The Regrettes are only getting bigger and better, but the energy of their recent gig was a little underwhelming.
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On the 4th November, LA punk band The Regrettes started off their How Do You Love? Tour in The Loft here in Southampton. Supported by Lauran Hibberd, the band played an intimate gig in one of Southampton’s newer venues.
Opening the show was the up-and-coming Lauran Hibberd, with her pop-rock sound and undeniable charm. No one in the crowd could resist dancing along to her upbeat songs, including new release ‘Sweat Patch’, ‘Shark Week’ and the hilarious ‘Sugar Daddy’. Based in the Isle of Wight, she’ll be following The Regrettes throughout their UK tour, introducing more and more crowds to her infectious tunes.
Then came a bit of a wait before The Regrettes came on. This gave me a chance to have a look around the packed-out venue, as it was my first visit. It’s been said frequently that The Loft can get pretty claustrophobic, which is something I agree with – it’s hard to move around much if you want to get a drink. And it’s best just to avoid the toilets completely. There was a bit of a buzz in the crowd when The Regrettes came on to set up and tune their instruments, but it was cut short when they quickly left again, leading to yet another wait for the audience. I could sense the crowd was getting impatient.
Finally, the show started. Beginning with ‘Are You In Love’, the stripped-back spoken-word opener of their latest album, How Do You Love? It was a great choice to hype up the crowd and create a sense of anticipation in an otherwise very intimate gig. Their brand of upbeat modern punk played well on stage, especially some of the hits from their latest release like ‘I Dare You’, ‘California Friends’ and ‘Pumpkin’ (the one that really gets stuck in your head).
Unfortunately, I think the atmosphere in the crowd wasn’t up to scratch. Being a punk band, The Regrettes tried on several occasions to get a pit going (and even at one point a wall of death), but aside from a handful of enthusiastic participants, the energy wasn’t really there. Whether that was the cramped venue or the general energy of the audience, no one was very keen on getting knocked around that night. The crowd was most excited during the closer, ‘Poor Boy’, a feminist anthem that can make any crowd lose control.
On the whole, the enthusiasm in The Loft that night was somewhat underwhelming. Perhaps it was the long wait to see the band or the venue itself, but the gig as a whole didn’t meet the high expectations created by such an electric band. However, if you’re looking for an intimate gig it was really unbeatable; the band themselves walked past me in the crowd at least three times throughout the night. Of course, The Regrettes are really just getting started, and there’s no doubt that they have great potential.
Tickets are available for the rest of the tour here.
