Prom Night Riot. [Problem Patterns EP Launch]
When I think of prom, I think of John Hughes movies and puffy pink dresses, romance and spiked punch. This was the theme to release Problem Patterns new EP "Good For You, Aren't You Great?" But this wasn't a typical prom or gig. This was a riot. A romantic riot, with punch in the hooks. A prom for misfits, feminists, anarchists. For people who don’t fit in a category. For people who make their own categories. It was something you wouldn’t have seen in Northern Ireland 10 years ago. History in the making. The roaring voices, the anger, the smiles, the sense of community.
The crowd are silent, awed statues as Neptune M. takes to the stage. She's Maryann McDonnell from Co. Donegal, and describes her sound as POPERA. Her voice literally stuns the audience. Something about her music reminds me of Lana Del Ray - the sense of a personal narrative, the questioning, the emotion. Her voice is beautiful and the delicate electric guitar matches. From 'Perspective', the rhetorical question hits hard - “If you're so sure of all that you do, why have you no happiness yet?”
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| Neptune M. |
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| Neptune M. |
Gender Chores who "usually start with a political statement but tonight feel nothing but happiness" are next. But it does get a bit political with the opening lyric of their set being "Fuck the Patriarchy". There's also a song for Arlene Foster - "1,2,3,4, we won't take it anymore, 5,6,7,8, Foster love and legislate". A clever twist on the classic nursery rhyme. It's electronic music merged with sociopolitical lyrics. They have a lot to say - from wanting to walk through a park without being scared, to not wanting to conform. They describe their recent EP as "a 10 minute rant about patriarchal woes and other things we oppose". And their set does the same, but with an agreeable audience.
It's not just a night of females, though. Hand Models bring their opinions to the stage. Songs about feeling like you don't do much with your life - 'Banana' describing a sort of millennial crisis. As they play out their final song, 'Last Leaves on a Tree', the drummer jokes about the last chorus being "have a cup of tea" and encourages the crowd to sing along. We all know when the lyric comes that it's actually "Fuck the DUP", and it is truly incredible to watch a room full of frustrated people chanting the line. It seems to be an opinion everyone in the room has. It's a ballad for marriage equality, at the frustration that people are leaving Northern Ireland to live elsewhere because of the laws here. It feels very current.
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| Gender Chores |
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| Gender Chores |
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| Hand Models |
Problem Patterns bring their fire to the stage next. It's a real performance, energy from the get go. Energy derived from anger. They're a band where every member is a front woman. With a bio of "just a bunch of women screaming in a room", there's a lot of people who'd be turned off. But it's punk music - it's supposed to be angry. And with what's in the songs, there's no wonder. They sing about consent, feminism, and other social pressures.
They start with a Gender Chores song, 'Territory', addressing a mishap with the two bands being mistaken on an instagram story a couple of weeks ago. "Not to confuse us with Problem Patterns cuz we're all the fucking same", adds Ciara when the song finishes. A sarcastic statement rewarded with a cheer. They swap around instruments and take turns singing; tongue and cheek lyrics and pulsing guitar riffs. 'Mediocre Man', sung by Alanah, is full of satire. There's a mocking tone in this original. It's an attack on men taking credit for things and women being ignored. The song 'Day and Age' hits the hardest with the phenomenally catchy chorus, "Keep your hands off my sister, if you'd be so kind mister". The band also address frontwoman Alanah's Birthday with a rendition of 'Happy Birthday', and they cover 'Sabotage' by the Beastie Boys, adding a spice of hip-hop. Alanah sings in the crowd in this one, gathering us round. They end their set with 'Allegedly', the final song on their new EP. “Always believe survivors" is chanted and "It’s always someone else but you're not as bad as them right?” is the last line sung out into the room.
It's the type of performance that can't always be correctly translated in an EP. Only at a live gig can you see what this band is all about. The energy, the crowd interaction, the purpose. The fans and audience are just as important as the band - egging them on, rewarding their satirical words with cheers and affirmations. It was a gig I won't forget.
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| Problem Patterns |
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| Problem Patterns |
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| Problem Patterns |
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| Problem Patterns |
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