The Drum Shack’s first monthly BURNIN’ DOWN THE HOUSE gig night on March 29th 2025 has undoubtedly set a high bar for the underground bar – the cosy space played host to Sproose Moose, Hans Umlaut, and headliners (and Hull favourites) Black Kes. A lineup that created an absolute mishmash of musical joy spanning indie-punk, dance meets spoken-word, and skiffle-come-slapstick madness.
The bar hummed with excitement, as Sproose Moose appeared on stage, joined by Ian ‘Screamo’ Hayward on bass and Lister on cajon whilst Sproose held vocals and lead guitar. We enjoyed a handful of originals with Sproose’s signature jaunty indie-punk sound. Keep It In Your Pocket showcased their energy, musicality, and complete ease in holding the crowd. The set was closed off with the fan favourite, Mermaids, which has become an absolute requirement of a Sproose Moose setlist, as it finds big laughs from Sproose Moose newbies and regulars find great joy in bellowing out the lyric ‘mermaids don’t have buttholes!’
After a short interlude, Hans Umlaut took to the stage. With the don of his burgundy beret, Jonson, Drum Shack’s resident DJ, swapped out his decks for the mic as he became Hans Umlaut and began his spoken word, dance-music hybrid. A welcome surprise and subversion of the local sound – giving hints of Antony Szmierek meets Debbie Harry’s infamous Rapture rap – he strutted across the stage, moving seamlessly from the hilarious to intensely heartfelt. In Umlauts’s song Absolute Cult, he raps ‘My emotional ability and/ emotional instability/concocts a cocktail/ of toxic masculinity,’ these passionate, vulnerable, and topical lyrics set to the juxtaposing backdrop of dance music and high-energy performance creating such a unique and captivating experience. It truly was a treat to witness this joyful, imaginative journey play out in a grassroots venue.
Talking to Black Kes’s JT before the show I was asked if I wanted stage names or real names from the band – unbeknownst to me, this question set the precedent for what Drum Shack was about to experience – from the moment King Rat (guitar and vocals), Simo (bass) and Specky (washboard) took to the stage anticipating the arrival of JT (vocals, physicals and general Brian Ferry-esque frontman) the venue became their stage, their arena, and the show began.
JT arrived, Britney-Spears-mic adorned, in pearls and Gucci belt, giving me visions of Harry Styles for a brief moment, but instead of Music For A Sushi Restaurant, we got Black Kes’ Do The Sushi. A wasabi-hot start to their setlist, with an energy not set to falter for the next hour and a half. Despite being described as skiffle, the band’s sound spans far beyond, with whisperings of the Stranglers, Bob Dylan, and CAKE; moving across genre and place, transporting us from the mariachi bands of Mexico, to the sweet guitar sounds of Hawaiian beaches, to the lived-in rhythm of Louisiana blues.
Black Kes is a band made to be enjoyed live, with songs built around repeatable choruses and audience interaction. The song Voodoo Doll was met by much excitement from the merch-clad regulars of Black Kes gigs; JT split the room in two to sing the lines ‘papa loves mambo’ and ‘live and let die’ in opposition with each other, creating a playful competition in the room. When asked about his dream gig, JT replied ‘this one!’, a truth that became more and more evident as the gig progressed. The band made every song, every moment a full sensory experience; we saw Black Kes branded mini cereal thrown into the crowd, a limbo competition, Kiki the dancing bear joining the band for a boogie (and to generally cause havoc!), and JT wrestling members of the crowd, to be defeated only once. During Sometimes Benny Hill Can’t Be Bothered, JT led a Benny-Hill-style run-around that saw him and the crowd disappear into the Bridlington night, further proving this is a band that can be bothered!
Every time I thought I might be able to call Black Kes’ next move, they pivoted, ducked, and dived somewhere new. The stage became little more than a place to set up equipment as JT clambered over booths, steadying himself on crowd members’ open hands, truly making every inch of the space part of the night.
It would be easy to watch a Black Kes show and only see the madness, the eccentricity, the theatre of it all (and of course, there is all that!), but the tenderness and stark reality woven amongst the humour and joy is not to be discounted. The band shows how these highs and lows are not binaries, rather just how life falls together. Just Like Giants was a moment in the gig that exemplified this and felt so tender and profound, exploring the beauty of difference – set to the backdrop of this utterly mad gig, it felt as if the words were being acted out in real time as Drum Shack held a crowd that had collectively felt the joy in difference.
Having spoken to Specky (or Chris Speck) before the gig began, he explained how the band began as four friends who needed a project to build together, as they each had found themselves battling with depression. Black Kes became their support system, their socialisation, and their way to move through emotions. The trust formed during this time is palpable. As the gig drew to its close, JT’s black eyeliner smudging down his face, his last drops of energy given to the ten-minute performance of Haunted House, he was held not only by the energy of the crowd but the unspoken knowing of his bandmates, his friends; held by Black Kes.
Links and Upcoming:
Black Kes – Facebook : Spotify
Sproose Moose – Facebook : Instagram
Hans Umlaut – Facebook : Instagram
Drum Shack: Facebook
The next Burnin’ Down the House event at Drum Shack takes place on 26th April, featuring Liverpool’s Austerity Dogs with support from Hans Umlaut. Check out Austerity Dogs’ new EP, Necropolis, here.
You can catch Sproose Moose every Sunday 3pm-5pm at The Dog House, Bridlington, for the Seaside Underground Sunday Showcase, and also on the first Thursday of every month at Drum Shack for the Live and Loud open mic.
Sproose is also appearing this Saturday, 12th April, 9pm, at Scarborough’s Crescent Lounge, in a double header with bands Sproose Moose and the Speedholes and Don’t Fret the Poet.
