Photo Credit: Blacksocks
Southampton’s Engine Rooms was buzzing with energy for this sold-out show. With doors open for an hour before Sea Girls opening act, Oliver Keane took to the stage, it was an impressive turnout for a Tuesday night. There was so much energy in the crowd, so it was going to be a great show.
Keane launched straight into one of his songs. With atmospheric lights and a bit of smoke, he knew how to put on a show. Although the crowd took a bit to warm up to him, his band were slick with their playing and giving the crowd a show. Keane is also a talented singer and musician as shown by clear and controlled vocals, he was silky smooth. After his first two songs, he asked the crowd “How are we doing Southampton?” and shook his guitar as the crowd “could do better than that”. As his set went on, there was a mix of emotional ballads and festival-worthy anthems that could be confused as a Sea Girls song based on hearing alone. With guitar riffs to rival rock bands of the 70s and 80s, there was the right blend of those elements with modern indie to keep the set interesting. However, Keane wanted to treat the crowd to something special – a cover of Outkast’s Hey Ya, which got the crowd singing, dancing and warmed up ready for the main act. 8/10
Finally, it was time for Sea Girls to grace the stage, but they had to wait for the crowd to stop singing Murder On The Dancefloor before coming on. Sea Girls have always had a special place in the music scene of Southampton, so it is no wonder people were pumped to see them. Henry Camamile (vocalist and guitarist), Rory Young (lead guitarist), Andrew Dawson (bassist) and Oli Khan (drummer, percussionist and keyboardist) brought their London charm to the south coast by launching straight into a fan favourite, Transplant. With blue hues and a lot of smoke effects, there was no doubt that the band were going to bring their A-game and so many people were singing their hearts out to the chorus.
They quickly launched into a new song, Weekends and Workdays, Camamile, Dawson and Young were bouncing about while singing and playing. There was so much energy coming off them that it is hard to imagine they could keep it up the whole time, but they did. Of course, Camamile addressed the crowd and let fans know that they were happy to be back before saying “This is dedicated to Violet” before launching into Violet. With fitting lighting which would dance in time to the beat, Camamile regularly crossed the stage to ensure fans were having a good time and get people clapping in time to the song.
As they have yet to release their album, their Young Strangers tour meant that the audience was treated to unreleased material – something that fans woohoo’ed at. Although unreleased, many were keen to sing along and support the band by dancing and clapping. It was a tune, they played Ready for More and another new song, Polly.
Following that, they turned it down a bit with hits such as Sick, Adored and Lost. They did have to abandon playing Lonely as Camamile forgot the chords to the song, but did attempt to recall and managed to at least give the crowd part of the chorus as requested by an audience member. Despite this setback, they knew how to get the crowd going again with Open Up Your Head. The crowd were screaming along like collective therapy. There was a special connection between the band and the crowd.
After that sombre moment, Camamile announced he wanted to get personal and reveal stuff to the crowd but it was all a rouse. The band launched into one of their most-played songs, Do You Really Wanna Know? The song is a banger, and the crowd knew exactly what to do. Dancing, singing and going nuts. As the first part of the set approached the end, the band played Midnight Butterflies and Damage Done.
Of course, there was an encore and what a great way to end their set. With the end coming, Camamile promised they would return to Southampton and thanked the crowd for being there before launching into I Want You to Know Me, off their newest album, Midnight Butterflies. There was so much love for the band as the crowd swayed in time and got phones out to remember the night. It was a perfect ending on a perfect night but they still had to give the crowd one more song, All I Want to Hear You Say.
There is a special relationship between Sea Girls and Southampton. The band never disappoints the Southampton indie scene and this was no exception. The crowd was treated to a delightful evening of entertainment that you would expect to see at big summer festivals from both acts. Both gave their everything to their performances and deserve all the hype. Even if indie is not a genre for you, you must catch either act while you can as there is no doubt that both are going places. 9/10
Written By: Jo Lisney
