LIVE FROM THE PIT: Wednesday 13, Soap Girls and The Nocturnal Affair

On the fourth night after Halloween, American WEDNESDAY 13 came back to London. Featuring the founder JOSEPH MICHAEL POOL (vocals, guitars), ROMAN SURMAN (guitars, backing vocals), TROY DOEBBLER (bass, backing vocals), JACK TANKERSLEY (guitars, backing vocals) and MIKE DUPKE (drums), the horror heavy metal five-piece is currently promoting their latest release Mid Death Crisis across the world, and the London stop was their first one of the UK leg.

Supported by SOAP GIRLS and THE NOCTURNAL AFFAIR, all three bands took over the Islington Assembly Hall.

Opening the night was the Las Vegas-based THE NOCTURNAL AFFAIR. Founded by the band’s singer BRENDAN SHANE, followed by the guitarists ANDY INGRAHAM and DRU LAPPIN, bassist MICHAEL JAMES and drummer RAISTLIN “RJ” HAMMAN, the band is putting big emphasis on emotional, crushing and melancholic music, being heavily influenced by the likes of TYPE O NEGATIVE, HIM and NINE INCH NAILS. The start of the evening was challenging, as the set started fifteen minutes later than expected and the singer had issues with his microphone that carried throughout multiple songs, but they were resolved as quickly as possible, while he also used other members' microphones. Interacting a lot with the crowd, which was not very big, the whole band carried the performance with undying enthusiasm and energy and received the same energy from the audience, who loved them. As the set quickly came to its end, the band, with big applause, cheers and few shouts for an encore, left the stage with lots of gratitude for the London crowd.

The next band was the French, South African-raised female punk duo, SOAP GIRLS. Officially featuring only the two founders, sisters NOEMIE DEBRAY and CAMILLE DEBRAY, the band is using various drummers while recording and touring. The Australian duo is actively advocating for the LGBTQ+ community, inclusion and fights for the freedom of expression, in their songs and on stage, and it was evident from the beginning of their set, as they made multiple moving speeches in between their songs. Bringing in the wilderness and raw energy of punk, the sisters managed to make everyone from the barrier to the back of the floor dance, jump and sing, while performing their energetic, unapologetic and sometimes aggressive songs. They emphasised the urgency of the current political situation in the US and openly spoke about their opinions about it, as well as the support of everyone who opposes the government. The crowd actively engaged with the sisters during their performance and showed their support at the end, when it was time for them to leave the stage.

After two spectacular support bands, it was finally time for the headliner to take over the venue. WEDNESDAY 13 was still loudly welcomed on the stage, while the introduction track Blood Fases To Black played. From there, the band transitioned into playing the first song of the set, Look What The Bats Dragged In, and continued without a break for a multitude of songs. With every new song, the audience, started getting more enthusiastic and excited. In the middle of the crowd formed a moshpit that grew bigger as the performance progressed, and at some point, even crowdsurfers made their way above the ground. The band played their songs like Rotting Away, Good Day To Be A Bad Guy, I Walked With A Zombie, The Ghost Of Vincent Price and Bad Things, as well as few covers of POOL’s previous bands MURDERDOLLS and FRANKENSTEIN DRAG QUEENS FROM PLANET 13, namely Summertime Suicide, 197666 and Nowhere and I Love To Say Fuck, that was the closing song of the two-song encore. Fans were interacting with WEDNESDAY 13 throughout the whole evening and were pleased when the band mentioned they are playing at Bloodstock next year. The evening went by fast, but both the crowd and the performers enjoyed every minute of it.

WEDNESDAY 13, as well as SOAP GIRLS and THE NOCTURNAL AFFAIR opened their UK leg of the tour successfully at the Islington Assembly Hall and brought a unique experience to the capital.

Words: Katerina Stepanikova

Photos: Claire Cabanac