Words by Otis Hayes
Performing to a sold out crowd beneath the glistening gold-glittered ceiling of Hackney's iconic Moth Club on 24th January, Bishopskin together with support from Van Zon delighted the diverse audience from all walks of life. Emerging onto stage to the sounds of the enthusiastic crowds screams, howls and shrieks, Bishopskin began to play their first notes.
Opening their set with ‘Hey Little Sister’, lead singer Tiger Nicholson emerged with a black line drawn horizontally across his face and at once let go of all inhibitions, immediately beginning to dance freely with his extremities moving rhythmically to the music as if trying to escape his body whilst his fellow bandmates played. Shrill violin entangled amongst bright clarinet whilst the sound of drums cascaded and crashed amongst guitars which were strummed and picked at points with a soft touch and at others with a demanding heavy-hand. Nicholson’s voice commanding and resonant all the while encapsulating is at times raw and at others tamed as the frontman’s lyrics spilled out across the room, his introspective thoughts surrounding topics such as spirituality and religion performed with a confident vulnerability creates a genuine relatability giving a sincere and honest air to his performances.
Photo by Spela Cedilnik
The London based group also showcased plenty of new material giving a thrilling glimpse of what the future may hold in the form of an hopeful follow up to their debut album ‘Babble’, which was released in 2023. Playing their latest and only single since ‘Babble’ entitled ‘Old Sock’ which was released around just a week before the show Bishopskin found themselves amongst a crowd who reciprocated the excitement of their new music singing along and eager for more. Perhaps the most captivating moment of the show, around midway through Nicholson shared a Medusa-inspired dream with the crowd whilst he took to his long curly hair with scissors and began to frantically cut off locks before letting them drop on the stage, his beard also received a trim as if some kind of ritual was taking place in front of the intrigued and shocked crowd of fixated wide eyes.
Closing their set with crowd favourites ‘Stella Splendens’ and ‘Ave Maria’ the crowd became more and more energetic as they jumped amongst each other. At this point even Nicholson himself took a knee on stage to admire the spectacular and tight band by his side, in particular Tati Gutteridge whose voice reverberated around the room cutting sharp like a knife capturing the attention of the entire crowd and dropping their jaws to the ground. The crowd chanting for one more song as Bishopskin thanked them and left the stage found themselves understanding why Bishopskin’s live shows have often been described as some sort of spiritual gathering, extremely passionate and intensely eccentric, you'd be wise to get yourself down to the next one and experience it for yourself.
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