REVIEW: The Amazons at The Joiners

AFTER blazing across venues in mainland Europe, Reading indie rockers The Amazons launched their biggest UK tour with a bang in Southampton.

With latest singles Black Magic and Little Something riding high on Radio One, a debut album due in the summer, plus Isle of Wight and Reading festivals still to come, now is the time to see a band who is shaping up to be one of the break through acts of the year.

There’s a special buzz at The Joiners when the headliner is on the cusp of the big time and this was one of those nights. Tickets sold out weeks ago - here was another brilliantly timed coup for the famous venue and local club night Psychedelia

Frontman Matt Thomson, bassist Elliot Briggs, guitarist Chris Alderton and drummer Joe Emmett bounced around playing a raucous set of sweet indie grunge tunes, some of which, such as In My Mind and Millions, are big enough for nearby St Mary’s stadium let alone this intimate St Mary Street venue.

First song Stay with Me didn’t pause for breath before evolving into crowd favourite Ultraviolet. The Amazons have a welcome sense of urgency.

Black Magic, with its sweeping film score introduction couldn’t be more confident, while the ominous catchy middle hook of Little Something was sung back to the band before they even played it. No wonder these two songs have both been MistaJam’s hottest records in the world on Radio One this year.

While it's usually how you arrive that’s important, singer-guitarist Matt turned things on their head by modestly walking on stage through the audience, but leaving in style by crowd-surfing all the way to the side exit.

A few pathfinder fans had already shown how to float effortlessly over heads in the madness after leaping off the stage themselves.

The lads are no strangers to Southampton having played six times at nearly every venue in the city, and so it was that there were plenty of watching fans from the early days at Lennon's, The Engine Rooms and here at The Joiners, as well as those more recently caught up in the whirlwind.

Before The Amazons were besieged by fans on the merchandise counter Matt told me that this gig was one of the best they’d ever done and it couldn't have been a better start to their UK run of twenty shows. The Radio One Future festival stars’ loyalty to the south coast continues to reap results.

Solid support came from Manchester’s lively Cupids, whose latest single Good Things (Come to Those Who Wait) is out now, and Southampton trio Toreador who opened the evening. Expect to hear more from these soon.

The Amazons UK tour continues nationwide until April 13. They play Isle of Wight Festival Sunday June 11 and Reading Festival Friday August 25. Latest single Black Magic is out now. More at amazons.co.uk. Club Psychedelia every Saturday at The Joiners.

By Richard Derbyshire

Photos Leon Gateley