The Skinner Brothers

The 100 Club has been putting on live music since 1942, trading under its current name since 1964, earning it the not inconsequential distinction of being the world’s oldest independent music venue. The small setting, a flight of stairs below Oxford Street, is legendary, the walls covered in black-and-white photos of previous performers, who include The Who, the Kinks, the Rolling Stones, the Clash, the Sex Pistols, Oasis, Kings of Leon and Blur, to name but a few. So the Skinner Brothers were in illustrious company as they took to the stage last night, marching on meaning business. 

Fittingly for a venue that is entirely red, it was hotter than hell. Satan himself would have baulked at the temperatures and brought a portable fan. This did not subdue the crowd; if anything it added to the intensity. Lead singer Zac Skinner was even wearing a flat cap – a bold choice in the inferno. 

Their fans were up for a good time. Skinner did a great job of winding up the kids until the Stella flew. In a heartwarming gesture, the band even handed out cans of beer to the audience, then whipped out a bottle of tequila and started pouring it in mouths. The mosh pit pushed forwards, excited kids crowd-surfing, and as the gig went on, mad dashes onto the stage were scuppered by security who got them off again. A rendition of Chelsea Boys sent the place crazy, people diving off the stage like sweaty, rock-and-roll lemmings. It was joyous to watch. In the green stage lights the eager young faces looked eerily beautiful – clearly it was a gig to remember for them.

Zac Skinner’s delivery is a little like a next generation Jamie T. The sound is a little Kasabian, especially on Mountain High, with driving, weaving beats. There’s an obvious debt to Oasis in the swagger and the Libertines in the poetry of excess. The guitarist, bassist and drummer are all great, creating a big, stomping sound that built on the records. Champion, Low and Away Days are particularly catchy tunes. They excelled in old-school rock for a new generation. 

It was a sweaty, cathartic gig for kids who’d been locked up in lockdown too long and needed to get on it. For the way they vibe with their fans alone, the Skinner Brothers deserve to be big.

Jessica Wall

For further information and future events visit The Skinner Brothers’s website here.

Watch the video for the single Low here: