{"id":31195,"date":"2025-09-18T14:26:52","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T13:26:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/?p=31195"},"modified":"2025-09-18T16:51:59","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T15:51:59","slug":"gig-review-visceral-vessels-at-duffys-bar-thursday-7th-august-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/gig-review-visceral-vessels-at-duffys-bar-thursday-7th-august-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Gig review – Visceral Vessels at Duffy’s Bar, Thursday 7th August 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
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with Celestar Coco, High Maintenance, Tinderbox and St. Brigids<\/h2>\n

I\u2019m fashionably late. The martial drumbeat of Celestar Coco<\/a>\u2019s 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).<\/p>\n

Evolving from Ruth Miller\u2019s Unglamorous Movement, the Riotous Collective<\/a> 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, \u2018Riot Grrrl\u2019 in the States, they\u2019ve made waves with national coverage and an eclectic mix of bands. It\u2019s a fledgling yet thoroughly exciting formula that is being repeated across the country in places like Birmingham (no, I\u2019m not referring to Andrea Jenkyns using the Reform Conference to shill her song \u2018Insomniac\u2019<\/a>). We should all take pride that Leicester is pioneering a genuinely important cause – eat our dust Nottingham (nah-ne-nah-ne-narr-narr).<\/p>\n

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Celestar Coco\u2019s opening song was wrapped in an enticing neo-folkish harmony, led by vocalist Libby and guitarist Chlo\u00eb. Out of the gate, the Collective came out punching. Libby\u2019s vocal runs, which I\u2019ve been reliably informed are technically termed \u2018melisma\u2019 (oooo), evoke groups like The Roches if they went electric. Driving Song <\/i>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\u2019s 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\u2026 well played.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not get it twisted – the fact that these bands have 66 days to form, then conceive a cohesive setlist and then <\/i>take to the stage is no small feat. Even more impressive is when these songs are genuinely enjoyable, with Lord of the Flies<\/i> in particular being a buoyant bookend to a breakneck set.<\/p>\n

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My first exposure to what I only recently discovered was the Unglamorous Movement, was through the now disbanded group \u2018The Wonky Portraits.\u2019 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<\/a> all the more. Kids can be right tw-ts. Although if I had a penny for every time someone in Leicester\u2019s music scene has called me a tw-t, I\u2019d have at least two pennies. Which isn\u2019t a lot but it\u2019s funny it happened twice.<\/p>\n