LIVE REVIEW: Upset About To Break Tour @ Mother’s Ruin, Bristol

It seems to be the popular thing for bands to announce genuinely incredible tours towards the end of this year, as the immense rotating four band of the Upset About To Break Tour line up of DRONES, BITCH FALCON, INTECHNICOLOR and HAGGARD CAT all swing through to the teeny-tiny and awfully loud Mother’s Ruin venue in Bristol for one of the best glimpses into the booming British scene you’ll get all year.

BITCH FALCON are the first band on for this edition of the tour, and they’re hulking, rolling grooves are a fantastic way to kick start the evening. Vocalist Lizze Fitzpatrick is a magnet for attention, as her attitude pulls through her often times snarling vocals as the band ride heavy grooves that has more than a little bit of influence from the likes of THE WHITE STRIPES. The rough mix adds a little bit of additional gruff edge to the rumbling set, but a bit of clarity would’ve gone a long way to enhance the already captivating performance. It’s amazing how far rock-steady grooves can go to making a hugely enjoyable time. There isn’t a need for frills and extras, just heavy bass and thunderous drums, and BITCH FALCON are a perfect example of this.

Rating: 7/10

Picking up the pace with a set of absolute worship towards the likes of RISE AGAINST, DRONES come at the crowd with a lot of energy and intent. There is a clear intention for the band to throw as much as they can at the crowd but the treacherous layout of Mother’s Ruin means that the crowd are reduced to standing in place whilst frontwoman Lois McDougal paces the venue and sings at unsuspecting punters waiting at the bar. The guitar leads cut through the mix well, and the bass is typically rapid as one would expect from a punk act like DRONES. The overwhelming feeling at the young stalwarts set is how much fun they would be a venue more accommodating to their high energy assault.

Rating: 6/10

Easily the heaviest act of the night, INTECHNICOLOR bring a cool mixture of stoner riffs and British attitude, making for an interestingly heavy time, even if their set is slow to kick off. The sound is enveloping, as the small venue succumbs to the bassy rumbles and wonderfully simple riffs that really hit home hard when they get into their stride. The set hits a hefty speed bump when a string change means that a song is bumped off the set list, but weirdly enough it’s actually after this hiccup that the band start to really sink their teeth into the show, as the regressing riff that brings the set to a close fills the room with glorious fuzz. If only the whole set was able to be this good, but there is plenty to confirm that INTECHNICOLOR are a band to watch in 2019.

Rating: 6/10

A band that have been working harder than even the average touring act, HAGGARD CAT have put a number of bands to shame with the sheer ridiculous amount of times they have toured up and down the UK, playing Bristol almost every time they venture out. As such, it’s disappointing to see the band get such a sparse turn out considering how good they are. The two piece continue to take the best elements of their time in HECK to make a live show that rocks hard thanks to the riffs that are backed up by arguably some of the best drumming in the country. The band are quickly entering the realm of needing to breakout into bigger venues in order to get more people listening to their brand of rowdy multifaceted rock. Tracks like Goldberg and Bone Shaker are as thunderous as ever whilst the country tinge that infects their earlier stuff is still as fun as ever. Seriously, with the amount of opportunities there have been, you really should be seeing HAGGARD CAT and supporting one of the hardest working bands in the country.

Rating: 8/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Bristol from Normandy Photography here: