Words: Darci Jackson
Photos: Alisha Lawton & Izzi Glover
It doesn’t get much more intimate than the back room of a pub in Salford which is currently situated in the middle of a construction site, does it?
And as Independent Venue Week draws its curtains, that’s exactly where we found ourselves, in the clutches of London based Balancing Act, haunting the bare brick walls of the Eagle Inn with their sultry swagger and electrically charged performance.
Balancing Act are Kai Jon Roberts (vocals), Jackson Couzens (guitar), David Carpenter (bass), and Patrick Hanbury (drums) and Dizzy Magazine spoke with the four-piece before their quaint show in Salford.
‘We’ve actually probably all been here a few times, bit of a weird bucket list gig,’ mentions Roberts about the Eagle Inn. Both him and Couzens met in Manchester when Roberts worked at a bar that Couzens used to visit.
‘We dressed the same and listened to the same music, so we obviously became friends.’
Looking for a fresh start, they moved to London, where Carpenter and Hanbury joined them to complete the lineup.
‘It definitely took a minute to start feeling at home there,’ adds Couzens about making the move down South. ‘But it was a great decision because it’s so exciting down there, there’s so much going on, there’s so many people and there’s so many opportunities.’
Balancing Act’s stop in Salford was part of a mini tour for Independent Venue Week which is dedicated to supporting local venues, artists and the people that work in them.
‘It’s where you hone your craft really. When you first get in bands when you’re 15/16 and you do your first gig, it’s always in a place like this,’ mentioned Carpenter.
‘It’s where subcultures are formed and made. Everyone would just look like Oh Polly people in beige and grey if it wasn’t for venues where people find out who they really are and really experiment with what they like, what they love, who they love, that sort of thing,’ added Roberts.
And we wanted to know what their favourite independent venue was, starting off with Hanbury: ‘The Castle Hotel. It’s very similar to this, high ceilings, but instead of brickwork it’s just all wood so the acoustics in there are great.’
‘Night and Day. Spent far too much time in there and I can only remember half of it,’ followed Couzens.
‘A real important venue I think for bands is The Sebright Arms in London. Our first ever headline was there,’ added Roberts.
And finishing with Carpenter: ‘Sidney and Matilda in Sheffield. The owner took it on and has developed three different sized rooms out of it so it’s like its own little microcosm of going up your own ranks in terms of how many people you can pull. It’s such a good vibe; they’ve managed to create this really cool hub with an easy load in!’
Describing themselves as ‘dark, sexy and sick,’ you get a true sense of who Balancing Act are from their live performance.
‘I think the reason we make music is to play it live,’ said Roberts.
‘Just come to a gig and then you know 60% of who Kai is just by watching him perform. And I don’t even mean that as a joke,’ added Carpenter.
‘It’s just fucking fun as well. We’re good. We’re good live, that’s why you should come!’
As the band shuffled their way through the crowd from the back door to the stage, a blanket of eeriness settled across the room.
Opening with Cheshire Smile, it’s immediately evident how much thought goes into Balancing Act’s live set. As Carpenter’s bass shone through as the real star of the show, it was backed up by Couzen’s lingering guitar, reverberating through the walls and proving instantly their grandeur. And although Hanbury was hidden around the corner, we could still definitely hear his striking offerings, making all the hallmarks of a band that truly come to life on stage.
“We’re here to support Independent Venue Week, and so you can listen to our new songs,” said Roberts bluntly, with the room being so small we could hear him without the microphone. But the cramped setup did not deter the band, with Roberts whipping around the stage with all the eccentricity of a small puppy whose limbs are too big for the rest of its body. He’s the kind of person you want to have a proper boogie with.
They wouldn’t be out of place in a Halloween movie, bringing an unnerving yet cinematic soundtrack to the creaky floorboards and musty smell of a haunted house.
“The rule is you can only do two new ones in a row, can’t you?” asked Roberts in rhetoric, as they gave us some new Balancing Act material. The first of which, Bonneville Salt Flat Jive, received an eager cheer at new music, quickly followed by confused laughter from the crowd at the name (which Dizzy Magazine thinks is inspired!)
The second took the form of Loaded With Pearls, offering a punchy edge but with the same ballad-esque undertones that created Balancing Act’s signature rich, soul-hugging rock.
Now, there’s intimate, and then there’s Kai Jon Roberts spinning in circles whilst crooning The Saddest Song I Ever Did Write with a web of fairy lights tangled behind him. Although there was a balcony above the standing area, every time Roberts looked up to the balcony it looked as if he were singing to some divine spirit lodged in the high ceiling of the Eagle Inn. We felt like we were waiting for a flash of lightning, or a holy being to appear at the mere allure of AWOL.
There’s something kind of nerve-racking at being in such an enclosed space with a band like Balancing Act, which was particularly highlighted at the nervous giggles that ensued when Roberts asked the crowd to repeat the chorus of another new offering, Scar.
But this was quickly dissipated when a joke was made about fan-favourite, She Plays The Theremin: “Now time for one you do know… I hope so anyway.”
And when we thought we’d had our lot after All Yours, our audience had found their confidence and weren’t quite ready to say goodbye, as chants asking for one more song arose.
“I can do one rapid!” Roberts shouted, eyes wide with thrill as he joked about needing to catch his train, spinning round to his bandmates and the crowd as they decided which song to do.
After teasing with Carpenter that they wouldn’t remember how to play it, the four-piece settled on their debut single Cold, much to everyone’s delight. And after practically leaping off stage barely seconds after the final note, it was a sonic ending to a stellar show.
Who knew Monday nights in Salford could be so enthralling?