Review & Photography by Manny Manson for MPM
So, a later start tonight has me back in Nottingham, at Rock City’s smaller sibling next door. The Rescue Rooms are a 450-cap venue, of which tonight, is almost sold out. On the billing tonight is JAYLER, supporting KIRA MAC fronted by the formidable voice of Rhiannon ‘Kira’ Hill.
The doors have been put at 19:30, by the time I get to the venue there is a healthy queue forming. The tickets have a doors time of 18:30 so hence mass of waiting fans waiting to see Rhiannon and her refreshed band.
First up, though we have the aforementioned JAYLER, a young four piece who formed in 2022 having met at college in Lichfield. The bring a slice of 70’s classic rock, with a slathering of prog rock thrown in for good measure. The band have been steadily gathering momentum and have a solid, and it must be said, growing fanbase. Catch them live and you’ll see why. They released a debut E.P. in December 2023, a 6-song player entitled “A Piece Of Our Time”, look it up it’s a doozy.
On time the guys wander out onto the stage, the crowd are onboard as they cheer and whistle. Edd Evans slams around the kit as they slowly build into ‘Acid Rain’ from the EP. James Bartholomew hits the vocal, his orange shirt wide open and his SG guitar, complete with maestro trem’, hangs low as he rips into the opening song. He shares lead licks with Tyler Arrowsmith, who at first glance reminded me of Skynyrd’s Larkin Allen Collins, must be the hair! The pair are flamboyant in their lick delivery as this rocker of a song opens the night.
James asks how we’re doing, introduces the next song as having over 100,000 views on YouTube, it’s the second track off the debut EP. It continues the classic rock theme, hard hitting full of juicy riffs and thundering drum grooves. Ricky Hodgkiss, on bass is over on stage left, bathed in horrible blue neon light, his licks are tight and seismic, thrusting the song along as the guitars swoop and soar around it. There’s a great familiarity to the sound and the crowd are loving it.
We get a change of guitar and James is on the mic, the SG put to one side. He introduces the next song as a future single called ‘When You Go’. Tyler is on a telecaster and slide guitar as this one hammers out across the venue. Its more melodic and has the crowd nodding their heads along to its beat. There is a Greta Van Fleet vibe mixed in with the obvious Plant and Page flavour. Clapping is encouraged as the song plays out; the slide guitar is purring away as Edd grooves out on his kit in near darkness at the back. The song finishes with a vocal warble and cheers from the crowd.
James points out that back stage is just over there so wants the crowd to be a bit more vocal when he asks if they’re ready for KIRA MAC, they can hear he adds. He introduces ‘The Getaway’ as a song that was written only two months away. This continues the same vibe. Fast drum groove gallops this one along as James delivers a very Plant inspired vocal, the posture, poses, hip grinding, all very RP. This is a great tune that gives you no time to chew, such is its pace. The solo is frantic as James screams along in full control of his stunning voice. This is a great young band with talent.
James says “ as you can tell we’re big fans of 70’s rock, we want to bring classic rock back from the grave.” ‘Love Maker’ is introduced as the first single to be released and starts with a slam of drums and a howling cry from out front man James. Edd behind the kit is being kept busy, his grooves are Bonham-esque, he’s tight ‘in the pocket’ as they say.
He’s hitting them like they’ve nicked his dinner money. This is another one where James gets to channel his 70’s plant. Tyler has his LP guitar up on his knee, ala SLASH, as he rips the solo apart, its gritty, nay filthy in its delivery. The song builds with a repetitive guitar lick to a Plant style vocal riff which is off the scale, finishing with a flurry of drums and guitar. Song of the set, what a finish.
Look at this service says James as Tyler hands him his guitar. I’ll sack him as he’s forgot my pic. This last one is about a Viking Warrior, says James over the top of explosive drums, it’s called ‘The Rinsk’. The band are in their element as James is singing and playing away. The drum beat is massive, proven as Edd has to pull his kick drum back into position as it’ trying to get to the bar.
The breakdown sees Tyler pull out a violin bow, as he strokes the strings, the drums are clattering away, the hi-hat marking time like it’s on speed. Its James’s turn as he climbs the riser and screams out a lick or two whilst Edd and Ricky rock out behind him, the guitar is up and behind his head as he faces the drums and plays away lick Hendrix before resuming the vocal and brings the song and the set to a finish to great cheers from the entire room.
The crowd are screaming for more as the regulation crowd photo is taken. They get one hell of a response from the crowd!
We like them…a lot!
The band and crew quickly clear the stage ready for KIRA MAC, tonight’s headline turn. I’ve been lucky enough to see the band a fair few times since the band formed in 2018, in venues and festivals, and the band have never failed to impress. Her debut album ‘Chaos is Calling’ was released in 2022 on CD then in 2023 on vinyl, with a limited run-on red vinyl completing the trinity to date. There is talk of a new album coming soon.
So, over the earlier part of the year KIRA MAC had a bit of a spring clean, it’s now a four instead of 5-piece, We have new to the band, Loz Reilly on drums and Phil Williams on bass. Joe and Rhiannon being the only original and founding members left in the band. The two met at Uni in Manchester and are obviously the driving force behind the songs and writing of the band.
Tenacious D’s ‘Tribute’ plays over the house PA, those of us who know recognise this as the bands walk on music, the crowd are in fine voice as they sing along to this Jack Black and Kyle Gass’s , classic anthem. The band are on stage and ready to rock, Rhiannon is going to make the Diva entrance, not that she is, in fact she’s one of the most down to earth, humblest people I’ve met.
The set kicks of hard and fast with ‘Save Your Whiskey’. It’s got a steady drum beat as it builds, the guitar from Joe Worrall is nasty and full of spite. New bow Phil Williams on bass is giving it a mean face as his bass stomps on your head. First song in and the band are tight. Rhiannon’s vocal is madness in its bluesy country delivery. This is from across the pond not Stoke! Fat blues guitar soars from Joes fingers as Loz Reilly slams out hard in the corner on his kit.
The crowd are loving it as we go into fan favourite ‘Dead Man Walking’ from Chaos is Calling. The guitar is again nasty as is the rattling bass, its already got the venue shaking to its foundations. We’ll call Rhiannon, Kira from now as its easier to spell! Her voice is full of emotion, the vibrato on her hanging notes it stunning. The guitar is evil as it spews forth its compressed fuzz of wickedness. The bass is chest crushing as Williams stomps around the stage. The new band mean business and it shows.
Kira encourages the crowd to sing along with “Hey Hey” during ‘Chaos is Calling’ she adds “ if you forget where you sing your ‘Hey’s’ don’t follow the boys as they don’t have an effing clue”. It’s another banger of a track full of renewed vigour and filth. The crowd are on point and deliver the ‘Hey’s’ in spades when required. The whistling commences when Kira tells everyone that her fly was open for the last 3 shows. A New song follows called ‘Play the Game’. Its’ another cut ‘n’ thrust of a tune. Kira’s voice swoops and soars with the agility of a ballerina as the melody is thumping around her furiously. She’s smiling at the crowd as she points and postulates at individuals, the guitars are nasty in the mix. The drums and bass are rattling fillings lose and moving the venue into the next postcode.
The cheers continue as ‘No Way Out’ is rolled straight into. This is another crowd pleaser. The walking beat is pulsing along as the guitar chainsaws alongside it, hiding the destructive bass line that is pummelling your chest as the song progresses. The applause and whistles prove this to be a favourite. Kira tells us she’s hot and blames it on the plastic. She introduces Phil on Bass and Loz on drums before going into ‘Scorned’ where she gets the crowd to sing along. The snappy snare cuts through as the crowd join in with the der rigour clapping before Joe rips a solo out on the light blue Stratocaster. It’s a banger of a track, another that the crowd love.
Kira says they’re going to do something a bit different, a tour where they’ll play songs that have never been played before. And wont ever again. The band quickly change things up as a stool appears for Kira, along with an acoustic. She says she has songs that’ll never see the light of day as they’re not right for the band. She introduces ‘This Story’ that she wrote through lock down. At least I think that’s what she said as there were a couple of guys with big mouths talking loudly over Kira. It’s a great piece of song writing and goes down well.
When its finish’s she brings out Joe who takes over the guitar duties. ‘Say Something’ a Timberlake, Stapleton cover is up next, she shamelessly plugs the acoustic EP they’re selling on the merch stand. Before ripping into the great tune. The next song was dropped from the electric set as it didn’t fit in when it was played live. ‘Imagine What We Could Have Been’ has been added back to the set in a stripped back acoustic form which the band thinks works better. This is another from Chaos is Calling and works well in this stripped back form. Kira’s voice is smoky rich as she effortlessly delivers this great tune.
A trip down memory lane, to when Kira and Joe won an open mic night in Manchester by singing an Oasis song. ‘Half the World Away’ was the winning song, Joe was a drummer back then but managed to kill it, winning them £30. The crowd are encouraged to sing along, the devoted fans duly sing along to this Britpop anthem from the 1998 album Masterplan. She asks if the crowd are looking forward to the second album, obviously the reply was a resounding yes, Kira continues that they were asked if they wanted to record it in Huddersfield or Toronto? I t was -6C she says they made the wrong decision as there is at least a Greggs in Huddersfield.
The next song is a Nate Smith cover that they played whilst in Canada, it’s called ‘Whiskey On You’. Another great country ballad which suits Kira’s effortless voice to a tee. This brings the acoustic part of the set to a close and the rest of the band reappear on stage.
Another cover follows it’s the more upbeat, bad break up song, ‘You Oughta Know’ by Alanis Morissette from 1995’s Jagged Little Pill. Again, Kira delivers an effortless lyric, helped in parts by the crowd who are only too happy to join in with this one. The cheering and clapping is short lived as the band roll straight into ‘Hit Me Again’ another favourite from Chaos is Calling. Williams has his bass rattling along the whole of the balcony is moving it time to his fingerings, that’s an evil bass. The crowd obviously join in with clapping as the song builds to the breakdown which is fuzzed heaven, nasty and with intent. Kira’s hair blows in the breeze from the two fans as she dances around between them. A thundering volley of drums brings the song to a climactic finish. The band can do no wrong as the crowd once again show their appreciation.
Kira introduces the next song, ‘Hell Fire and Holy Water’, was written for her dad, it’s not about him but explains all Kira’s bad decisions, it’s also the second most played track on the streaming platforms. The walking beat is heavy as Worrall’s distorted strings weave around Kira’s voice. The bass line is bouncing around as Williams, his face and upside-down smile stomps in time to his pulsing strings. There’s a textured, biting edge to the guitar solo, its simplistic in design, but fits the mood of the song. The song stomps hard and loud across the venue, heads a re nodding along, it’s hard not to join in. ‘Never Going to Stay’ was written in the studio and is from Chaos is Calling. It’s a homage if you can call it that, reflecting a time when Kira’s life that was falling apart.
She tells us that after this tour it will not feature in the set going forward. The song is delivered with emotion, it can’t have been easy when life is being a bitch every which way you turn. It finishes with a sustained note from Worrall which breaks down into controlled feedback and then straight into ‘Mississippi Swingin’ this lifts the mood back to where we want to be. Kira’s Smokey voice swirls around the lyric effortlessly once more. The backline are thumping along tight and in your face. Reilly’s snare crack cuts through with the subtly of a lumber jack’s axe. Worrall’s solo is up in the dirty end pushing the dynamic of the song to the next level. Yip, you guessed it, the crowd love it and show their appreciation with “wow’s” and “Good Shit” being banded around.
Kira is wanting to get to the barrier but the set-up is preventing her from doing so. She takes the moment to thank everyone for coming out and seeing them live on a Thursday night. She adds we’re going to do some heavier shit; the next song is ‘Farewell’ from the up-and-coming new album. Its drop tuned heavy, lots of crash cymbals and angry guitar riffs, this is a different direction to the more bluesy rock everyone’s used to; however, Kira’s Smokey vocal is still there in spades. The breakdown is a head down neck breaker as the band grind out a devious groove that’s moving plenty of air.
‘Climbing’ also from the new long player finishes the set. It’s a fast and furious riff that has the crowd clapping. A flurry of crash cymbals, concussive snare and nasty bass riffs deliver the song with purpose. Worrall’s riffs are distorted sharp as they cut the through the wall of percussive sounds. It’s a belter of a track, the furious breakdowns have the heads nodding as Kira gets the crowd shouting “Hey” in the right ‘pauses’ during in the furore. Whilst the band clap and cheer the band quickly nip of stage, I’m sure they could do with a wet. The cheering and clapping, whistling and stamping continues until Worrall comes back and rips a lick out on the guitar. Kira re-appears and says “right we have two more”, “That’s about 6-minutes”, “ are you ready for it”
‘Downfall’ kicks the encore off, dark and nasty guitar pulses along as the crowd are light in their loafers, bouncing along to the concussive beat as this plays out. The chugging riff dives the song into the break down which is full of crash cymbal and dark riffs. The song takes a turn and we get a short mellow moment before it rocks out with Kira patrolling the stage as she delivers this the penultimate song. It finishes with her voice echoing to fade.
Once again, the crowd is thanked for coming out, and are told that the band will be at the merch after the set. The final song of the night is obviously another fan favourite ‘ One Way Ticket’. Naturally the crowd join in with the singing, Kira smiles and points at the crowd as they join in closing out the show. The solo on this one is a lot cleaner than we’ve had during the show, it’s got a great bark to it as some in the crowd air guitar along to Worrall’s playing. Kira finishes with a bit of a riff, her voice encased by the sound of screaming fans, wanting more.
What can I see ‘KIRA MAC’ is in the house and it’s a rockin’. I’ve seen the band, and its various line-ups play live several times. This smaller quartet is on fire and tonight is probably the best I’ve seen the band play. Kira is relaxed, and fun, clearly enjoying the moment, she is humble to a fault and hasn’t forgotten how hard the road has been along the way.
She clearly loves her fans, the queue at the merch stand to say hi has meant that most of the crowd are still in the venue. This band are going places, he voice alone will guarantee that.
With a half dozen shows still left, finishing in her home town of Stoke on May 11th, at the underground, it is certainly a show worth seeing. Go give Stokes finest a listen, you wont regret it.
