BEX, a true creative with a clothing range alongside her music, played her biggest gig to date at London’s Omeara. Throughout the night, there was a lot of joy and a sense of smirking defiance, which is so incredibly punk. Tonight, everyone simply had fuckload of fun. BEX, Gürl and Eville were all colourful, creative and energetic.
BEX – Gürl – Eville
Omerea, London – 1 November 2024
Words: Theo A-Mullis
Photography: Robert James Congdon
Bex
The stage was hidden behind a red curtain, complementing the faded grandeur of the venue. It felt like I was at a carnival. The curtain dropped as the show kicked off with the opening riffs of Taste Better. Inflatable beach balls were launched into the crowd because why the fuck not? 
Bex was in a full scallywags outfit with a big overcoat of her own design, looking like the ringmaster she was that evening. She launched into Fifly and Fight and the crowd sparked with energy, the pit kicking off immediately.
Don’t Date The Devil and Chained To My Brain careened through the crowd next. I was lost in the pit at this point, bouncing beach balls off my skull.
Slave 2 The Grind is one of my favourite Bex tracks, one that really speaks to me personally and my ADHD addled brain. I was so glad when she played it.
I was even gladder when she played a new, never before heard track, the slow and pensive Who Are You To Do This? It’s clearly one that is emotionally charged for Bex. Cut through with sadness, it makes you stop for a moment.
We were brought screeching back with [sico]phant. Crowd surfing and stage-diving kicked off, much to the panic of security, who sent two burly fellas out front to send any crowd surfers back. 
A real fuckin’ coup d’etat was covering Avril Lavigne’s Sk8er Boi. Inflatable guitars were thrown into the crowd, and two people were invited onstage to absolutely shred it with BEX and the crew. It was awesome, joyful and hilarious.
BEX had the crowd moving and shouting “BITE DOWN!” with the venomous SPYD4 K1NG. The crowd surfing through the pit kept on; I lost count of how many punks we all lifted up from the core of the pit. I was still bouncing beachballs off my head. 
Sundae had bubbles! Fucking bubbles! Bubbles everywhere! A bubblegun, wielded by BEX to great effect (mostly aimed at the security guys) and bubbles from folks in the crowd. It’s a fucking great track and the crowd buzzed with joy.
Final was BEX’s latest release, Sum Kinda Syko. A triumph of a track dealing with issues of stalking and spiking. It’s cut through with contempt and sneering defiance against the misogynists that so often plague artists like her.
As the set finished BEX crowd surfed out to her merch stand, where she was more than happy to meet fans and chat.
Gürl
First up with a smirk and a wink was Gürl, an antipop/Alt-rock quartet from Bristol who described themselves to me after the set as “Sleep Token at the end of a bottomless brunch.”
Kicking off with Hexy. They brought truly irreverent energy from the off despite a bitty crowd to begin with. It didn’t take them long to fill the floor as they swaggered into Last Night I Read Your Diary with its heavy use of synths, poppy vocals and bass like a chainsaw.
The pit was kicked in Caviar by a large bearded clown to the apparent panic of venue security. This was the shape of things to come.
Medic was a genre whiplash, opening with a sinister growling from vocals into a gospel choir before the chorus hits. Then, it hits you with a chunky breakdown after the last chorus, backed by the choir. It’s a helluva track.
Gürl had great audience interaction and towards the end of the set the pit was full. Evil Twin was a fucking standout. They managed to get a wall of death before diving into an outstandingly shreddy guitar solo.
Closing out with Antipop, we were back to the smirk, the middle finger and the mic drop that song is. Gürl. Sleep Token at the end of a bottomless brunch? Yea, I’ll get another Mimosa.
Michy Tree
The Alt-rock artist was not playing this evening but was onstage between both sets. She rocked out with some amazing acrobatics in her pole routine. She brought bright colours, and her set was reminiscent of the death-defying acrobatics that you would find in the circus. It would not be out of place there and reinforced the carnival vibes of this night. 
Eville
Eville bought their own brand of Brat Metal, a genre I can only describe as Nu-Metal, but trading out the jumpsuits, baggy jeans and unfortunate ’00s hair for hot pink murder weapons and neon oni masks. The instrumentation is crushing, with heavy riffs and thumping synths overlaid with lead singer Eva Sheldrake’s melodious vocals.
They had the crowd in hand as the set went on. It’s a small venue, and the energy of the band really dictates the energy of the crowd. Luckily, Eville were up to the task with Monster and Crawl Back, and the pit formed again quickly. 
Blood was fucking great, Eva showed she has got range with a growl that cut through to the fore of the track. Dead Inside followed hot on Blood’s trail with darker, brooding opening riffs juxtaposed against a partying chorus. The breakdown had me spinning back into the pit in time for Ballistic and Hairy Fuck.
These tracks are all great, but there is a risk that they blend together to some degree. Despite that risk, the crowd was charged like a sparking car battery, and we got the second wall of death of the night.
Ending with Leech and Messy, Eville crashed into the pit, Eva sitting cross-legged in the middle, knowing she owned the place (Some of the pit literally bowing down around her). That moment was a fucking great time to bring it to a close. Definitely a band to keep an eye on.
