On Friday 31st January, I attended the first Kickback night of the year at Oscars, Ludlow Assembly Rooms. The venue describes these nights as “all about sharing the original musical talent we have on our doorstep and having a damn good time doing it”. That night, I saw Choked and The Humdrum Express – two of the many artists lined up for the coming months to share their music in Ludlow’s own grassroots space.
Choked is an alternative punk rock psych-funk band hailing from the Mid-Wales border. They were full of energy, while their stage presence and fun dynamic between members added to the charged atmosphere in the room. From their set, I particularly enjoyed the songs Conspiracy and Bloodsport from their self-titled 2023 album, as well as their unreleased track Knockout.
Comparable to their online recordings, the feeling and energy of their songs performed live is, to me, vastly different. So if you get the opportunity, I would highly recommend seeing Choked live to see and hear the passion they express in their lyrics and causes/issues they raise in their songs, such as the horrors of bloodsports, hypocrisy of politics, and the rising concerns of phones in society.
In a slight contrast to Choked, The Humdrum Express is an indie post-punk band that has an overall early 2000s feel-good vibe. You’d put their music on for a drive down country roads in the summer. From their set, I particularly enjoyed Brave Boy from the 2022 album Forward Defensive and their most recent song Turkey Teeth. With the novelty use of a megaphone when performing their songs, the familial feel of their band dynamic, and the series of dad jokes in between songs that rendered groans of despair from the audience, it set up for a buoyant close to the night.
Despite the contrast between the slightly different genres and pacing of the performances, both bands had people enjoying themselves, laughing and drinking the local beer with great spirit. Overall everyone seemed to have a great night and I will definitely see some of the other Kickback nights performances lined up at Ludlow Assembly Rooms in the coming months.
More information about the upcoming Kickback nights can be found here.
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