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pics: Chastity Belt, It Hugs Back & Girl Ray @ London's The Dalston Victoria

photos by Rachel Juarez-Carr

Chastity Belt @ The Dalston Victoria 10/15/2015
Chastity Belt

The crowd in this Dalston pub are sneering (or singing) along with her, the room packed to the rafters and stiflingly sweaty, despite the October winter drawing in outside. The sell-out show is an important one: the Seattle grrrls’ first ever UK gig, and you can tell we’re all stoked to be witnessing it.

It doesn’t seem as much of a big deal to Chastity Belt though, who play it cool as ice for the whole set, with Annie Truscott on bass slowly grooving side-to-side along to the surf guitar of lead shredder (and wearer of neon purple lipstick) Lydia Lund. It’s hard to see Gretchen Grimm on drums – the crowd’s too big – but you can sure as hell hear her.

The sound at the back isn’t too great – it would have been good to hear a bit more of that surf guitar – but that doesn’t detract from the set – if anything it adds to the DIY vibe, and besides – they’re totally preaching to the converted. (Gigwise)

Seattle’s Chastity Belt brought their ongoing tour to London for a show at The Dalston Victoria on October 15th. As noted above, this was their first UK show. Openers were London trio Girl Ray and dreampop act It Hugs Back. They played all of this year’s Time to Go Home as well as some cuts from 2013’s No Regerts to the sold-out crowd.

It Hugs Back, whose frontman Matthew Simms is also a current member of Wire, released their fourth album, Slow Wave, this past summer. You can stream it below.

Check out more pics of Chastity Belt, It Hugs Back, and Girl Ray below.


Girl Ray

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It Hugs Back

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