At first glance, The Lincoln IMP seems a rather odd place to hold a gig. Yet after spending some time there you soon realise that music is rooted deep within the venue, with bands such as The Struts, Enter Shikari, Don Brocco and many more playing there before. On Friday 30th January, The Lincoln Imp opened its doors to just 175 eager people, who were keen to see Palma Violets take to the stage for Independent Venue Week.
Before the gig, that afternoon I sat down in a back room of the pub with Chilli and Pete from the band to ask some questions. The interview starts with an impromptu discussion about the technique of short hand note-taking with Chilli claiming he thought it would be like, “text language, you know what I mean?”, with Pete soon correcting him with his own definition of: “It looks like Arabic, Chilli. But I suppose you could use text language if you were really good at it.” Not having a clue where this was going and keen to move the interview on from this, I began to ask some questions about the upcoming second album.
Chilli disclosed it’s to be titled Danger In The Club, with the title track having been tested at their recent gigs. Set to be released on the 4th of May this year, the album was produced by John Leconfield who also produced The Stone Roses second album. They both say how there will be “no 8 minute jams” on the record and that fans can expect a “concise and to-the-point” record. After this, the topic of conversation quickly moves onto the NME tour which begins this month. Pete and Chilli both make it clear that they are all looking forward to getting back on the road with a “great bunch of bands”. Chilli is particularly looking forward to seeing The Fat White Family and is adamant that the NME tour is always a laugh. The conversation then turns back to the gig that night, with them both saying how they prefer small, intimate gigs like this; it “keeps it real” and makes it “more fun” for them.
Staying to watch and photograph the sound check again makes it easy to see what a brilliant but no-frills venue this is; with the monitors resting on just empty beer crates, all attached with at least one roll of gaffer tape each, Chilli and Sam joke that they are the best monitors they’ve ever had and that they “won’t last long once they get started tonight”. Seeing the band practice during the sound check and storming through ‘Tom The Drum’ and other songs only showed what a brilliant and entertaining live band they are, they really are ones to watch in 2015.
Words by Hannah Woollaston.