Music Park: The Subways @ Rock and Roll Hotel — 4/12/16

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The Subways perform at the Rock and Roll Hotel on Tuesday, April 12, 2016. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)

Billy Lunn had a friend who lost his job at an underwear factory in Essex, England. To cheer his friend up, Billy and other friends took the unemployed chap out to an awesome ‘80s pub called Billie Jean’s. (Billy informed his audience that Billy Jean’s has since sadly closed.)

As the night wore on, the unemployed friend began to feel down because his friends were being too generous. He didn’t want to be a charity case! So although people were having a good time, the friend suggested he would retire for the night, play ‘80s music at home, and break out some video games.

To his pleasant surprise, his friends agreed to go with him, leading him to declare, “We don’t need money to have a good time!” Seized by inspiration, Billy agreed with this sentiment but rushed home to write a song — titled “We Don’t Need Money to Have a Good Time” — which ended up on the third album by his band The Subways — Money and Celebrity — in 2011.

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Snapshots: PINS @ Rock and Roll Hotel — 4/12/16

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Faith Vern performs at the Rock and Roll Hotel on Tuesday, April 12. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)

PINS, an all-female quintet from Manchester, England, visited the Rock and Roll Hotel on Tuesday night as openers for The Subways, and both bands took the stage by storm.

In 2015, PINS released a sophomore album, Wild Nights, via Bella Union as a follow-up to their 2013 debut, Girls Like Us. PINS are an exciting band, and they sound great. They have a fabulous noise-pop sensibility, sparkling guitars and bass that smack of their inspirations in The Jesus and Mary Chain. And they also have a great post-punk attitude with their succinct songs and alt-girl stylings.

Parklife DC doesn’t have a full review of PINS, but in this new featurette Snapshots, I wanted to share some pix of the ladies, except their excellent drummer, who was difficult to photograph from my limited position!

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Interview: Josh Morgan of The Subways @ Rock and Roll Hotel, 4/12/16

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Josh Morgan, Charlotte Cooper, and Billy Lunn of The Subways (Photo courtesy Earshot Media)

Just hearing the garage punk thumping of “Rock & Roll Queen” by The Subways instantly takes you back 10 years, when the UK trio introduced the earworm to the world.

Now, The Subways are poised to return to the United States on tour for the first time since 2008. Vocalist and guitarist Billy Lunn, vocalist and bassist Charlotte Cooper, and drummer Josh Morgan will kick off a US tour here in DC at the Rock and Roll Hotel on Tuesday, April 12, marking the US release of their fourth album (self-titled) the following Friday via Bodan Kuma Recordings.

By the way, the band launched a campaign on Pledge Music to raise money for their tour. They are offering meet and greets, handwritten music, signed records, signed set lists, signed photos, personalized poems, and even their tour drum kit available for fans to own via pledging their support! For details, visit http://www.thesubways.net. (The band has almost reached their goal, last I checked, and the campaign still has 12 days remaining as of today.)

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Music Park: PINS @ DC9 — 6/29/15

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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaSqb__TYSE]

“Thank you, we’re PINS from Manchester.”

The (now) five member women rock band, PINS, then laid into a series of post-punk flavored songs from their first album, “Lost Lost Lost” and “Get With Me”.

Styled with blue hair (Anna Donigan on bass), black boots, skirts, glitter and eye decals (especially prominent on Faith Holgate, lead singer), they took the medium-sized crowd at DC9 on an entertaining 14-song journey through their first two albums.

PINS released their second full length album, Wild Nights, in early June 2015. It was co-produced by Dave Catching from Eagles of Death Metal. Their first album, Girls Like Us, was released in 2013.

As they performed the catchy, “Young Girls”, the second single from the new album, by the time they opined, “What will we do when our dreams come true?”, the crowd had largely transformed from standing to dancing.

“Molly”, their third single from Wild Nights, was among my favorite songs they performed. Listening to the first single, “Too Little Too Late”, you could dismiss them as too laid back. But that assumption disappears with “Molly” and the line “you are the perfect storm, you are where I belong”. If this is where they belong, let’s get more of it.

Their overall sound is pop with heavy guitars and drums, which they have described as ‘dark pop’. The post-punk label might reflect their early work, but not really the new album.

Comparing the PINS to other all-female bands, if you like the Dum Dum Girls, they should certainly be on your radar. They also recently opened for Sleater-Kinney during the UK leg of their tour.

Their show marked their first ever appearance in DC. Hopefully, it will not be the last.

Pick up Wild Nights and have a listen. With Molly.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmJ95BHnRxc]

Don’t Miss: PINS @ DC9, 6/29/15

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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmJ95BHnRxc]

PINS, hailing from Manchester, UK, is a all-women rock band coming to DC to, well, rock you.

The band consists of singer/guitarist Faith Holgate, guitarist Lois McDonald, bassist Anna Donigan and drummer Sophie Galpin.

The PINS recently opened for Sleater-Kinney during the UK leg of their tour. Now they make the jump to the US for a short tour of their own.

Clearly because they are bold and emphatic, they spell their name in ALL CAPS. Their sound is rock and punk and should make for an entertaining live show.

Let’s see if they live up to the billing tonight at DC9.

Tickets are available online still and at the door. Get yours before the show sells out.

 

PINS
w/ Beverly
DC9
Monday, June 29
Doors 8:30pm, Show 9:00pm
$12
All ages

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7TcdGIXSGo]