Dillon Squire’s first headline slot of King Tut’s Wah-Wah Hut rounded off a brilliant night of live music for the venue’s New Year Revolution, taking a crowd of fans through a catalogue of indie-rock bangers.
Delayed buses meant I arrived just in time for the band Honey, who came to the stage to cheers from an excited crowd. The dramatic vocals of the lead singer fully engaged fans, some of which had bought signs and who bopped their heads to rocky tunes, with the song ‘Thread’ a strong highlight. Their support slot showed Honey are more than ready to headline the Tut’s stage themselves, with a loudly appreciative audience and a well-rounded, loud sound, they took the intimate stage by storm.
Then came Dillon Squire and his incredibly talented band, entering the room to loud applause and a 1975-esque mirrored lighting set up. With a later start time due to the stacked four-band lineup, the audience was more than ready for Squire to hit the stage. You would expect Squire to be playing to larger crowds than the tightly-filled space in Tut’s, with their catchy, indie songs, reminiscent of early Inhaler or some of Devon’s upbeat tunes, like ‘I DONT WANT TO B UR FRIEND’.
Squire, with some electric energy from his bandmates, garnered the most audience reaction from the rockier parts of his set. Teasing new music and treating the audience to old classics like ‘Allison House’, personal highlights were ‘When The Novelty Wears Off’ and ‘Dark Circles’. It really felt like the band came into their own rockstar for these tracks, with the emotional, love-led lyricism lending well to heavy, drum-led build ups towards the ends of the tracks.
The set was a fun and enjoyable insight into the direction of Squire and the band, they showcased musical talent and storytelling that would translate well to bigger venues. Despite a few feedback issues, as heard more during the earlier sets, I really enjoyed myself and look forward to streaming the teased tracks after the release of the EP, Yellow Car No Hitbacks. Keep an eye out for more from Dillon Squire, it feels like there are only good things on the way.
