Having only ever been to Koko Gorillaz late at night after having a few drinks, it was certainly a new experience to head down there early in order to attend a gig there: to see local folk band Rusty Shackle support Will And The People, which was being held upstairs in ‘The Attic’.
Rusty Shackle are a band you have to see live in order to fully appreciate. Their shows are consistently brilliant – always a whole lot of fun, filled with a lot of energy and songs you just can’t help but want to dance to, and their gig at Koko Gorillaz was definitely a lively one.
Opening with a new song, The Bones, the set got off to an energetic start, sounding so catchy that I could already see myself playing that song on repeat if it found its way onto their next album. They then continued with a few more newer songs, and despite the fact the new stuff was sounding wonderful, it was great when they played their first “older” song of the night, single Cold Hearted Town. They then went into the infectiously catchy song Thinking, which was the best track of the night, even getting the crowd to sing along with them by the end of the song.
Their set also had a few covers thrown in for good measure, with their usual medley of the Hokey Cokey and We Are The Cheeky Girls (seriously!) and their rendition of Dizzee Rascal’s Bonkers went down a storm.
They finished things off their other single, 3am, and got the crowd dancing along to their unique and lively style of folk music. One of the things I enjoy so much about seeing Rusty Shackle is that all five members always look so passionate and exuberant about the music they’re playing, with lots of foot tapping and enthusiasm, so it was nice to see that this gig was no exception to this. If you ever get the chance to see them live, you absolutely must – they are definitely worth checking out.
10/10
Rusty Shackle: Website
