with Celestar Coco, High Maintenance, Tinderbox and St. Brigids
I’m fashionably late. The martial drumbeat of Celestar Coco’s first song pours through the wall as I order the Music in Leicester special at the bar (brownie points for anyone who can guess which drink).
Evolving from Ruth Miller’s Unglamorous Movement, the Riotous Collective is a crusading, DIY, womxn-driven cooperative that provides a safe space for underrepresented groups to engage with the performing arts. Akin to the pioneering underground feminist grouping, ‘Riot Grrrl’ in the States, they’ve made waves with national coverage and an eclectic mix of bands. It’s a fledgling yet thoroughly exciting formula that is being repeated across the country in places like Birmingham (no, I’m not referring to Andrea Jenkyns using the Reform Conference to shill her song ‘Insomniac’). We should all take pride that Leicester is pioneering a genuinely important cause – eat our dust Nottingham (nah-ne-nah-ne-narr-narr).
Celestar Coco’s opening song was wrapped in an enticing neo-folkish harmony, led by vocalist Libby and guitarist Chloë. Out of the gate, the Collective came out punching. Libby’s vocal runs, which I’ve been reliably informed are technically termed ‘melisma’ (oooo), evoke groups like The Roches if they went electric. Driving Song is a touching ode about reconciling with your place and identity when your child leaves home. The rhythm section of Elen on bass and Kitt on drums gently guides the song and when coupled with the soothing harmonies, it’s the musical equivalent of a child finally learning how to ride a bike, riding far off into the distance. Now that metaphor would work better for me if I could actually ride a bike, but even now listening back, it gives me the compulsion to hug my parents. Well played, Celestar Coco… well played.
Let’s not get it twisted – the fact that these bands have 66 days to form, then conceive a cohesive setlist and then take to the stage is no small feat. Even more impressive is when these songs are genuinely enjoyable, with Lord of the Flies in particular being a buoyant bookend to a breakneck set.
My first exposure to what I only recently discovered was the Unglamorous Movement, was through the now disbanded group ‘The Wonky Portraits.’ Funnily enough, their drummer was my then English teacher. *. The stifled, snide snickers of some in my school year make me appreciate the need for groups like Riotous Collective all the more. Kids can be right tw-ts. Although if I had a penny for every time someone in Leicester’s music scene has called me a tw-t, I’d have at least two pennies. Which isn’t a lot but it’s funny it happened twice.
- Whatever you do, don’t send this to Abi – I am the greatest writer ever and am certainly not looking for any advice on how to improve at my craft – pimp my An Inspector Calls essays if you think I’m tripping.
High Maintenance bring a heaping dose of the alternative to the night. It’s a noughties sound akin to PJ Harvey and The Breeders. Bassist Jen would provide vocals for the set in an outfit so bedazzlingly glittery it’d make Andrea Jenkyns blush. Unlike her, Jen can well and truly pull off a belter. Their opening song Start Again was a sleeper hit in the same way Produkty’s Stay Home was. Driving kick drums, all-consuming guitars from Kara, harmonic indulgence from Caitie and Jen’s billowing refrains create one of my favourite songs of the entire night. The fact that this was their first song as a group in the Collective is all the more impressive. I hope it makes an appearance if a new round of samples is recorded.
Drummer Melanie took centre-stage with a cover of I Wanna Be Like You from The Jungle Book. There’s a whimsy to the Riotous Collective’s ability to use absurdity as a weapon to convey serious messages playfully. Bands like High Maintenance can experiment directly because the entire Collective provides such a safe space to do so; fostering this kind of community is key and it’s abundantly clear they’ve succeeded. I’d love to see more bands generally be willing to get a little silly; after this gig I can say with certainty all those quirked-up white boys have got their work cut out for them.
Despite at times clinging to remain in time, Tinderbox proved to be the most explicitly political of all the acts on show. Stepping up to fill in for vocalist Natlia was keyboardist Sarah, who, despite the pressure, dutifully stepped up to the plate leading what seemed to me to be a more melodically inclined version of The Raincoats. They had a flying start with a song about shooting the super-rich off into space (the concept of shooting things into space is hilarious, simple as) before living up to their namesake, cutting their teeth on issues from tariffs to the rise of populism to the intellectual faculties of Tory leaders (don’t deter them too much, Andrea Jenkyns might try music again). As a punk band, I’m sure you’re already well aware of what was said but it was fun to see Tinderbox be the strongest proponents of free trade since Gladstone.
Despite renaming their own song about kids leaving for university from ‘Empty Nest’ to ‘Fly Babies Fly’ it remained rather dour musically, and understandably so. Some may take issue with this being the second track of the night on the topic; after ruminating on it for a few seconds, I rather disagree. It’s a unique, personal perspective that can only accurately be captured by their lived experience – it’s certainly something I hadn’t considered before the gig and that’s something I really appreciate about the Riotous Collective. It’s about prioritising the thoughts and experiences of womxn who don’t often get the chance to convey their concerns, let alone in front of an audience. That alone is something that should be cherished. Where’s this rumpus over the far more egregiously cliché cavalcade of love songs?
The most important thing about the Collective is just getting on stage. Once one has the experience of performance, the chance to fail, the chance to change and the chance to experiment, only then can they hone their craft. I could waste my breath talking about the mistakes or I could acknowledge that ‘perfection’ isn’t the goal, in fact, it’s part of the charm. What these bands need is support before they thrive. That’s what the Riotous Collective is and it’s an opportunity that should be cherished rather than torn down. The opportunity given to womxn to smash through a huge barrier to entry has enabled the Collective’s influence to grow even outside of the movement itself. I am once again asking you to listen to Shallowdrown.
Speaking of Shallowdrown, next up were St Brigids! * Or should I say St Boilers? Without the help of the ever delightful Boilers (who you can read about here), filling in for missing members Keeily and Sara, we’d have missed the band that yielded the densest sound of the night. With guitarists Molly, Nuala and Carolina on keys all taking up vocal duties, their harmonies sometimes descended into pure soundscapes.
- See, I can spell it correctly >: )
As Keeily watched on from a phone propped up by a chair, she joined the rest of us, marvelling at the harmonies on display. It’s clear within the Collective, no one individual leads the show; there’s an archaic openness where everyone gets a look in. The passion is in uplifting one another as a community. Without a motive for money, fame or a career, they perform for nothing more than the love of the game and a love for one another that transcends the usual competitive compulsion that drives much of the music industry. Hey- someone should write a song about building people up without pushing people down or something.
Another contender for my favourite song of the night was Coffee. Anything I write about the song will do a disservice to the carefully choreographed, caustic delivery. It’d be like trying to repeat a joke to your mates who weren’t there, so I’ll save myself the trouble and say go watch them live! The only improvement I can think of is changing one line to ‘Yes! I will help you avoid your taxes’. Although maybe that’s better saved for the Andrea Jenkyns’ cover.
After St. Brigids brought their best My Bloody Valentine impression to the evening with their final song, Visceral Vessels were a great chaser. Fans of The B-52s and The Waitresses rejoice, Vessels are similarly rough around the edges, bringing an energetic, quirky and swearier twist on new wave that’s all part of the charm. Their set was interspersed with heart-warming recollections on the community the Riotous Collective has created, to allow people to be open, vulnerable and most importantly, themselves.
Pockets has a jaunty bassline provided by Harmony akin to the bridge in the latter’s Christmas classic Christmas Wrapping (best Christmas song ever – bite me Mariah Carey fans). I already thought keyboardist Nataile’s pensive piano opening to I Need A Home was fairly similar to The Scientist, only for Sim to interrupt and ask everyone to wave their phone torches back and forth. This is fine because their set was better than anything Coldplay has released in the last decade. There’s been no confirmation Hymn For The Weekend has been used in Guantanamo but there’s also been no denial – food for thought.
Less dogmatic over style and genre, their last song was a far cry from songs about pockets. Merinne’s pounding drums, Kitt’s rampant guitar and Sim’s call and response with the audience compounded a deeply personal cry of execration. Vessels utterly refuse to be pigeon-holed into a particular label, there’s an indifference to convention that makes the Riotous Collective so exciting. Vocalist Sim put it best: ‘it’s been so lovely to feel that sense of belonging with such a wonderful collective… and if you don’t like it- there’s the f–king door’. I like that the Riotous Collective is passionate enough to stand on principle for what they believe in, enough of this Chris Martin hippy-dippy s–t!
Like the pioneers of lo-fi such as Stevie R. Moore, Daniel Johnstone and Wesley Willis, there is a deliberate aversion to what would be professionally considered ‘perfection’. We have grown accustomed to the polished, sanitised, safe, and artificial state of popular music and while it has its place (Manchild is a banger), there’s an authenticity, an honesty and a sense of dissent that’s just as important to foster. The two are complementary; having one without the other is thoroughly boring, like the old adage goes: take the rough with the smooth! Maybe the real punks and squares were the friends we made along the way. Millions must love.
The Riotous Collective makes no bones about trying to change or appeal to popular sensibilities. Their entire function is to challenge and ultimately change those attitudes and to platform those alienated by those preconceptions about music. The Collective succeeds because they know their audience and appeal directly to them, not despite it.
If there’s one lesson to take away from the life and legacy of Ruth Miller, it’s the power of one individual with a vision to make a real, tangible difference to Leicester’s music scene. Today, it’s utterly inconceivable to imagine Leicester having no all-women bands. She didn’t do it for money, notoriety or fame but because she wanted to make a change – and you don’t make change by cowtailing to prevailing attitudes. In her memory, the Riotous Collective carries the flame. The fact that so many people came together to put on a free gig for the sake of a good cause is what matters most in my mind.
If you’ve ever wanted to get involved with music but don’t know the people, gizmos, theory, or money – fret no more! You have a community for you in the Riotous Collective. The safety and support for everyone I felt in that room was unlike anything I’ve seen in all my years. With students returning to the s̶h̶i̶t̶t̶y city of dreams, it’s time to get the word out. Pull back the layers and stigmas and you’ll find something cooking up Leicester way.
Disclaimer: if your name is Andrea Jenkyns, please, for the love of God, ignore the above suggestion.
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