Blondshell @ Hare and Hounds review: crowd witnesses future indie star

Just days after her recent appearance on the Woodsies stage at the Glastonbury Festival, Blondshell (the stage moniker of Sabrina Teitelbaum) made two in-demand UK headline stops as part of her current world tour. The Los Angeles confessional indie singer-songwriter will conclude a run of European shows in late August as part of the Brecon Beacons-based Green Man Festival.

Tonight, we’re in Birmingham at the King’s Heath venue Hare and Hounds. Supporting Blondshell on both headline occasions, SPIDER is the perfect warm-up act for a night fuelled by free-bodied femme rage. Addressing topics such as consent, hope, and objectification, SPIDER engages a mixed-representing room with purpose-fed alternative cuts - even making the unique request for audience members to curse out ex-boyfriends' names. With an energising, banshee-like stage presence, SPIDER closes her 30 minutes by getting cosy with the crowd during the final track, ‘AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL’.

With a sellout room, excitement rises as the audience awaits Blondshell’s hour-long set. Being in attendance feels like a chance to catch a glimpse of a rising star before mainstream success. Blondshell has what it takes to follow in the footsteps of fellow indie hitmakers such as Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus. Live, her voice is even stronger than on record, and all eyes are on her in terms of stage presence. Fans in attendance know the lyrics word for word, and Sabrina locks eyes with several of them when delivering vocal duties. Her songs touch upon a range of personal themes including drug addiction, witnessing her friends relapsing, developing into adulthood, and recognising her queerness among many other universal experiences. ‘Veronica Mars’ opens the set; it’s a built-up, distortion-driven warm-up before the Bully-featuring single ‘Docket’ takes over.

Tracks not present on the standard self-titled album but featured on the deluxe digital version are also included in the night. ‘Cartoon Earthquake’ is the best of the lot, with breezy melodies and chugging guitars. The grunge and shoegaze crossover within ‘Street Rat’ also makes the cut; its guitar lick is playful and curious. New, unreleased songs also make the night even more intimate, and Sabrina insists a second album is in the works; she’s currently in the writing stage. ‘T&A’ is one of two new cuts; she made it known during Glastonbury that ‘T&A’ stands for tits and ass. Later in the evening, Blondshell performs a cover of ‘Jane Says’ by Jane’s Addiction, confidently assuring the crowd that they should know the song, and most seem to.

Blondshell performs nearly every track from her debut and deluxe albums for a hungry room, minus ‘It Wasn’t Love’ which understandably has a stripped-back, entirely organ-based foundation. Blondshell closes the night with an encore featuring the revenge fantasy ‘Salad’. The biggest crowd reaction erupts at the sound of the song’s bridge: “gonna make it hurt, gonna make it hurt, but I don't know how to do that within the framework. ‘Cause we were never violent,” tactfully embodying the mass experiences of victims of assault and the joint experiences of those close to them.

For more gigs from across the UK, check out our UK Gig Guide Inspire Me page. 

Check out our What's On Guide to discover even more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.