HotWax brought an explosive set to Chalk in Brighton
The Hastings-based trio didn’t hold back on their last show of the UK leg of the ‘Hot Shock’ tour.
Photo: Daisy Bourgoin
It would be impossible to talk about this show without drawing attention to the incredible support who warmed the audience up before the headliner. Jeanie and The White Boys hadn’t been on my radar before, but they most definitely are now! Bringing a kind of raw energy I would compare to Amy Taylor of Amyl and the Sniffers, and a voice almost reminiscent of Polystyrene of X-Ray Spex.
The frontwoman, Jeanie, put on an incredible performance, immersing every single person lucky enough to catch this set. The set ran for around half an hour, but it went by so much faster, as I found myself encapsulated by the intensity of the guitar riffs, and fell in love with their sound immediately. Between songs, Jeanie supplied context for most of the tracks, not only displaying her immensely likeable personality through such a short set, but also showing the witty lyricism seen so clearly throughout their discography. This was the perfect opener to the show, and they set such an incredibly high standard for HotWax to follow — and they delivered.
As always, I found the space between the opener and the headliner went by at a snail’s pace, but eventually HotWax took to the stage, and soon enough, Chalk was practically shaking with Lola Sam’s bass rippling through the venue.
Opening with Hard Goodbye, the first thing that I noticed was the heightened intensity of the instruments; the guitar was louder, the sticks hitting the drums harder, and Tallulah Sim-Savage’s vocals were even harsher compared to the studio version I’d become so accustomed to. I loved it. This was a great opening track, thrusting the audience straight into the hard-hitting cuts of their debut album Hot Shock.
The band wasted no time heading straight into Wanna Be a Doll —my personal favourite from their debut, and it’s safe to say it was just as great live. People all around were singing along, and it was so lovely to see such a great audience response to such a great band, especially after HotWax displayed their clear love and admiration for the venue itself between songs.
Tell Me Everything’s Alright followed, which was HotWax’s newest release, and I thought that it blended really well with the rest of their album tracks, which they mainly played afterwards, and only made me more excited for what’s next for this band.
Afterwards, they slowed it down a little with Strange To Be Here, before ramping it right back up again with Dress Our Love (another standout), the vocals on this track just work so well, and I absolutely love the melody — the whole song just translates so well live, and it’s definitely been on repeat since I saw them.
The audience were then thrust straight into Paint It Nice and Treasure, both of which featured incredible guitar, and had me absolutely absorbed into the set, so much so that I didn’t even see the moshpit growing by the second, jumping excitedly to the grunge-y riffs of Lola Sam’s bass.
The opener of Hot Shock was placed in the middle of the set, but She’s Got A Problem still hit just as hard in the middle of this jam-packed set as it did when I first listened to the album. The chorus especially (“I wanna feel the way you feel / I wanna see the way you see”) had me singing along with the rest of the audience, and as soon as the song wrapped up, I wanted it to start all over again. Drop and In Her Bedroom were definitely some of the more intense songs of the night, with Alfie Sayer’s drums taking centre-stage.
A Thousand Times and I’ll Chip My Teeth For You rounded off the main set before the encore. The latter was a clear fan favourite, and I saw multiple people before the concert wearing shirts with lyrics from the track plastered on them.
The band hadn’t even left the stage after I’ll Chip My Teeth For You ended, before the audience were yelling for more. HotWax shortly returned and jumped straight into Pharmacy, probably the calmest track of the night. It provided a nice transition from the main set to the encore, as the audience calmed a little before ramping it right back up when the opening bars of One More Reason rang out.
During the main set, I’d heard people shouting the name of the track, clearly eager to hear it live, and I quickly saw why. It’s worth noting that throughout the whole set, each member was going full out (which I imagine must be tiring on the last show of a leg of a tour), but Tallulah Sim-Savage stepping out into the audience with the mic and getting lost in the sea of avid moshers really solidified the band’s high-energy commitment to their live shows.
Just as she climbed back up to the stage, the bassline of Rip It Out pierced through the applause. This track was what initially drew me to HotWax, and I was eagerly anticipating hearing it live — and what a song to finish on. Lola Sam stepped out and, much like her bandmate, got swallowed up by the audience. My eyes were torn between the show going down on the stage and the show happening in the crowd.
This was such an incredible set to see live; the band delivered a high-energy performance, while also speaking out about the importance of independent venues (which only made me respect them even more), and being absolute fashion icons simultaneously. They’re most definitely ones to watch, and I’m eagerly awaiting their second album, as well as hopefully some more local live shows!
