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Riot grrl femme fatales

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manchester

KMK at Manchester Anarchist Bookfair: The biggest trip yet

5th December 2017 By Davidkmk Leave a Comment

After tearing it up on the Bristol music scene for the best part of the year, Kiss Me, Killer have been filling up our calendar with more out of town gig to spread the music far and wide. Saturday saw us make our biggest trip yet after we were invited to play the afterparty at Manchester Anarchist Book Fair.

With busy civilian lives to attend to we decided we could be there and back the same day so set out in two vehicles, Nat’s head-turning vintage Ford and David’s beat-up old VW van. The M5 and M6 traffic was kind enough and we were making good time until Nat – who was taking AJ, Cat and Cheri – hit a snag: With three passengers and AJ’s heavy drum hardware the low-slung souped-up classic car was struggling, with types occasionally rubbing the rear arches. No matter, me and Holly soon caught up at the next available service station (after sorting out a wrong turn) and were able to lighten the load.

Kiss Me, Killer setting at at Manchester's Partisan space, which hosted the Anarchist Bookfair
Kiss Me, Killer setting at at Manchester’s Partisan space, which hosted the Anarchist Bookfair

The band arrived at Manchester’s Partisan space, which is in the shadow of Manchester Arena, just in time for soundcheck. Partisan describes itself as a ‘space for independent, community led, DIY and cultural based projects’. A co-operative, it is democratically owned and managed by the people who work in and use the space and hosts cultural events, meetings, exhibitions, film screenings, book launches, parties, gigs, etc. Partisan’s basement area is a large, cavernous space and the perfect setting for some incendiary DIY punk. The line up Ian of the Manchester Anarchist Bookfair had put together was stellar with bands like Epic Problem, Crywank and Bolshy on the bill.

The incredible Bolshy, a punk/dub/ska outfit from Liverpool
The incredible Bolshy, a punk/dub/ska outfit from Liverpool

Kiss Me, Killer was the first band on and it felt good to bring our sounds to a completely fresh audience. People seem to like us down Bristol way but would would the North make of us? We powered into Snakes In the Grass, which is on our recently-released EP, and were powering along before, ping, I broke a D-string on my Gordon Smith GS1. Scrambling off stage on search of my guitar case I soon realised I didn’t have any spares. A helpful chap from another band, Epic Problem, emerged from out of the darkness brandishing, like Excalibur, a lovely Gordon Smith GS2, which he Kindly let me for the rest of our set. I didn’t have time to adjust the strap shorter so looked slightly cooler than usual.

Rat Race came over nicely with is pounding sludge riff with poppier moment and touches of psychedelia and as yet unrelated Snooker! sounded good in the bright, resonant Partisan basement. The first band on always has a cooler crowd but there was a decent audience and we weren’t cleaning the room.

Cheri taking pictures with her new Canon camera
Cheri taking pictures with her new DSLR camera

Cat took to the mic next and launched into live favourite, Och Aye!, which is currently only available on the CD released on the EP, and by now were really hitting ’em with some blazing DIY punk, Bristol-style.

A lot of people say From The Inside is their fave track on the EP, and it’s relentless palm-muted riffage took the set into a heavier direction with Holly’s vocals becoming more hardcore, AJ hiting the skins with even more power and purpose and Nat’s Phantom bass really pumping. Nat now has a fancy wireless set up so he could leap off the stage and mingle with the punters. Nice!

Time was moving on so we steamrollered into Kiss Me, Killer and, to my mind, it was the best we’ve ever played into live and in the slightly echoey Partisan space the gothic hammer horror and psychobilly elements of the song we given an extra dimension. We finished with a pretty powerful rendition of It’s Going Down and that was our lot. We sold a copy of the EP and received loads of good feedback from a receptive punk rock crowd.

Derbyshire punks Epic Problem played a storming set. Notice yet another Gordon Smith guitar
Derbyshire punks Epic Problem played a storming set. Notice yet another Gordon Smith guitar – this time a GS1.5. Cool!

Despite the long trip back to Bristol we wanted to stick around to hear as much of the other bands as possible. Every band impressed but for me there were a couple of stand outs. Bolshy really mixed it up with a festival vibe combined ska Punk, ska, dub, and even jazzy lines. Me and Holly also digged Epic Problem, the Leatherface-y elements in their sound really appealed.

We returned to Bristol exhausted in the early hours of the morning. But it felt good to have hit the road. The next out of town show will be Stourbridge. That’ll be a gentle pootle compared to Manchester…

Filed Under: Gigs Tagged With: bristol, DIY punk, gigs, live music, manchester, partisan, riot grrrl

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KMK to support the MARTYRIALS at The Louisiana, Bristol

KMK to support the MARTYRIALS at The Louisiana, Bristol

29th May 2018 By Davidkmk Leave a Comment

The band will be supporting the incendiary MARTYRIALS at Bristol’s iconic Louisiana venue on 17 August. MARTYRIALS is a high energy psychedelic synth-punk outfit pumping out and explosive blend of punk, glam and Rock and Roll. Punk ethics meet space-delay driven psychedelia like if the Ramones had synthesizers or if System of a Down met […]

Kiss Me, Killer to make Devon debut

It’s taken us a while but we’re finally playing Exeter at the famous Cavern club on 15 May. The gig, entitled, All in Riot Grrrl, will feature some of the best in punk rock from the West Country, including Bristol legends Drunken Butterfly and Bath’s top feminist anti-folk exponent, Yonic. Tickets are available for a […]

Bristol’s NITELIFE Magazine covers Hell Hath No Fury’s Menstruals gig

Go into any of Bristol hipper cafes, haunts and night spots and you’re sure to have seen, or even picked up, a copy of Nitelife Magazine, which showcases the best is the city’s nightlife. Nitelife has clearly cottoned on to the now exploding new wave of punk bands emerging both in Bristol and across the […]

AJ drum depping for Drunken Butterfly at Bristol Dream Wife gig

KMK drummer AJ will by deputising on drums for seminal Bristol riot grrrl band, Drunken Butterfly who are supporting Dream Wife at the Exchange venue Dream Wife is a punk band from Brighton who released debut album Dream Wife in January and have really been blowing up big time in the UK. Go check ’em […]

AJ and Cheri star in new video by The Menstrual Cramps

Kiss Me, Killer’s drummer AJ and ‘sixth-member’ Cheri have featured in The Menstrual Cramps all-new video for their song ‘I like that Top’. It’s an amazing piece of work so go watch immediately.

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Inconspicuous consumption

  • Black Beware! tshirt Kiss Me, Killer Beware! T-shirt Black £7.00
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  • Beware! Cover art Beware! EP (Downloadable MP3 format) £4.00
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The Zine

Punk superstars of Instagram

Punk superstars of Instagram

Recently we hit the big 600 follower mark on Instagram, the social network for people who can’t be arsed with words and just what an eyeful of pictures and videos. To mark this achievement here are some of our high-rating videos from the last year. Enjoy! Playing our eponymous song, Kiss me, Killer at the […]

Holly’s lyric sheets

Holly’s lyric sheets

Holly never knows when inspiration may strike when it comes to a good song. Here are some of her hand-written lyrics.

David’s top punk tunes

David’s top punk tunes

Kiss Me, Killer guitarist David lists a few of his favourite punk tunes in no particular order. From the Cradle to the Grave – [SUB][HUM][ANS] After buying of those bumper punk compilations as a 13 year old for no money I was looking for more. Taunton’s Our Price offered up a cassette, which cost £3 […]

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Recent articles

  • Kiss me, KIller’s 2020 Vision mini album out now on Grow Your Own Records
  • Bristol Punx Picnic 2019 is a sell-out
  • Kiss Me, Killer interview with The B-Side Talks at Rebellion Festival
  • Rebellion 2019: Kiss Me, Killer hit Pavilion Stage
  • New Kiss Me, Killer lineup hit’s The Plough Inn, Easton
  • KMK to support the MARTYRIALS at The Louisiana, Bristol
  • Grow Your Own Records’ Birds of a Feather Vol II compilation features Kiss, Me Killer
  • See our new Cooper Rose-produced KMK trailer!
  • Kiss Me, Killer to make Devon debut
  • Kiss Me, Killer hit London for Umlaut Records’ Dugstock II

Built by Kiss Me, Killer Bristol, 2017