THE WYTCHES - FACE BAR, READING (LIVE)

We often find ourselves gigging in London with the odd venture further afield to towns up North like Leeds and Manchester or along the South Coast at Bournemouth and Southampton, but very rarely do we find ourselves at a gig in Reading. So when The Wytches at Face Bar was brought to our attention we had little to no choice on the matter, an intimate local gig on a Monday night what could be better? Face Bar is a great patron for those, much loved, small gig venues out there. They stand firm during this blistering music climate we currently reside in where, more often than not, the only time you hear the words Rock & Roll are when followed by ‘is dead’. It operates on the outer ring of Reading’s epicentre in a quiet industrial estate, from the outside looking like a seedy strip bar just off an American interstate; these premonitions couldn’t be further from the reality. Hit by the smell of beer, sweat and euphoria, a concoction that to most isn’t associated with a good night out but rather a dodgy alley in Brixton. This is for others a welcoming scent; one that triggers a pallet of emotions from nostalgia to elation. The thick humid air hits you instantly and with it the abrupt greeting of voices and conversations that all morph together into one muffled background noise, that becomes secondary to the overpowering sound of amps and drum kits during sound check. An experience that is fond in the hearts of many music fans and a feeling that most will never get tired of. Only a short train ride away from our base of operations we had an evening in store that would blast away those Monday blues. The weekends hangover was still vaguely prominent at this point, lurking about like an unwanted house guest that’s overstayed their welcome, ‘The Wytches’ grimey riffs were sure to give this pest the rude awakening it deserved.

We managed to miss the post work rush hour and actually arrive at the venue in time to catch supporting acts The Vulgarians and Baby In Vain. Both were very impressive, Baby In Vain, a heavy female fronted Rock band from Denmark who clearly set out to impress during their brief stint with The Wytches. Weighty riffs, harsh drums and eargasmic solos definitely one to check out if you’re into that. The Vulgarians, pretty much a direct outcome of The Wytches cloning programme with potentially just a little less bite, their sound is very similar to that eerie delayed tremolo effect we hear on Annabel Dream Reader so frequently. Equally as impressive and again a band that shouldn’t be ignored. The awesome thing about these types of gigs is the removal of that ‘us and them’ feeling you get at larger shows. Standing in the depths of a crowd looking up at a beloved band in all their glory has its perks, don’t get me wrong, but smaller gigs have a certain charm that makes them infinitely more appealing. The venue is the size of someone’s front room, the sound isn’t perfect the beers dirt cheap and you can grab a band tee for a fiver not to mention how easy it is to walk onto the stage. This is all part of the parcel at Face Bar, on our way for that last minute vital piss we bumped into The Wytches in the corridor just before they came on, I mean, okay it’s not the same as bumping into Jack White or Alex Turner in a dingy hallway outside a bog but the notion isn’t far off? It was great to see the support band’s getting involved during The Wytches set standing amongst the crowd and interacting with fans again something we feel lacks from the experience at larger gigs.

It goes without saying really, the set itself was awesome. Packed with everything we’ve all come to expect from The Wytches, their distinctly deranged phsycadelic surf rock is entrancing. It’s impressive how they manage the contrasting balance of heavy and mellow sections, they carry you through the songs in an airy and floating style with their bass lines and rhythms whilst simultaneously releasing intermittent burst of satanic evil. Imagine being carried through a kaleidoscope of colours and patterns in the sky on a large cloud and every so often being struck by a thunderous hail and lightening storm that derails your rather enjoyable and relaxing journey. Two middle aged men were planted at the foot of the bar all night, they stood reminiscing on the ‘old days’ about ‘real’ rock bands like AC/DC and Led Zeppelin seemingly ill-informed about the band they had come to see from their general lack of enthusiasm. As we stumbled our way to the exit, we walked past the two men, who to put rather bluntly were absolutely buzzing, clearly blown away by what they had just experienced. One turned to the other and said ‘this band is like a new mix of Black Sabbath and Nirvana with a little more melody’. We couldn’t have said it better ourselves, in fact we made the exact same comparison back in July when we saw them at Truck Festival. To elaborate on this comparison you could even stretch a little further and say that aspects of Annabel Dream Reader can be likened to The Arctic Monkeys partial grunge faze back in 2009 when they released Humbug. Touching back on the smoky fluidity and fuzz that can be heard on tracks like ‘Pretty Visitors’ this is an album that we feel The Wytches have taken much inspiration from. But what the fuck do we now ey?! The set as a whole was creepy, they managed to create this unsettled atmosphere that feels like a pagan ritual or the climax of a psychological thriller. They wouldn’t look out of place on a stage in a haunted house that’s for sure.

Having just released the ‘Thunder Lizards Reprieve’ EP they were bound to play some new material which was great. Their set featured ‘A Dead Night Again’ and ‘Wasteybois’ as well as some other crackers from Annabel Dream Reader like ‘Gravedweller’ and ‘Burn Out The Bruise’ which you can grab on 7” Vinyl from our STORE. Check out the whole setlist here: http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-wytches/2015/face-bar-reading-england-4bf56f82.html. Recent news in The Wytches world suggests that they are now near completion of their follow up album which will be released at some point this year so keep your eyes peeled for that. As soon as we know anymore on that we will keep you all informed and should have the LP available on our STORE when it’s released. If their debut album is anything to go by you would be mad to miss the follow up!