Gig review: Teenage Sequence + KILL, THE ICON! and Dogviolet
WORDS BY PUJA NANDI
Photos by Nandita Suria
From left to right: Naz Toorabally (Dogviolet), Arun Dhanjal (Dogviolet), Dewan-Dean Soomary (Teenage Sequence) and Nishant Joshi (KILL, THE ICON!)
If there’s such a thing as an antidote to the winter blues, it’s visiting The Shacklewell Arms on a cold, blustery night and shuffling into the gig room at the back, a kind of punk-hygge: dark, cosy and cave-like with quirkily painted and graffiti walls, beers in hands, a well-used stage with fluorescent lighting and of course… a mirror ball right above it.
Competing with several other shows happening the same night locally, tonight’s event is free entry and the room is filling out - but you wonder how the musicians are being paid given how dire the situation is for emerging talent in the industry.
Dogviolet
Dogviolet performing on stage
Opening the gig is Dogviolet, a dreamy grunge 4-piece band consisting of childhood friends Naz Toorabally (vocals/guitar) and Ella Patenall (guitar/vocals); Kaoru Sato (bassist) from The Dead Zoo and Arun Dhanjal (session drummer) from post-hardcore band Muscle Vest and punk band The Sex Patels.
This is only Dogviolet’s fourth gig together but you wouldn’t know it from their presence on stage - they seem at ease with their own musical style.
Dogviolet opens with a song called ‘Dandelion’. You could be reminded of The Cranberries mottled with the brooding vibes of Mazzy Star and Warpaint. The harmonies between Ella and Naz on the opening and the second song called ‘Now’ are so warmly in-sync that people are immediately drawn in.
In between their setlist, Naz is met with cheering from the crowd when she says, “It’s nice not to be the only brown girl in the room.” I looked around the room and can attest to that - it is refreshing to see a mix of people who aren’t all white which is so often the case at gigs and festivals.
A particular song that seems to capture the room is ‘In the Flesh’ which, Naz explains, is about the fetishisation of queer women. The song has unsparingly raw and visceral lyrics: “Does the sight of our blood make you feel like a man?/ Is your power restored?” The song succeeds in making your hairs stand on end.
Dogviolet ends with the song ‘Daughter’, an emotive song about the heavy family burden that eldest daughters sometimes carry. It seems to be a topic which some in the crowd resonate with and it’s great to hear lyrics about something many South Asian people in particular can connect to.
At the end of their setlist, someone shouts ‘encore’ which seems befitting.
Dogviolet, with their thoughtful lyrics, introspective angst, and strong vocals is a band to watch.
KILL, THE ICON!
KILL, THE ICON perfoming on stage
Next up, KILL, THE ICON! is the second band of the night consisting of Dr Nishant Joshi (bassist/vocalist), Ian Flynn (synth, production) and Florin Constantin Pascu (drums). Some may know the frontman Nishant from post-punk band, The Palpitations, and some might also know him for successfully taking the UK government, along with his fellow doctor and wife, to court over the lack of PPE for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Who said punk was dead?
On stage the band have set up a small pillar with an amusing reference to Pulp Fiction:
Combining their protest spirit and angst at the kleptocracy KILL, THE ICON! serves up an intriguing sound reminiscent of old school bands like Dead Kennedys and Gang of Four with something else that could remind you of German new wave like Grauzone.
Nishant, evidently a seasoned performer, wears his shades on stage and opens the setlist boldly after a trippy synth-laden intro. A notable song from the night is ‘Bourdain’ , a song inspired by the life and legacy of Anthony Bourdain (RIP) and previously covered by Weirdo. Immediately, people in the room start bopping their heads including a man with a red Mohican who is clearly getting his fill on punk.
‘Buddhist Monk’ is an energetic assault on the senses. The song is inspired by Thích Quảng Đức, a Vietnamese monk who publicly burned himself to death in 1963 out of political protest causing a ripple effect that changed history forever. Nishant poignantly sings, “You can strike fear/ Into the heart of a man that has none.”
Introducing a song called ‘Death Wish’, Nishant says, “This is our dance song, all our songs are dance songs, you’ve just got to know the right moves.” I think he has a point as looking around people start throwing shapes around the room in all sorts of ways, some more uncertain than others.
KILL, THE ICON! are a riotous joy guaranteed to get anyone sufficiently pumped…maybe to even start a coup.
Teenage Sequence
Dewan-Dean Soomary performing on stage.
The headline act for the night is Teenage Sequence from London musician Dewan-Dean Soomary. It’s their first headline show and Dewan-Dean channels his funny and confident personality into Teenage Sequence through its hard-hitting drum sounds, arpeggiated synths and sardonic lyrics. It could be the lovechild of Gary Numan and Scroobius Pip but not sure if Dewan-Dean’s mum, who is in the crowd tonight, will agree with that.
Teenage Sequence opens with ‘The City Is Hungover’, a synth laden number delivered with great showmanship from Dewan-Dean. He energetically jumps around the stage with the equally animated Luke Godwin (guitarist) and Bob Barret (drums), who you might know from rock-ska-punk band The JB Conspiracy. When I briefly caught up with Dewan-Dean before the gig, he said the inspiration for the song comes from an existential epiphany from the morning after a heavy night out. The song has won adoration from the likes of Radio-X’s legendary John Kennedy and most impressively, Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament, who included ‘The City is Hungover’ in his top 5 songs of 2021.
Next up, ‘All This Art’ gets people grooving in the room and listening closely to the spoken-word over synth:
“I imagine most other artists don’t feel the need to include a tabla solo in their music in order to bridge the gap between art and artist. And yes, that is a thinly veiled, poorly written reference to the racial expectations and decisions around genre lines and if you’re in a position to do so, sign me, you racist.”
A good summation of Dewan-Dean’s tongue-in-cheek style of social commentary.
‘D.I.S. Connect’ is the band’s recent single which has an incredibly infectious riff and it’s clear that there’s great banter between all the bandmates when on stage too.
I’m looking forward to hearing (and dancing to) more from Teenage Sequence.
To echo the sentiment from earlier, Dewan-Dean says towards the end of their set, “It’s so beautiful to not be the only brown person in the fucking room.”
Hear, hear.
