Courtesy of @heavenlyindie on instagram
At the time of writing, UK-based indie-pop band Heavenly will have completed their first West Coast tour in 29 years.
The band consists of members Amelia Fletcher, Rob Pursey, Peter Momtchiloff and Cathy Rogers. They originally formed in Oxford, England, and became prominent members of the twee-pop scene.
Like any chronically online adult, I find all my new music through TikTok (Dear Readers, I find this somewhat embarrassing to admit). In this case, I found Heavenly when their 1993 single “P.U.N.K. Girl” went viral last year, and I have been a fan ever since.
The West Coast tour lineup included stops in Seattle, Olympia, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles. My partner and I were lucky enough to snag tickets back in July before the Portland show sold out.
The Portland show took place on Oct. 16, at Mississippi Studios — making this my second concert that took place in a former church. For those who are not over 21, Mississippi Studios is a former Baptist church turned concert venue and bar. It is musician-owned and located smack dab in the middle of north Portland’s Mississippi St. in the Boise neighborhood.
I went into the concert expecting to see folks my own age, with a couple of diehard fans from the ’90s; this, however, was not the case. My partner and I were amongst the youngest, if not the actual youngest, people in the crowd. We decided to sit in the balcony seats for the best people-watching.
After an hour of people-watching, a burger combo, a basket of onion rings and a cider, the opening bands came on stage: Swansea Sound followed by Portland’s very own All Girl Summer Fun Band.
Swansea Sound consisted of members of Heavenly, The Pooh Sticks and Death in Vegas. The band formed as a lockdown project back in 2020. They self-describe as a “corporate indie band” but I would call them anything but that.
Swansea Sound opened up the set with their 2021 single “Rock N Roll Void” which details lead singer Hue Williams’s memories of seeing his favorite bands live, and how it later inspired him to create his own band. The song was upbeat, punchy and very easy to dance to.
After the song ended, Williams looked over to an imaginary clock and sighed, lamenting that he had to keep the crowd entertained for 40 more minutes. It was a hilarious bit that he kept up for the duration of the set, which earned a chuckle from the audience each time.
Towards the end of their set, Swansea brought on another Portland group, The Crystal Furs, to accompany them on their song “I’m Ok When You’re Around.” Williams told the crowd that this was their first time playing together, as the song had been recorded by sending clips back and forth to one another during the pandemic.
Swansea Sound finished their set by playing their song “TWENTIETH CENTURY” off their debut album of the same name. It featured Fletcher on the tambourine, which was very tiny, causing Williams to make a quip about what Brexit has done to tambourines.
The next opener, All Girl Summer Fun Band, which as the title suggests, is an all-girl band that formed in the summer of 1998. According to their website, the original plan was to just be a band for that summer, but they decided it was too much fun to stop, and promised to keep playing so long as it was fun.
Their music is reminiscent of the riot grrrl movement, but there is a fun warmness that invokes ’60s surf rock. I had a great time listening to them, even though it was unfortunately quite hard to hear the lead singer.
At 9 p.m., Heavenly finally made their appearance on stage. They opened up their set with the song “Sperm Meets Egg, So What?” off their 1994 album “The Decline and Fall of Heavenly.” The song opens up with Fletcher and Rogers singing acapella before the guitars burst in, speeding up the song. It was a fantastic opener and got the whole crowd dancing.
They played some of their old hits such as “Hearts + Crosses,” “Trophy Girlfriend” and “Atta Girl.” When “P.U.N.K Girl” began, the crowd went wild. Everyone was singing along and dancing, and even those of us up on the balcony were moving and grooving. Fletcher explained that she did not find out the song went viral until her daughter showed her. She told the crowd that she is not very savvy with TikTok, but if you search for the song online, you can find a video of her dancing with wooden spoons. They also debuted a new song called “Portland Town” which caused the crowd to absolutely lose it.
Overall, my partner and I left the concert in high spirits, (especially because I managed to snag the setlist) and we danced all the way back to the car. Despite this being the second stop on the band’s West Coast tour, Heavenly proved that even after nearly three decades, they have still got it.
You can find and support All Girl Summer Fun Band on Bandcamp, and Swansea Sound, The Crystal Furs and Heavenly anywhere music is available. Though Swansea’s music can be found on any streaming service, the musicians prefer their fans to use Bandcamp rather than mainstream avenues to better support the artists.
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