Skinny LIster / Vandoliers
The 1865, Southampton
3.12.25
Skinny Lister is an object lesson in creating under-the-radar success through hard graft. With their inimitably energetic front person Lorna Thomas and their signature flagon-quaffing and arm-wrestling, they can sell out large halls all over Europe and the US while hardly being a household name in their native UK.
This was an astonishingly good value double bill (triple, actually, with excellent songwriter Claudia Kate opening the show). Skinny Lister showed quite some courage in booking a uniquely entertaining support. Texan country-rock maniacs Vandoliers are the perfect combination of outstanding musicianship and unlimited fun, because each person on the stage exudes character and enjoyment. Front person Jenni Rose (flying the trans flag with infectious enthusiasm) is an absolute natural, but as with all the best bands, the nop-stop action onstage made you wish you had multiple eyes in your head. This is a band that would richly merit repeated viewings. 16 Years was a standout but by the time the band partially disrobed (very sexy if you like flabby white bellies) for a crazed cover of the Proclaimers’ I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles), the gobsmacked audience was getting concerned for Skinny Lister’s ability to follow them.
Well, they did their best, forced to up their game even more, setting the controls to Frantic from the outset and leaving them there. Their Pogues-ish singalongs and endless hectoring of the audience to join in gave the committed crowd what it wanted with songs like Trouble On Oxford Street and This Is War, but a tad more light and shade wouldn’t have gone amiss. Still, much bigger stages are finally beckoning for this perfect party band.
