EX HEX AT THEKLA

November 2015

 

It was one of those strangely windless, warm nights for November; following a series of bitterly cold, blustery and wet evenings; and clambering on to Thekla a little later than planned with the gig already in full swing, there was an odd stillness about the hefty boat, sitting eerily quiet on the edge of the inky black dock.

However, once inside and aided by the purr of oscillating guitar, all apprehensions were deployed quite as quickly as they had materialised.  Skeleton Frames currently stole centre stage; a determinedly grunge shoegaze rock band hailing from Exeter, and fronted by a striped top;  ¾ length pencil skirt and long, blunt, apathetic fringe; you could clearly glean Elli Cook’s voice surging above the drone of guitars, drums and deep humming phonation.

 

Next, Jacuzzi Boys: a three man, garage punk band hailing from Miami, Florida. Dirty guitar and cuttingly honest lyricisms flowed through the crowd- they dedicated their song ‘Smells Dead’ to Big Jeff, who could be seen bouncing around in front of the speakers and went on to play tracks such as ‘Seventeen’; ‘Strange Exchange’; ‘Sun’, which might well be one of my favourites of theirs; and a song called ‘Refrigeration’ whose content is more or less summed up in its title. They ended their set in a ravenous display of guitar nebulous and strobe lighting whose flickering hue cast a scene of unhinging slow motion, highlighting complicated instrumentation and flowing locks of wild sinuous hair.

 

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Vaulting on to the stage for ‘Waterfall’- a big contender for their most popular song which serves to fully encapsulate their effortless pop rock tone- the most you could make out of Ex Hex’s Mary Timony (lead guitarist) and Betsy Wright (bassist) were streaks of shimmering black glitter and flashes of worn-in converses; these even poking out from behind Laura Harris’ drum kit every so often.

It’s no surprise to discover that Timony has been a member of a succession of alternative rock and garage bands since way back when Pulp were in their heyday – and although the arguable wavering voice of American alt rock pop nostalgia pipes through in their music, there is a distinct tone of unflinching and decisive solidarity about Ex Hex.

 As ‘Waste Your Time’ broke out, we were completely immersed in that beautifully climbing and weaving guitar, the unremitting rhythm of drumming dousing the room in veracious rhetoric as its final line resonated across the dazzled crowd: “there are colours that you can hear”.

 

By the time Harris half-laughing, counted in to ‘Hot And Cold’, Ex Hex had pretty much full run of the entire stage, and much the same effect upon the clusters of people crowding at the forefront of the audience. As sultry and sexy as they were rampant and spirited – using thigh-skimming sequins to the utmost effect – Wright and Timony straddled, high-kicked and dropped down on to their knees to deliver their effervescent performance. In fact, there wasn’t a song that went by in which one of the two guitarists didn’t end up sprawled across the decked floor in some way or other.

 

Reaching the climax of their exalted set, the atmosphere turned a little hysterical: “Bristol’s always fun” remarked Timony as a general murmur of agreement swept across the room.

As the Jacuzzi Boys hung off the side of the stage to watch their headliners’ last performance of tour, Ex Hex registered their sorrow that the time they’d spent together would be coming to an end: “it’s basically the greatest tragedy of my life” exclaimed Wright; “Yeah, I think we’re basically gonna be a Jacuzzi Boys cover band from now on” retorted Timony - cue dedicating their song, ‘Beast’, to the lads watching from the wings.

 

You realise during the band’s seesawing exchanges, just how much charisma they emanate, and how much this alters your experience of their gig; sure, without it, they’d still be pretty damn alluring, but it’s as the bearded man up in the balcony pointed out to me: the girls’ captivating stage presence is what really holds the crowd – so much so that even the breaks, adjustments and on-stage chatter between each song become just as big a part of their performance as the songs themselves.

 

 As the end nears, another nod – and a kiss goes by- blown towards Big Jeff; ‘Radio On’ is dedicated to Bristol’s revered music fanatic. Subsequently, a cover of The Real Kids, ‘All Kindsa Girls’ is dedicated to those mysterious individuals: Ex Hex’s “favourite people”. Then, just as ‘Outro’ storms in with its drawling, humming lyrics; arpeggios reminiscent of a style alike that of The Animals; and a bridge of itinerant, rumbling guitar; the encore arrives, and it’s all over. As dramatically and suddenly as they had surged on to the stage, they were gone; a sea of ricocheting claps following in the wake of ‘Don’t Wanna Lose’, and with that we stepped back into the disconcerting calm of a Tuesday night.