By the Rivers at the Stag & Hounds, 20th September

So yesterday was the first time I've ever been to the Stag & Hounds in Bristol. I guess it's mainly because I still haven't gone to a gig at the Exchange yet, and that's right next door, but the pub is really nice. My friend Abbie and I got there for 8 - the place is super cosy, with cheap drinks and a really nice interior (we had an old lady moment where we agreed that we both "love a good beam"). The place has a Birdcage kind of feel to it: you'll probably first go there to see a band, but once you find out about it, you want to go back as soon as you can, even if it's only for drinks, because it's just so nice in there.



It turned out Toyface couldn't make the night in the end, so Jack Cookson was the only support act. He has a very strangely familiar sound, even though I've never heard him play before. Jack sings and plays harmonica & guitar, and his voice is really powerful and compelling. Even though the first song he played wasn't loud at all, we went to watch straight away. His cover of Animals' House of the Rising Sun was kind of haunting, in a way, and it fitted really well with the rest of his set. There were also a few pieces of paper with download links for his single, Nebraska, dotted around, which Abbie and I got given by Jack after his set. He's super lovely - not only in his singing, but in that he lent By the Rivers his guitar when they realized they'd forgotten to bring an electro-acoustic.

By the Rivers are a six-piece band, but only three members were playing on the night. They managed to attract a pretty decently sized crowd of people, comfortably fitting into the pub, ranging from 18 to over 60 years old. (Trust me, the older ones were the most enthusiastic dancing-wise.) Towards the start of the gig, there were just two of the guys from the band playing, with the third, Sam, stood in the crowd dancing next to us. Even though one of the guitar leads gave up on them a couple of times, they kept on playing. The band's sound was a lot more stripped back, and it was really interesting to see how they reworked their sound into just a three-person band (always great to see a melodica onstage), but that key part of their sound was still there: the repeated lines that make them so easy to sing along to, and the reggae-ska influenced guitar playing that makes you want to dance through the whole thing. This is only the second time I've seen By the Rivers, but I'll make sure it's not the last.