News / live music
Preview: Paint by Numbers, Thekla – ‘A hard-hitting, unabashedly unique lineup’
Calling all music heads: there’s a new player in town. Thekla will be opening its doors to the inaugural launch of Paint By Numbers, an all-dayer beginning in Bristol before picking itself up and traversing over to Nottingham’s Bodega for its secondary leg.
For fans of hit events like Dot to Dot, Outer Town and Ritual Union, December 6 is one to put in the calendar.
In partnership with Dork, an online music publication focused on fresh, energised music coverage, the event promises a day of artists bubbling over in anticipation of something big.
Thekla will be opening its two stages from 3pm to a range of music from garage to lo-fi pop, post-punk, grunge and more. Already released is a hard-hitting, unabashedly unique line-up of groups from Bristol and beyond, with more acts to be announced soon.
Here’s a run down of the current lineup:
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Growing rapidly in the past year, misspelled misfits Porij are an alt-dance four-piece founded at the Royal Northern Music College in 2019.
Following the lines of MJ Cole, Disclosure and KNOWER and in the groove of house, lo-fi, garage and new wave, their sound offers up high-energy beats to fill the dancefloor while songs cover popularity, toxic relationships, analysis paralysis and even Jack the Ripper.
Over the course of a short career they’ve already supported Coldplay on tour and appeared at the BBC Radio 6 Music Festival in 2022. A must-see band before they make it big.
Bloodworm
A Nottingham favourite, Bloodworm are a hard-hitting and hard-working three-piece. They reach for the darker tones of goth and post punk with a sound reminiscent of the Cure, Bauhaus and the Sound while maintaining an air of improvisation and exciting uncertainty in their live shows.
From humble beginnings in alcohol-fuelled garden shed jam sessions growing to over 100 gigs in under two years, the band has honed their sharp-witted entrancing lyricism augmented with dreamy guitar riffs.
“We’re lucky we’re going to be in Bristol quite a lot over the next few months as we’re also stopping off with Suede when we support them on their UK tour,” the band said. “It’s always the most receptive crowds. Whatever is on they just get fixated on it and get stuck in, there must be something in the air? AND we get to play on a boat!”
An unabashed driving punk force, Bristol based four-piece My First Time ooze with angst.
They leave no stone unturned in their ability to amaze a crowd: with unforgiving drum-beats, razor-sharp guitar riffs and cutting vocals, they charge onto stage with infectious hooks, reflecting the sheer fun of the likes of Yard Act and Wet Leg.
The band’s James Mellen said: “Our sound lies somewhere between Elastica, Nirvana and Justin Timberlake”; adding Blur, The Streets, Black Midi and Marina and the Diamonds to the list, their instantly recognisable sound has made it to the likes of BBC 1, BBC 6 Music and the record label Submarine Cat Records.
They are certainly the band of the modern crowd, shouting politics, social media stereotypes and nightlife to forge an unparalleled energy, rowdy and ready to get stuck into their live shows.
MGM and Hadouken inspired, this London duo exhale 2000’s nostalgia in their music.
Overwhelmingly DIY and home video in feel, they wield their electronic sound as a shockwave following the rising digital slang of the BRAT to craft a visually stunning and definitely fun live show.
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Just for Fun are looking forward to being back in Bristol: “We’re so excited to play Paint by Numbers,” the duo said. “It will be our Bristol debut. A city we both spent many nights partying in as we’ve grown up.”
Sandhouse is unapologetically experimental in genre, disregarding often confining style guidelines and instead filtering through raw authenticity to form a sound akin to 60s-psych-meets-90s-rock.
Atmospheric and emotionally intense, grunge guitars converse with sharp electronic rhythms and dream-pop textural soundscapes. a band gaining traction, they feature on playlists including Spotify’s Best New Indie and All New Rock, and have supported Panic Shack. A debut album is in the works.
Marvin’s Revenge
This Derbyshire-formed, Nottingham-based alt-rock band are fresh off the back of releasing third EP Offer of Love. Their sound is a mix of dark melodic tones, hardcore explorations into electric guitar and the grunge fuzz of inspirations like the Jesus Lizard.
No stranger to festivals, they have appeared at Focus Wales, Dot to Dot, Y Not and Tramlines, and know how to get a room buzzing through support slots for Heartworms and Ditz.
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Crowds are certainly in for a treat when M/X is on the lineup, with chaotic live shows that are visceral, raw and unforgiving in atmosphere.
The Bristol punk trio hail back to IDLES, Soft Play and Kid Kapichy while charged with passion like a punch in the gut. M/X defy stereotypes with an all-queer lineup and all-female back line, they have featured at Dot to Dot and Harbourfest and are excitedly beginning their first ever UK tour in October.
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The one-day event In partnership with DORK will take place at Thekla on Saturday, December 6.
More acts are set to be announced soon. Find all information and tickets at theklabristol.co.uk/gigs/paint-by-numbers-all-dayer-with-porij-bloodworm-my-first-time-and-more
Main image: My First Time by Cloe Morrison
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