Tonight, TQ9 saw the return of hectic blues punk n’ rollers, MOTHER VULTURE, it’s been a while since I saw them on home turf and I was hoping that word had gotten around, apparently it had as everyone I knew was talking about it. 

I caught up with their drummer and backbone of the band Matthew West the other day to chat about WHY people should be flocking to Things Happen Here (formerly the New Lion Brewery on the Meadowbrook Estate in Dartington). As I posted the feature on the socials, I saw the poster on their site announcing that the show was SOLD OUT, clearly my promotional work had paid off but owing to it being live for 10 minutes prior to the notice going up, I can’t take all the credit! 

The conversation also covered a recent incident where the band had not only their van stolen but a lot of their equipment that they used for their live shows. A ‘Go Fund Me’ campaign was setup, and in order to get back in the game as soon as possible, the band reached out to their followers, who, amazingly, rallied together and managed to exceed the £10k target in under 24 hours, talk about a solid fan base!  

Tonight saw MV supported by two bands, Long in the Tooth and Leonard and the Zombies, I’ll admit that I have never seen or heard either so tonight was to be a learning experience for this reviewer. I secretly hoped that the latter of the bands had a member called Leonard and that he was a zombie and it wouldn’t be long until I found out. 

The venue was buzzing, with its new floor, lighting rig and safety barrier in front of the stage (which I don’t think would have lasted two minutes once MV took to the stage), the place was ready to rock, the only question left to answer was “Do you want to go big, or go home?”, I opted for going big.... 

First up was Leonard and the Zombies and when a trio of young ladies took to the stage, I knew the game was up, there was no Leonard, there were no zombies but maybe, just maybe there was, as there was one member missing, up jumped a guy wearing a cool Vivienne Westwood T-Shirt and I can safely say that he was not dragging his feet whilst sniffing out human flesh. Their set consisted of mainly covers and the highlight for me was a Nirvana track that I have completely forgotten the name of but all the same, it sounded tight and they were proper into it. They announced an original track at the end, again, I was ear-plugged up to the hilt as it was very loud and missed the name of it, I will add that the riff sounded reminiscent of The Chili Pepper’s classic ‘Give It Away’ but that could have been my ears playing tricks on me. Whatever it was, it sounded like a nice fat slab of funky alt rock and dare I say, sounded better than the covers they had performed earlier in their set. I did manage to chat briefly to the singer of the band and asked her if we could do a Q&A feature with them sometime soon so keep your eyes peeled for that. 

Next up was Long in the Tooth, a collective of experienced gents who had formed for the purpose of celebrating a birthday of one of the singers. I recognised Chris Chudley on guitar and the drummer (who also plays with a band called Hearing Aid Beige), it was certainly a local affair! Having heard that they had only met 4 times in the past to rehearse, I’ll admit that my expectations were not set very high but what I witness in the next 30 minutes blew me away. They performed a killer version of Fugazi’s ‘Waiting Room’ and mixed this in with an alternative version of Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ which went down a storm. They asked for a ‘super slutty moshpit’ and the crowd were only too eager to get down, grind their booties and slut drop until their thighs could take no more as the band launched into a rocked-up version of ‘Milkshake’ by Kelis, fun? You betcha! 

The pit continued as they launched into their final number, a tremendous version of the Beastie Boys classic ‘Sabotage’ which took the room to another level and was the perfect way to set the scene for the main act. I was impressed, very impressed and although my expectations were not set that high at the start, the true musicianship of these 5 local guys shone through, certainly an act I’d be only too happy to see again in the future! 

Time for the main event, having chatted to Georgi earlier on, the other three members must have been holed up in the van as they were nowhere to be seen but as the time came, they appeared out of the shadows, looking match fit and ready to set a fire under the stage. 

In the past, I think that at least one of the band members had incurred an injury of some description, I have seen Chris fall off the barrier at The Cavern in Exeter, I have seen Brodie slam into a wall at a fair pace and knock the stuffing out of himself and tonight was no exception. As they launched into their first number, Chris’s foot fell through a section of the stage which caused him to stumble, he managed to sort himself out and move the stage back into place before carrying on in his usual manic manner. I also noted an 8-inch scar on Brodie’s right arm, more on that later.... 

Their set was chock full of absolute bangers which coaxed many from the back of the room to congregate at the front and form a lively pit which kept the kids out whilst Viking bearded warriors fought to the death as the band pumped out their killer riffs. 

Chris took some time to thank anyone who had contributed to their ‘Go Fund Me’ campaign which was set up just after Christmas following the theft of their van which had most of their kit inside. The great thing is that they have raised over £11k so far and the figure is increasing all the time, Georgi mentioned that there was one person in the room that had donated a whopping £1000 to their cause, clearly their fans LOVE this band and are willing to do what they can to make sure that they got back on their feet again as quickly as possible. 

They performed many tracks from their 2023 released album ‘Mother Knows Best’ as well as some standalone singles released previously, each one raising the roof as expected. 

It’s hard to describe a Mother Vulture live show, you sort of need to be there to capture the feeling of it, the vibe and the chaos that ensues as soon as they take to the stage and strap on their instruments. Having seen them a bunch of times over the past few years, I can say that they have not slowed down at all and chatting to Georgi earlier, he reckons he has at least another 10 years in him before he starts to think about slowing down. 

I chatted to Brodie after the show about his side project (he’s been playing guitar for Tom Meighan (ex-Kasabian frontman) and recently toured with Noel Gallagher and his High Flying Birds, he said that he’s looking forward to a break in February and hopes to use this time to get in the studio and flesh out some new material which will be forming the backbone of their new album which will hopefully be showing its face sometime later in 2024. The scar on his arm ended up being dirt, Brodie wasn’t sure how it had got there but after a bit of ‘lick’ on a tissue, it was off! 

I asked him about festivals that they have planned for 2024 and he said that things were quiet on this front now but, like looking for love, you try too hard, and it never comes so watch this space as the offers come flooding in as the year progresses. 

Things Happen Here in the heart of Dartington and is an amazing venue which needs your support to ensure that it can carry on putting on incredible shows like this, with so many grass roots venues closing all over the country, NOW is the time to support your local venues and help to keep the spirit alive and kicking as we welcome another generation of people into the fold.  

Thanks to everyone that worked to make this the success it was, Ed, Jo and Sasha, the bar staff, the security team, the sound engineer who saved Chris’s bacon when his amp decided to take the night off and anyone else involved in the whole operation, I think I speak on behalf of everyone who dragged their asses off the couch and came along to be part of this incredible event. I don’t think TQ9 will ever be the same again! 

Words and Pictures by Steve Muscutt (musomuso)