Gig Review: Scary Pockets at the Troxy

You know it's a good gig when you're having too much fun to take photos!

I'd decided to go see the Internet-famous Scary Pockets on tour in London. A few months after buying the tickets, they announced they were moving to a bigger venue due to overwhelming demand. The Troxy was heaving! It's an excellent venue with a large standing floor and plenty of booths and seats for those of us who don't want to be on our feet for a couple of hours.

The support act was David Ryan Harris who is obviously a talented singer and guitarist. Because he's not terribly well known over here, I think his first few solo performances were a little underwhelming. But once he brought on a band, he absolutely soared. A funny and charming singer with a gorgeous set of songs.

As for Scary Pockets themselves - as a band they have hundreds of collaborators, so I guess you're never sure exactly who you are going to see. This wasn't quite the same extravagance as the Post Modern Jukebox gigs I've been to - but Ryan Lerman is a superb band-leader, even getting his dad up on stage to play the tambourine. Because they're a covers band, literally every song is guaranteed to be a banger. I don't know if their set-list was adapted for the UK audience, but it was lovely to hear The Beatles, Radiohead, and Oasis in a funk style.

Mario Jose and Brooke Simpson were both stellar. Such incredible voices blasting out passionate tunes.

The band are touring round Europe until early 2024 and are well worth seeing.