Bacchanalia Magazine

by Willow Marie

Making their comeback from an arduous period of time, VENUS GRRRLS finally graced the stage in their hometown Leeds for their headline show at Brudenell Social Club on February 10th. Bustling with energy and excitement for the band’s return, the crowd stood adorned in gothic regalia and everything witchy & wonderful. All five band members (Grace Kelly/GK – singer/rhythm guitarist, Eliza Lee – lead guitar, Hannah Barraclough – bass, Grace Stubbings – synth and Gabby Cooke – drums) expressed their overwhelming elation to be back on stage and performing for their adoring fans.

Quintet about-faces certainly succeeded at warming up the crowd for the main act, playing some of their bangers such as ‘The River’ and their latest single, ‘Cinematic and Chrome’. This band made quite an impression on the crowd and left everyone enraptured (and sweaty from all the dancing!), ready for VENUS GRRRLS to take the stage.

As the clock strikes 9:15pm, the lights fall dim and a cloak of darkness is pulled across the audience. In this moment it is evident that this isn’t just a gig in Brudenell’s main room, it is a gathering of a tightly woven coven with enough energy to dance the night away. The cherishing smiles on the crowd’s faces expresses their intense anticipation for their fellow witches to appear beneath the hazy red glow on stage.

As the crowd roars, the 5 members appear through a thin cloud of smoke and an array of scarlet lights. GK gives the audience a thrilled grin before the band springs into action, with synths and alluring guitar notes filling the dimly lit room. ‘Divine’ has everyone entranced from the start, and is definitely a great choice for an opening track. Barraclough and Lee join GK in the chanting of the words ‘if he knew!’ before delving into the chorus once more – ‘You’re just my type, I think I like you. My heart beats twice, I think I like you’

Clapping and cheering is heard from every corner of the room as the track ends, leaving the band extremely ecstatic even after just one song. Stubbings’ synth carries the whimsical aura of ‘Divine’ into the next song ‘Liar Liar’. The lyrics of this song are simple yet beautifully effective, and GK’s vocals after the chorus are simply electrifying. No-one is stood still throughout the performance, every head is banging and every pair of feet is dancing around, care-free.

‘Hate Me’ is up next and Cooke’s drumming really adds a stunning heavy beat to the track. Streams of emerald and yellow lights flow through the huddles of people standing and admiring the sheer talent of each individual band member. At one point during the song, Barraclough and Lee join forces on the left hand side of the stage and play rhythmically together, enchanting the crowd further.

The much anticipated track is introduced with a simple yet striking line – “the best way to deal with creepy men is to hex them.” ‘Hex’ opens with a quiet, bass-carried intro before descending into a vigorous, catchy tune and building up an indescribable atmosphere in the ‘coven’. GK and Lee both cast a spell on the audience with their tremendous guitar skills during the instrumental segment, capturing the hearts of many and end the song on a heavy note, yelling ‘I’ll see you in hell!’.

Eliza Lee, who is playing her first gig at Brudenell and has only played a few gigs with the band so far, takes a break between songs to tells a humorous tale of her experience of being ill whilst filming the ‘Divine’ music video – “We all looked really moody but really, it’s nausea. So what a fabulous debut in Kerrang magazine!”, she shares, causing the whole crowd to erupt into laughter.

“Let’s go sudocream queens!”, GK announces before diving into the opening notes of one of their popular tracks ‘Sudocream Queen’, which evokes a loud cheer of excitement from the crowd below her. There is a feeling of angst and strong emotion throughout this track, in both the audience and the band themselves – which is inevitable. This song is definitely bound to bring about some sort of intense feeling in you, whether it is feminine rage or pure sadness.

The next two tracks are two that feel like sister songs, sharing similar sounds yet having completely different subjects. ‘Aries’ is evidently a crowd favourite, there is not a single face to be seen that isn’t lit up with absolute joy, and the band seem to share that exhilaration. ‘Violet State Of Mind’ carries the same sort of vibe, but with the addition of GK’s intense siren-like vocals taking the lead.

The lighting fades into a deep purple and Grace’s synth makes itself known again, almost as if forming a cusp between this world and the next, and VENUS GRRRLS are the witches guarding it. GK speaks up again to introduce the next track – “Okay Leeds, if I was gonna cast a love spell, as this dark witch, I would maybe cast one called Glisten.”, earning many cheers from the audience. This track is extremely captivating and stays on your mind for weeks after hearing it, and with the addition of hearing it live, you may never forget it. This is the case for every audience member, after hearing GK’s growling vocals and witnessing her bewitching dancing on stage, they are sure to be in love with this band until the end of time.

After this, the girls decide to cover a song from Scooby Doo that is rather fitting to their image – ‘Hex Girl’. The whole band could easily pass as one of the Hex Girls, and with their chanting of “I’m a hex girl, and I’m gonna put a spell on you”, it’s hard not to believe you have five talented witches in front of you.

The next track is an unreleased one, called ‘Bloodsick’. Although I’m sure every crowd member wishes they could go home and play this song over and over again. It is unarguably one of their heaviest tracks yet and deserves to be admired in all of it’s gothic glory. The song opens with GK’s rage-filled spoken spell, and ascends into an unforgettable incantation soundtracked by intense guitars and a whole lot of feminine potency.

‘Lidocaine’ is the next track, and GK takes a moment to raise awareness for a very personal subject to her and the band. –

“In July 2022, I got diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia and I went through chemotherapy, and this whole band had to stop whilst I was on treatment. And it was a really really tough time, all very uncertain, all very unknowing as to where we were gonna end up. But look at this!”

The whole audience erupts into an overwhelming volume of cheering for the band, and in this moment there is nothing but complete and utter adoration in their eyes. It is clear that everyone in the room has been rooting for GK and the band this whole time, and definitely has no intention of stopping. She continues,

“I cannot tell you what an honour it is to be stood on this stage with these wonderful ladies, and with you all here tonight. Thank you so so much, if only I could have seen this when I was diagnosed, it would have all been worth it.”

After ‘Lidocaine’, the band exits the stage, but the crowd isn’t quite ready for them to leave. Everyone immediately starts chanting, “one more song!” over and over, until the quintet returns to the stage with wide grins across their faces. The final track begins with a familiar guitar tune – that of Siouxsie and the Banshees’ ‘Spellbound’. The audience goes almost feral for this cover, everyone descends into joyful madness as they jump around the room to the beat of the track. GK wails in a similar tone to Siouxsie’s – “Following the footsteps of a rag doll dance, we are entranced, spellbound!” The band put their own twist on the song and made it such a beautiful and unique addition to the set.

The song fades into their infamous track ‘Goth Girl’, and has everyone shouting “I wanna be a goth girl!” and ends the gig on a tremendous note. Everybody dances and waves the band goodbye as they descend into the depths of Brudenell’s backstage, showering them with all the love in the world .

Photography by Willow Marie