Feet @ The Sound House, Dublin 09/11/2019

Closing out their tour with a trip across the Irish Sea, Feet showcased their debut album, What’s Inside is More Than Just Ham at The Sound House, Dublin.

Words by Jack Squibb

A miserable and wet Dublin City needed something to brighten up the dreary day. Step forward Coventry’s Feet and Dublin’s own, Bullet Girl who brought post-punk tunes to The Sound House, while causing serious shapes to be thrown in the process.

Bullet Girl wasted no time and swiftly took to the stage, lambasting the intimate venue with explosive rock. Fast-paced and not a moment to catch a breath, Bullet Girl were ferocious.

Varying from drug addiction to bitter break ups, the Dublin four-piece touched base on pretty much everything. It was a short but sweet set, rammed with soaring riffs and delicious melodies, while drummer, Mark Duffy was in a different world with the way he played.

Meanwhile, frontman, Aaron Doyle‘s intense style ensured all eyes were fixed on him as he barely kept himself confined to the stage. By the time they finished, ears were ringing but more importantly the adrenaline was pumping.

Loud, intense and fun. What more could you ask for?

A band’s entrance can set the tone straight away. Play it safe and just walk out on stage and get going? Or play an instrumental version of Glastonbury-headliner elect (if he gets his own way), Robbie William’s, ‘Rock DJ’? Feet opted for the latter with the crowd filling in for William’s on vocals. From that alone, it was clear how this was going to go.

The band danced on to the stage with strobe lights only giving glimpses of their moves. Feet wasted no time getting into the thick of it, opening with the shoegazey ‘English Weather’, as they grooved through the first number of the night.

From there on, the energy just grew and grew, before combusting at the halfway mark when the crowd erupted, barking like dogs after a livelier version of ‘Dog Walking’ was performed.

Each member of the band bounced and danced across every inch of the stage, you could just see how much they loved what they were doing.

Infecting the crowd with their quirky rhythms on the likes of ‘Axe Man’ and then sending them into a frenzy with ‘Petty Thieving’. There wasn’t a single person able to just stand still and observe. The way Feet were able to seduce their audience and then wind them up and let them go all in the same song during the title track of their album, was an impressive feat.

However, as already mentioned, the crowd were unleashed into a frenzy when ‘Petty Thieving’ was played. The small Sound House felt like its floor would collapse at any moment, as most of the people in the room were sucked into a mosh pit.

Not even waiting for the final song, ‘Outer Rim’ to peak, the mosh pit continued right up until the last chord was struck. As the band set their instruments down, a surge forward commenced with people on shoulders reaching out just to shake hands or get a high five.

A true communal feeling was present with many having travelled over from the UK. The mood Feet created was like everyone had known each other for years and got together for a big celebration.

The atmosphere was electric and the buzz in the air lingered long after the show had ended.

It was a long tour for the Coventry lads but it ended in spectacular fashion.