LIVE REVIEW: The Molotovs, Stereo Cupid, Room Service, Bush Hall, London, 30/03/2024

Photo Credit: Kevin O’Sullivan

Bush Hall. A beautiful, iconic, and revered venue in West London, it’s played host to a number of monumental shows; from the likes of Pure Love’s debut show, or an early headline show from now festival headliner Tom Grennan, to intimate shows by the likes of Panic! At The Disco, The Killers, and more recently Alicia Keys — playing an underplay show to 400 lucky fans just before Covid — Bush Hall really has seen it all. To have it on the cusp of going under, like so many other countless music venues up and down the UK, is heartbreaking. According to the Music Venue Trust, Grass Root Music venues are closing at a rate of two per week; so, to prevent Bush Hall becoming simply one more statistic, a charity gig was born. The Molotovs, supported by Stereo Cupid and Room Service, would play at Bush Hall. Not only that, but every penny raised by ticket sales would go towards saving the venue. Between this and the Crowdfunder campaign, hope is high.

But this isn’t about Bush Hall. Or, rather, this isn’t just about Bush Hall. This is about the three bands who are the latest in a long and prestigious line to grace its stage.

And first up, on that sold out Saturday night?

Room Service. With the quartet emerging on stage to the raucous applause of the steadily-growing crowd, the band wasted no time in getting the room moving; their blend of indie-punk-rock seeming to be the perfect introduction for the room’s attentive attendees. Catchy, half-shouted choruses saw hundreds leaping up and down, the fans slowly flocking in from the bar forcing themselves through the crowd to reach the pit, while the temperature of the room slowly rose to boiling point. The slow, grunge-y Genny and a cover of The Clash’s Guns of Brixton — which, although potentially flying over the heads of some of the younger audience members, let the band pay homage to one of London’s all-time greats — helped further win the boisterous Bush Hall crowd over, before the one-two duo of the emotional I Love You and the mosh-pit forming, post-hardcore, anthem-to-be Superstar sealed the deal. A fantastic start to the night’s affairs. 8/10

Second up came Stereo Cupid. A quintet based in Camden, Stereo Cupid have gradually been making bigger and bigger waves in the up-and-coming UK scene, and Saturday was just another notch on their fretboards. And with good reason. With the darker, more vitriolic Fade opening proceedings, frontman Ralph Schofield taking full advantage of the expansive London stage, Stereo Cupid quickly won over the hundreds crammed into the room. With a gig made up of three still relatively unknown artists, the onus fell on each band to prove why they deserved such a space; Stereo Cupid did that and then some. The ferocious Who You Are saw energy and emotion alike wash over the engrossed crowd in waves of masterful musicianship, the rocky soundscape a bubble of destructive brilliance; the slower, sway-inducing Mind gave the quintet ample opportunity to lap up the adoration reflected back at them from the room; the chaotic Feel Alive, Schofield writhing on the floor in agonising ecstasy, saw the crowd closing on themselves like they’d been sucked inexorably into the chasm of the pit. Sadly though, like all good things, Stereo Cupid’s time on the stage had to come to an end. With the riotous closer of KID drawing an end to the proceedings, though not before the band took a photo with the sold-out, 400-cap London crowd, there was only one band to go. 9/10

Though, what a band. Headlining the night came The Molotovs, a London based trio with admirers from the likes of The Libertines legend Pete Doherty, photographer Derek D’Souza, or bona fide legend Billie Joe Armstrong, as well as supporting the likes of both Blondie and the afore-mentioned Libertines. With frontman Matthew Carts a bleach-blonde, Mod menace, and sister Issey bedecked in a top hat that would put most magicians to shame, while drummer Will Fooks sat forebodingly in the back, The Molotovs’ very appearance already spelled out good things; and despite performing at such a young age, the teenage trio gave it their all. An expansive, 15-song set, comprised of both originals — such as Newsflash, an explosive song written about lockdown (and the UK government’s response to it); the slow Nothing Keeps Her Away, a smattering of fans floating onto the air by way of some conveniently placed shoulders; and the incendiary, insatiable More More More — and covers, with the likes of Little Richard’s Slippin and Slidin, or David Bowie’s Suffragette City making the cut, The Molotovs kept everyone guessing as they flew through their fiery, ferocious headline set. 9/10

The three bands couldn’t have complemented each other better. Each seemed to draw on the same bottomless pit of adoration, adrenaline, and acerbic aggression that the alcohol-fuelled audience oozed into the ballroom-esque Bush Hall, egged on both by the crowd and each other to reach new, dizzying heights of showmanship for their respective, steadily growing careers. A fantastic night of passionate, political, and surprisingly polished punk and post-punk from some UK up-and-comers. And, given the important and sombre context of what the evening represented, they did themselves, and Bush Hall, proud indeed. 

You can find out more about the Save Bush Hall crowdfunder and donate HERE.

Written By: James O’Sullivan