‘Dingy.’ ‘Cramped.’ ‘Iconic.’ All words this reviewer heard others use to describe The 100 Club when mentioning we were attending a show here, and all are correct. As a big fan of this venue and its incredible history, which adorns its walls in many, many photographs, our excitement levels were at rooftop levels as we shuffled down the stairs into this hallowed space.
Opening the night was Eaves Wilder, a 19-year-old ball of energy who, to our delight, was playing a cover of Girls Aloud’s ‘Biology’ as we walked in, a song which doesn’t get the credit it deserves as a pop masterpiece. Her shoegazey music was perfect for kicking the night off, including recent single ‘Are You Diagnosed?’ and ‘I Stole Your Jumper’, a favourite of ours. To finish the set (and celebrating 4/20) was another excellent cover, this time of Blur’s ‘She’s So High’. Keep an eye on this one. Following her was The Velvet Hands, who clearly had a few fans in the room as their high-energy indie filled up the room and warmed up a few people’s voices for the main event.
Trampolene walked on to the sounds of 2021’s ‘Gotta Do More, Gotta Be More’ and a mighty roar from the crowd. As is customary for a Trampolene show, once the energy hits an early high, it never lets up. Following ‘Shoot the Lights’ and ‘You Do Nothing For Me’, frontman Jack Jones admitted he had to take a breather, which led into the spoken-word piece ‘Ketamine’ that had the room yelling the refrain back at him.
New tracks from their recently released album Rules of Love & War (with ‘Alexandra Palace’ a particular highlight) sat comfortably alongside old favourites like ‘Imagine Something Yesterday’ and ‘Tom Hardy’, with Jones a charismatic frontman and regularly embracing the crowd like tonight was their last gig. There was even time for a cartwheel from drummer Kyle Williams, as why the hell not?
To close the night was another poem, the wonderfully witty ‘Poundland’, which this reviewer insists you listen to right now. Drenched in sweat and grinning from ear-to-ear, we left absolutely shattered yet full of life. Trampolene’s world of scrappy chaos is infectious and fun, with everyone invited – we’re glad we came along.
Words by Gem Faulkner
musicforthemisfits.com 