The Starbenders headline a Tuesday night at the Fleece in Bristol as part of their European tour.
The glam rock night began with an opening half-hour set from Cleo and the Patras, a four-piece rock band based in Bristol. Lead singer Cleo brought her unfaltering, powerful soprano voice to the stage, backed by a classic rock drum-bass-guitar sound. The effect is rather like Kate Bush on top of ACDC instrumentals.
Smooth and quick patterns on bass were at the forefront of the band’s third song, ‘Dreamers’, lending to the impression that the first half of their set showcased their classic rock talents.
As the band debuted their new song ‘Hey You’, featuring a grand guitar solo and operatic stylisation, there was a subtle shift in musical style, demonstrating the group’s talents across the full spectrum of glam rock. One got the impression that the band grew in confidence and joy throughout their set, with Cleo becoming more theatrical in her dancing, utilising a tambourine as a prop to pose in silhouettes across the stage. In combination with her red outfit, Kate Bush’s live performances came to mind again. The unique vintage items worn by each band member also added to their theatrical aesthetic.
Lead singer Cleo’s genuine smile between verses meant that when she said ‘please do look us up, we’re very friendly,’ it seemed entirely true. It is always lovely to see a band that seems to find real joy in what they do.
Review: Dabrowka Nowak
Photography: Emma Painter
Starbenders’ second support act was boy band VÄIN WILD, formed in 2023 by singer Artem and guitarist Tizzy Wild. They came on stage with an explosive start, diving straight in.
To paint a picture, each member is young, with flowing shag haircuts, leather boots, jackets with tassels, and eyeliner. They even slotted in an outfit change! The band jump up and down, headbang, run around the stage. Their visuals and music preserve, replicate and translate into the modern age an exact glam rock tradition.
The performance included heavy drumming, especially during the ‘Off the Chain’ solo. The drums and bass guitar complemented each other, creating an intense, well-rounded sound throughout.
Frontman Artem interacted with the crowd throughout, dedicating ‘She Knows the Way’ ‘to the ladies of Bristol’ and announcing to the audience, ‘I think now’s a good time for a guitar solo!’ before encouraging the audience to sing along to a cover of ‘You Really Got Me’ by The Kinks.
With their first studio album out and an increasingly growing online presence, VÄIN WILD are for sure one to look out for, as they go on to bring glam rock to new generations.
Review: Dabrowka Nowak
Photography: Emma Painter
Starbenders, formed in 2013 and now consisting of singer Kimi Shelter, guitarist Kriss Tokaji, bassist Aaron Lecesne, and drummer Qi Wei, have garnered increasing popularity over the years. The band have toured with legends Alice in Chains and Palaye Royal, and now find themselves at popular Bristol venue The Fleece as part of their own headline European tour, following the release of their album The Beast Goes On in February 2026.
The band entered to speakers blasting ‘O Fortuna’, automatically setting a dark, alternative atmosphere. Automatically noticeable in the opening song ‘Blood Moon’ were effortless-seeming metal scream vocals from Kimi Shelter. This remained fascinating throughout the performance: how can someone remain so stonily still, a face calm and subtly moving, yet simultaneously create huge, room-filling vocals? The effect is angelic.
Conducting the audience with graceful hand gestures from leather-bound arms, the frontwoman glides around the stage like Siouxsie Sioux, using her body to pose gracefully but dramatically, adding a visual dimension to the performance.
Bassist Aaron Lecesne also dances around energetically, interacting with the rest of the band, leather boot stomping onto the front of the stage as they lean out and smile genuinely at the audience. Guitarist Kriss Tokaji plays with an intense concentration but easy comfort, whilst drummer Qi Wei grins widely and seems to never slow down, a truly consistent, motivated percussion soundscape.
The band’s visual image is the perfect blend of glam rock, emo, and goth. Adorned in leather, corsets, studded belts, fishnets, red and black shirts, and plenty of crucifixes, their aesthetic blends traditional gothic symbolism with the sexual in an authentically alternative-culture fashion.
The audience loved the band, singing along noticeably during ‘The Beast Goes On’, joining Kimi Shelter, who, in this song specifically, sounds like Haley Williams (think the vocals on ‘Decode’), tying their image to emo tradition.
They certainly love the audience too, maintaining intense eye contact with alternating viewers, whilst also addressing the audience members at the back, saying ‘don’t make me come back there and wake you up!’
A slower song, ‘We’re Not OK’, evoked the famous My Chemical Romance song ‘I’m Not Okay (I Promise)’ in its thematics, especially in its address to the audience about unity in sadness. They encouraged a singalong of ‘we’re not okay no matter how much we pray,’ noting how everyone seems happier and ‘all together now we become better.’
The ‘Looking for Veins’ (jam 1) was preceded by asking, ‘Do you want some vibes?’ Of course, everyone did, and the vibes they delivered were. The live instrumentals often had the effect of slower, lyrical goth, filling the whole venue with a rich, round sound with no gaps, boosted by rapid, booming bass from Lecesne, before the sound gradually built to a heavy climax. The frontwoman joined in on several with a black Gibson, playing smoothly.
A second instrumental interlude, ‘A Reptile Dysfunction’, showcased drummer Qi Wei, a magnificent powerhouse throughout the night, who played the drums with such intensity that the venue was transported into something straight out of Pornography by The Cure. This gothic vibe was solidified with a haunting solo of high-pitched, repetitive, distorted notes from guitarist Kriss Tokaji.
‘Chantilly Boy’ lightened the atmosphere with an almost indie sing-along, revealing the group’s ability to switch up and command the atmosphere of the stage and audience alike. The band ended with an encore where they made a point of not leaving the stage before performing a setlist deviation from a special request of ‘Diet Soda’ off their first record, Heavy Petting. Gracious bows and genuine gratitude concluded the fabulous night, and Starbenders departed to continue their well-deserved rise to higher fame and to showcase their authentic talents on the rest of their tour.
Review: Dabrowka Nowak
Photography: Emma Painter
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BAND MEMBERS
Kimi Shelter – vocals, guitar
Aaron Lecesne – bass
Kriss Tokaji – guitars
Qi Wei – drumsFOLLOW STARBENDERS
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