town.

Skating Polly performed at The Bodega on 16 October 2026, with support from Lord Friday the 13th and Push Rope