Get In Her Ears Live @ Shacklewell Arms w/ Me Rex, 10.02.2023

For our first gig of 2023, we were lucky enough to host a beautiful sold out night at The Shacklewell Arms, filled with the best music, best people and best vibes. Huge massive thanks to headliners Me Rex, as well as Dream Phone and Jen Denitto for being amazing! Thanks too to Sofia on sound, and to everyone who came down to support the bands, dance the night away, and help us raise £200 for vital organisation, Gendered Intelligence.

See below for some fantastic photos of the night, courtesy of our photographer Jon Mo…

Kicking off the night, London DIY legend Jen Denitto and her band deliver a career-spanning range of scuzzy indie-pop offerings. Covering themes from narcissists to the power of friendship, it’s a wonderfully uplifting set, oozing a unifying sense of joy throughout the crowd.

Next up, Oxford duo Dream Phone (aka my new favourite band) take to the stage. An utterly unique experience, their set offers voice augmentation and synth-driven glitch-pop soundscapes, all fuelled by Jen and Hannah’s sparkling charisma and vibrant energy. With the set lasting just under 20 minutes, every single second is a truly entertaining spectacle (a highlight being a swirling rendition of Papa Roach’s ‘Last Resort’), and I cannot wait to see and hear more from this exciting duo.

Headliners Me Rex take to the stage amidst a sea of adoring fans, treating them to 45 blissful minutes of indie-pop goodness. Oozing a swirling emotion alongside jangling melodies and luscious harmonies, each and every song flows with the band’s stirring lyricism, glistening musicality and impassioned energy; and I can’t help but lose myself in the rich, soothing catharsis that ripples throughout. Having been a mega fan of Me Rex for a few years now, it really is an honour to have them play for us – an experience that exceeded all expectations.

Huge thanks again to the three INCREDIBLE bands who played for us on Friday – what a dream of a night! Next up, we’re at Sebright Arms on 31st March for Gold Baby’s single launch, with support from The Other Ones and Argonaut – nab tickets here!

Words: Mari Lane / @marimindles
Photos: Jon Mo / @jonmophoto

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Get In Her Ears Live @ Shacklewell Arms w/ Bad Sidekick, 09.12.2022

Following our first December gig, just last week hosting Currls’ EP launch, we were back at the Shacklewell Arms on Friday for a night filled with the best music, best people and best vibes. Massive thanks to Bad Sidekick, Alien Chicks and Cosmic Ninja, and to everyone who came down to support the bands and help us raise money for completely vital organisation, The Outside Project.

Kicking off the night Cosmic Ninja blast into our eyes and ears with their immense, empowering spirit, treating us to their riotous hip-hop infused queer punk.


Second band of the night is South London’s Alien Chicks. Delivering an utterly impressive (especially considering the guitarist has a broken hand!) set, they showcase their unique funk-fuelled punk rock with an incredible frenzied energy.


Headliners Bad Sidekick treat us to a set filled with fierce offerings, new and old. From the raging energy of tracks such as ‘I Ain’t Sick’ to the brooding allure of cat-inspired ‘Lemon Eyes’, it’s impossible not to fall in love with Cooper and co.’s reverb-strewn alt-rock.

Massive thanks to the three amazing bands who played for us on Friday and to anyone who braved the cold to come out to support them and us! Sadly we have to take a break from gigs in January, but we’ll be back at The Shacklewell Arms on 10th February with total faves Me Rex, with support from Dream Phone and Jen Denitto. Tickets already going fast – nab yours here!

Words: Mari Lane / @marimindles
Photos: Jon Mo / @jonmophoto

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Get In Her Ears Live @ Shacklewell Arms w/ Currls, 01.12.22

Following our lovely November gig at Sebright Arms with Breakup Haircut, our first December instalment of GIHE live saw us return to the Shacklewell Arms for a night filled with the best music, best people and best vibes to host Currls‘ EP launch. Massive thanks to Currls, Collars and Hypsoline, and to everyone who came down to support the bands and help us raise money for completely vital organisation, The Outside Project.

First up, Brighton’s Hypsoline kick off the night with all the fuzzy, sparkling allure you could ever desire. Having only previously heard one song of theirs (the immensely catchy ‘Space Babe’), it was a joy to witness more of their twinkling, swirling energy and scuzzy charm. Definite ones to watch!


Second band of the night, Cambridgeshire’s Collars put on an utterly unique live experience. As Kane simultaneously pummels the drums whilst blasting out whirring hooks on guitar, Dan exudes a captivating charisma as the soaring power of their vocals fills the venue, immersing everyone in the duo’s fierce, dazzling energy. New favourites for sure!


Closing the night, it’s an honour to host the London leg of Currls‘ debut EP launch – having them return to play for us after hosting their first London headline show back in November last year feels pretty special. And it seems their sweeping, empowering brand of garage rock has reached new heights since we last saw them; propelled by Han’s immense beats, and the buoyant energy of a jaunty new bassist, front woman Holly delivers her soulful vocals with an effortless grace and gritty power. As the crowd sing and bounce along to each enlivening offering (including a couple of unique takes on classics by Girls Aloud and The Bangles), Currls prove their worth as a compelling band on the rise.

Massive thanks to the three bands who played for us on Thursday and to everyone who came out to support them and us! We’re not staying away for long this time… We’ll be back next Friday 9th December at Shacklewell Arms for an epic night with Bad Sidekick, Alien Chicks and Cosmic Ninja – tickets on Dice now!

Words: Mari Lane / @marimindles
Photos: Don Blandford / @snapperchap.don

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Get In Her Ears Live @ The Victoria w/ Jemma Freeman and the Cosmic Something, 14.10.22

Following September’s gig at The Shacklewell Arms with the driving ethereal soundscapes of Gemma Cullingford, our October installment of GIHE live saw us return to The Victoria in Dalston for what felt like a super special night filled with the best music, best people and best vibes. Massive thanks to Jemma Freeman and the Cosmic Something, KIN and Trouble Wanted, and to everyone who came down to pack out the venue and helped make it a night to remember.

Here, Mandy Bang writes a few words about the night to accompany Jon Mo’s fantastic pics…

It’s Friday night and The Victoria is packed – a glass smashes on the dancefloor and is carefully kicked aside by revellers determined to have a good time. Tonight’s opening band conjure a murky dive bar on the wrong side of the tracks: the saloon doors unexpectedly swing open, everyone turns to look up at the new arrivals, jaws drop, gasps are audible… there’s a new stranger in town – Trouble Wanted.

The London-based five-piece have just one song available on their Bandcamp page, but, when it’s the “sexy, queer exchange between Lonely Cowgirl and a mysterious dyke trucker”, it’s one hell of a special treat. Live, Trouble Wanted blend menacing basslines, dreamy guitar touches, dancing drums, sexy synths and the occasional burst of alluring saxophone with semi-spoken vocals. Lucy sings of unrequited lust and dysfunctional mother/child relationships and pistol-whips songs with loaded humour. By the end of their set they have encouraged the whole room to shake off their inhibitions as we all sing “I want you in my bed” with wild abandon!

Tonight is Ritu Arya’s last gig with KIN, who played their second ever show for GIHE back in 2019. The band dedicate the drummer’s favourite song to her and later in their set proceed to initiate their first crowd sing-along during a cover of Wheatus’ ‘Teenage Dirtbag’.

The release of the trio’s new single, ‘Soapdish’, coincides with tonight’s gig and is a melancholy ramble through a relationship that is better to be left behind, as singer/keyboardist Grace asserts, “I’m not going to change my mind”. In amongst KIN’s atmospheric indie pop, there are sparse guitar echoes which momentarily bring to mind unexpected eerie Bauhaus vibes. Meanwhile, their 2020 single, ‘L.O.V.E.’, possesses the kind of upbeat energy that demands to drive us to sunny days spent dancing on a beach somewhere far out of reach.

Our final act of the night is Jemma Freeman and The Cosmic Something and Jemma’s party look this evening is demonic jester with a touch of Jaz Coleman of Killing Joke fame. The trio put on a frantic display of musicianship with psychedelic and garage rock leanings, skipping from one catchy song into the next which throws the audience into an array of shapes.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to know”, declares Jemma before shredding so enthusiastically a guitar string breaks. Jemma conducts the quickest string change ever carried out by a musician mid-set, whilst the bassist and drummer keep an impressive backbeat flowing. One gets the impression that this rhythm section could quite happily lay down a two-hour instrumental jam as if performing at a ’70s music festival. Jemma, seemingly impressed by said bandmates’ calm professionalism, exclaims, “I don’t really need to be here“.

Jemma’s in-between song banter hints at a vulnerable front person with an awkward confidence. Lyrics are laced with self-deprecating humour and a composition from the band’s upcoming new album, ‘Miffed’, is a tale of a bad Tinder date that involved getting locked in a park – “Sounds exciting, but it’s not good”, they assure us before dedicating ‘Lump’ to “weird and petty gay people – like me!”.

Rather than the rallying ‘girls to the front’ mantra, Jemma encourages each audience member to look behind them and to move aside if those behind are struggling to see the band bathed in orange, green and blue lighting. I’ve only ever been at one other gig where the band has been this wonderfully thoughtful (namely Dream Wife) and Jemma half-jokes that it took ten years of therapy to ascertain: “I’m five-foot two-inches tall and I’m going to take up space and be unafraid“. A sentiment that gets a huge cheer from this crowd.

Big thanks to all three of the incredibly fantastic bands on Friday night! As for us, our next gig will be at the Sebright Arms next month with a lush line-up of Breakup Haircut, Piney Gir and BCOS RSNS on 17th November. Tickets can be nabbed over on Dice and we’ll see you down the front!

Words: Mandy Bang / @mandybang
Photos: Jon Mo / @jonmophotography

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