Live Review: Seaway, Woes + Lizzy Farrall @ The Bodega Nottingham, 11 Jan 2018

Seaway are a common sight in the UK, visiting frequently to tour with all the up and coming pop punk bands. As their sound has diversified with the release of Vacation so too have their touring mates.

Lizzy Farrall (8/10) is the opening act. Recently signed to Pure Noise records, Lizzy is one to watch in the future. Full of nervous charm and a self-deprecating sense of humour, her talent spoke for itself. Her powerful vocals – which reminded me of The Kooks’ Luke Pritchard’s unique way of delivering vocals – and touching lyrics are interwoven around two acoustic guitars. The crowd went from disinterested to slowly expanding around the stage – enraptured.

Seaway have evolved into a band confident in their ability as a fun group of performers and their varied discography. Their new stuff channels late 90’s/early noughties pop punk with lead singer Ryan Locke leading bold-faced choruses, groovy drums and catchy riffs.
– Sam Brookes

Next up are Woes (5/10) who bring a bit of hit and miss charm to the stage. The lead singer flexes his muscles and throws devil horns around like it’s 1980. As musicians, their skills are fairly tight (although their performance suffers as the drummer drowns the other four members out), the Edinburgh 5 piece really shine when they cut the s**t and let their genuine sense of sarcastic humour shine through (making reference to the last time they played Nottingham with Neck Deep and the show was cancelled mid-set).

There are some genuine missteps in the band’s performance due to the banter with the crowd, such as telling us they’re playing a new song that we won’t know the words to but then offering the mic to the crowd to sing along as we all collectively cringe and look anywhere else but at the stage. Their cover of Papa Roach went down well, but it’s a becoming a common troupe at pop punk shows these days for one of the opening acts to cover a cheesy nu metal track that will get everyone moving.

The album and live show show a genuine evolution with Seaway making a necessary move away from pop punk.
– Sam Brookes

Rounding off the night are headliners Seaway (8/10). The Canadian five-piece know how it’s done. Immediately getting people moving, stomping and singing along to tracks like Lula on the Beach and Apartment, Seaway have evolved into a band confident in their ability as a fun group of performers and their varied discography. They know they have plenty of tracks that will get people singing along, and they use them without prejudice.

A lot of the set list focuses on their latest album Vacation; however all the classics make an appearance. Their new stuff channels late 90’s/early noughties pop punk/MTV rock, with lead singer Ryan Locke leading bold-faced choruses, groovy drums and catchy riffs. The album and live show show a genuine evolution with Seaway making a necessary move away from pop punk. Ending the show on classics like Shy Guy and finally bringing the elusive fan favourite Sabrina The Teenage B**** out of retirement, shows further growth on the band’s part, with a willingness to bring out the cheesy fan-pleasing tracks from their debut EP/albums.