29/3/2023 Freya Beer @ The Old Blue Last

Heading out East for a change. Trendy indie kids hangout The Old Blue Last in Shoreditch looks like a nice old fashioned proper boozer from the outside.

However, once inside you find that like the Spice of Life in Soho it's had it's guts ripped out and it's character too. 😞 In fact it's a bit of a dump. A trendy with indie kids dump, but still a dump. If you are of a certain age and still live in the 1990's Britpop/Indie past then this might be your sort of musical nostalgia as you walk in and find it's like a club night from those days. Everything might be painted black, but this is no rocker's haunt. Also, no real ales - so straight away no reason for me to want to return. 😬 But I'm not here for the beer - well actually I am. Sort of. I'm here for the music. This takes place upstairs...

The first act I see is an indie sounding band who's name escapes me. Nothing wrong with them if you like that kind of thing - and I sometimes do, but there is nothing here to make them stand out from all the other bands doing the same thing.

I have been aware of Freya Beer for a while. Punk legend John Robb kept mentioning her on his Twitter page, so I thought she must be worth checking out. After all the hype from Mr Robb and also on his Louder Than War website I was expecting this small Shoreditch venue to be packed, but actually it was quite the opposite with only a handful of people watching the headline act. I think there were actually more people watching the previous band who I'd never even heard of. Freya puts herself out there as being a bit of a Goth, and I thought if Membranes and Goldblade singer John Robb likes her she must have at least a bit of a punk edge too. However, things aren't always what they seem. 'Goth' is something that is very much open to individual interpretation, but if I had walked into the room 'cold' and not knowing what to expect it would never have occurred to me that this was 'Goth' in any way. 🦇 Freya isn't dressed in black, there is no 'Hammer Horror' look or vibe, and the music doesn't sound 'Goth' either. I guess I am missing the point, and her interpretation of 'Goth' is very different from mine.

Personally, I don't think Freya Beer looks or sounds the slightest bit Goth and nor does her band. This all seems very indie to me, albeit with a darker edge. The guitarist looks more like a refugee from a 1980's pop/rock band, and I suspect the bass player wants to be Mark King from Level 42. They are all good musicians, but this really isn't what I was expecting. To be honest I feel a little like I have been lured here under false pretenses.

Freya sings and plays well enough, but her songs don't really grab me. She looks good and has obviously put some effort into her image, but there isn't enough of a musical edge to really keep my attention.

The band play well and sound good, but it all seems rather lightweight compared to what I was somehow expecting. I stay for the full set from Freya Beer but leave feeling rather underwhelmed by the evening. It's good to get out and see different things and discover new music, but sometimes it just doesn't go as well as you hope. Oh well.