The Hara // High Regard // Fuel The System UK Tour // Live Review // Billy Bootleggers // Nottingham
My first time at billy bootleggers. Couldn’t imagine the clout I’d have, saying I saw a band play this venue before they blew up. Tonight I will see The Hara. A band who have been exploding in popularity over the past year. The grey skies of the outside couldn’t have prepared me for the absolute soup bowl that awaited me inside. Almost immediately after getting in the pit, I’m sweating so profusely that, I think I’m going to faint from dehydration. Luckily, I could draw my mind away as the support was on.
High Regard are a Hertfordshire 3-piece (but touring 4-piece) that has been gaining popularity for its genre-blending anthems. The female-fronted band even won the 2023 Future Alternative Best Band Award by radio; their fanbase is stable and growing. The band is the only support tonight, making the night feel short.
About halfway through the set, the band were well into their song when the vocalist announced “Are you ready for a breakdown?” and when I say she let out the most British scream I’ve ever heard. It was great hearing the band go heavy, but I couldn’t help but start to go through my memory of if I’ve ever heard a scream with such a clear British accent. The strength in her vocals are really commendable and I can’t wait to see how they play out on a bigger stage.
The band has an incredible feat of making the stage feel bigger than it is, with how active they all were. Though they didn’t have room to move places per se, it didn’t stop them from going all out in their spot. Occasionally, the guitarists would meet behind the vocalist to play together. One guitarist, in particular, would constantly be going to the drummer and playing them breakdowns together, making sure he was just as part of the stage as the ones in the front. It shows a great sense of comradery among the band, letting you know the bonds they have are just one more strength.
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The Hara are an “Alternative Metal trio” hailing from Manchester. They’re a band I grew aware of because of their humorous tiktoks. So when the tour was announced I thought “lemme see what they’re about” and not just to see them shirtless. It was great mingling in the hot pot of a crowd. All of us were glistening with sweat. A couple of girls telling me about how they’ve never missed a tour since the band started many moons ago and showing me a photo of an innocent The Hara trio during a fan meet. As the stage light dimmed and smoke came out the machine, the band clambered through the crowd onto the stage. People parted to the sides to let them through, afraid to hold them up.
The band has this music that feels like it belongs in some sort of getaway heist movie. I can’t describe it better than that. When you’re feeling a little disgruntled with life, pop in your car and blast their discography and tell me it don’t feel like you’re on the run. It has this energy that just makes you want to move. I have to say the venue adds to this. It feels grungy and low-key. Like a secret club no one else is a part of. I was surprised to not see any surfers, though that doesn’t stop the vocalist himself most of the time. With the low ceiling and nowhere to actually fall apart from the stage- it’s probably not the most appealing to the avid pit surfer.
The band has a really great thing going with the wardrobe (no, not just being topless) and we all know I love a band that puts thought into stage costume. The singer with his long fur coat and the drummer with his metal jaw piece really made the stage have that much more presence. A fun thing the band does is to “play a round of pick the song.” They give the crowd two options and based on the crowd reaction, they pick one. Got to say a stand out performance was “Afterlife”, one of their older songs and it went down such a treat with the crowd. I don’t think I saw any crowd members not singing along. The vocalist then kept banter going about halfway through the set as the guitarist changed models.
After a wall of death that the singer jumped into, the band played peekaboo and came on to perform their latest singles, Trophy and The System. Thus the night came to a close by about 10pm to the enthused clapping and cheering of a satisfied crowd. For a mid week gig, the audience seemed energised and not ready for the night to end.
All around The Hara are a band that knows how to put on a show. The band have had the experience to get to grips with their stage presence and what works for them and it shows. All members are comfortable and for fans it’s like going to karaoke with your mates. The band chose a great support in the form of High Regard, who went down a treat with their approachable nature and alternative anthems. The tour until the start of Feb and then I’m sure we’ll have some appearances later in the year to get even sweatier too.
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