The Honeys Take Reading

Palm Honey are a well loved Reading band and they are a favourite of Purple Turtle. The 4 played their psychedelic tunes with their new video as a backdrop. The lighting and visuals reflect the band well as the simplicity but fuzzy definitely comes across in their music. Most people in the crowd have experienced their sets multiple times before so it was time to see what they'd do to mix it up.

The lone support came from London based band Karmacoma, making their debut in Reading. The room was fairly empty for the 4 piece as the support for the gig was announced unusually late on so everyone was kind of kept in the dark. Their set was short but sweet, performing to a crowd that have no clue who they are must be challenging but they didn't let that phase them. Despite the slightly bleak atmosphere and more people in the brightly lit smoking area than inside, they still put all their heart in performing songs such as I Can't Believe. We'd be sure to welcome them back to Reading soon.

After a short wait it was time for Reading favourites Palm Honey to take the stage. Familiar faces filled the crowd of other band members and Reading locals who adore the bands unique sound, and it was certainly a different vibe to the previous band that had performed. Joe Mumford leads the band with his distinct vocals which captivates the crowd through each track they perform. They showcased songs of their latest EP Tucked Into The Electronic Wave with favourites such as Stick The Knife In getting the best reception. Something quite amazing happened at the end of their set where the band invited guitarists onto the stage from the crowd to jam with them in an instrumental. It was almost as if Palm Honey were giving back to the Reading scene by letting budding band members showcase the talent they have. It was a slightly different atmosphere to previous times we have seen the band but they did not disappoint nonetheless.

Black Honey travelled up from Brighton to Reading’s grimiest venue, The Face Bar, for one of their last shows of the tour. It was a very intimate show, perhaps even more so than Palm Honey. Everyone was there from bands, to photographers to writers, it was nice to have everyone together in traditional Reading style.

Support came from local band Saltwater Sun. Also headed by a female vocalist, there were some running themes between the 5 piece and Black Honey, although, with similar sounding voices the vibe was very different. There wasn’t much of a reaction from the crowd and it just sounded like background music. The overall look of the band was also rather odd, with the lead looking like she’d just come out of Reading’s vintage store Harper & Lewis and the boys clashing in knitted jumpers. Although their more well known songs like Habit On My Mind and Making Eyes are good and well loved by those who have seen them before, there wasn’t much differentiation between songs and we may as well have sat at home and put their Soundcloud on.

Freak were next to grace the stage and definitely a rather odd choice to pair with Black Honey, however still very well received particularly by the younger boys in the venue. They've recently toured with indie heart-throbs Sundara Karma so a relatively sizeable amount of the crowd knew what was coming. When they came on it quickly got us out of the very sad looking smoking area and the carnage occurring right up front all looked very exciting through the eyes of a 15 year old boy. It was bassists Jonn's birthday so fan favourite Cake seemed a fitting song to have on the set list, as well as a wonderfully disgusting cover of Britney Spears' Toxic. The trio are still a relatively small band but their relationship with each other was so tight and loving it was clear they were very happy to be playing for us and that positivity really rubbed off on the crowd. It was a very exciting and rowdy set which was perfect to set us up for Black Honey's arrival.

Black Honey finally got onto the stage and there was a sudden push forward as everyone wanted to get a bit closer. They were very comfortable on stage and with who we can only assume was lead Izzy Baxter's parents standing next to us we could see how far they've come with their steady growth over the past few years. Alongside the Debbie Harry vibes, Baxter put us all in a trance locking intense eye contact with the crowd getting us all clapping along and eventually sat down listening to every word as if she was a preacher. Contact with the crowd made the small venue seem even more intimate, we were really part of a show not just looking on at a band disconnectedly playing their songs. An 11 song long set list, we definietly felt captivated in Izzy's tropical paradise for a small eternity. Although Izzy is the icon of the band, the other members weren't just hanging about they did all bring supporting energy and enjoyed it just was much as the rest of us. New songs got everyone hyped up, and old favourites that came towards the end of the set Teenager, Spinning Wheel and Corrine got everyone rowdier than ever, especially the jaw dropping screams in Spinning Wheel. It was an energy fuelled start to the summer gigs and I'm sure they'll be doing their fair share on the festival circuit coming up and I can't wait for it.

The difference between Palm Honey and Black Honey was quite significant but I'd only put this down to the venues being 14+ and 18+. The atmosphere really does have a massive impact on the night, and as annoying as they can be, the younger ones definitely bring the energy and the rowdiness to keep it all exciting.

Photos: Katie King