On the 10th of March, Belgrave Music Hall hosted the Topman 24 tour in association with NME, headlined by small town Irish band, The Strypes.

The band’s influences can be traced to early blues musicians such as Muddy Waters,  all the way through to Irish guitar legend Rory Gallagher, 70s pub-rock band Dr. Feelgood and Arctic Monkeys, who they supported on their European AM tour.

Although the band are undoubtedly excellent musicians in their own right, when seeing them live it is easy to forget how young they are, aged between 18 and 20. Despite Ross Farrelly on lead vocals, harmonica, guitar and tambourine, each band member was essentially a front man.

The gig was kicked off with the band’s 2013 single ‘Hometown Girls’, immediately bringing the crowd to a frenzy.  Yet, each and every song on the set list brought with it a raucous atmosphere as the band performed hits such as ‘What a Shame’, ‘Blue Collar Jane’ and single ‘Scumbag City’.

I was privileged enough to see the band perform  just over 3 years ago when I was 15, and even then I was completely blown away by the band’s unique sound and talent. It is safe to say that since then The Strypes have continued to develop as musicians, especially after world tours and the release of second album Little Victories in 2013.

Already confirmed for European festivals later this year such as Festival De Les Arts and Heitere Open Air, it is inevitable for such an acclaimed and praised young band to be headlining their own arena shows, sooner or later. Therefore I consider it a rare privilege to have experienced yet another  mind-blowing set from an extremely talented band at such a small venue, in addition to witnessing their success over the last 3 years.

 

Phoebe Berman