Tonight’s show is sold out and it’s heartening to see the Rescue Rooms already packed by the time BEX takes to the stage. There’s no tentativeness you sometimes get with opening acts, nothing in fact to suggest this is anything but a consummate professional on the top of her game. It isn’t just the songs although they’re feistily fantastic. It’s the stage craft that impresses. Here we have an artist that knows how to work a crowd instinctively and make the show fun. The band are tight and with BEX picking up a bass for part of the set the double four string attack (should we call it eight string?) adds a distinctive vibe. An added bonus is that right from song one the sound and light is spot on – well done those techs. This is a massively impressive outing for one of punk rock’s superstars in waiting. One day soon a return as headliner should be well and truly on the cards.
With the crowd well and truly warmed up to toasty levels the air of expectation for Delilah Bon is electric. What we get is nothing short of arena quality in a compact venue. Yep, it’s an ‘I was there’ goosebumps kind of show. By now we should all know the passion Bon holds for calling out misogyny and the patriarchy. It is the core of her being. Now though the delivery is more mature, more focussed and absolutely on point. We have a full band now with skilfully played drums, a dynamic guitar and a veritable legend (Becky Baldwin) on bass. It’s a bit of a dream team which gives Bon the very best of platforms. There’s already a pretty impressive back catalogue to fill the set and you have to admire the pacing with a kick ass start, a breather, then a full on ending. The songs are just sublime with ‘Chop Dicks’ and ‘War On Women’ sounding particularly huge. There’s one thing that has even newcomer’s jaws dropping though and that is Bon’s magnificent voice. She sings with fire and passion, we know that. But tonight her tone and control are world class. When she adds fry or screams it’s focussed, but it’s the clean singing that really shines. It’s here that you get to witness the very best quality vox imaginable. Frankly it’s a privilege to watch. And what for the future? Well based on tonight Delilah Bon will soon be headlining next door at Rock City with even mighty arenas surely just a matter of time.
Review and photos by Gary Trueman