Gigs are back. And it’s weird.
Being back in a under the low-slung ceiling of the O2 Academy 2, the after-effects of the pandemic are still present. Covid passes are a new addition to the pre-going out check, and one which I had to take an uber to go back home for.
The crowd is different too. They’re slightly more spaced out and you don’t have to see the masked few to feel a sense of apprehension in the room; that even though it IS all legal and safe and fine, it just feels wrong after an 18-month hiatus.
The Lovely Eggs have had a surge in popularity during that hiatus though. Buoyed by the critical acclaim of their sixth album I Am Moron, the Lancaster duo have gained many new fans and it even gave them the chance to work with Iggy Pop, the godfather of punk.
And finally, after seven rescheduled dates, they were going to make their much-anticipated return to the stage.
First up to break some of the apprehension in the air was Thick Richard, a foul-mouthed punk poet from Manchester with a penchant for politics. Having missed the first support of AK/DK, this was the first act I had seen at a gig in almost a year, and it was a furious blur of spit and fire, culminating with the fantastic ‘People in Crack Houses shouldn’t Smoke Rocks’. It struck a glorious chord amongst the crowd and set the stage for the Lovely Eggs to continue that anti-establishment theme.
As the lights darkened, the synths kicked in and booming over the subwoofer came the drawl of Iggy Pop – “MORON” – droning out like a blockbuster trailer, pushing the crowd from tension to excitement. Out of the curtains then walked out the Lovely Eggs, encapsulating their lo-fi style in their looks, and started their set off with the opening track ‘Long Stem Carnations’ from their new album, much to the delight of the crowd.
Overall, the set was more on the punk side to the band’s psychedelic-punk style and that suited the live setting, with heavy bar chords and loud drums defining the show. The lyrics went from the politically charged to the repetitively hypnotic to the frankly bizarre and sometimes felt like they were written on psychedelics rather than being psychedelic music. There were a few hiccups, characteristic of a band out of practice with performing live, but they ended up being a source of interaction with the crowd that really made the night feel different.
You could tell that the Lovely Eggs had a great passion for playing and really love what they do; these shows are the peaks of their jobs, and they relish them. They chucked in an extra chorus of ‘F— It’ when a fan accidentally sang another line, took a selfie with the “lasses” at the front of the audience, and expressed their gratitude to being able to play to crowds again. It made you feel like this wasn’t any other gig that was going to be replicated the next night. You had to be there to experience it.
And as suddenly as they had come onto the stage, the Lovely Eggs departed. I was left with a sense of wonder, not quite sure what I’d just seen. Although I didn’t particularly enter as a fan, I left with a greater appreciation for the Lovely Eggs and their music, as well as an admiration for the little community of diehard fans they have cultivated and the effort that they put in to make sure every single one has a good time.
