LIVE: Tacocat - The Lexington, London 07.05.16

Watching Tacocat perform live is like straying in to a dream; a rainbow infused, super fun, psychedelic dream. Adorned in sparkles and superb attire (including skeleton jumpsuits, rainbow hair, blue pom-pom earrings, and a silver space helmet), fans were transfixed by the sight and sound of Emily, Bree, Lelah, and Eric on Saturday night at The Lexington, as they executed their tracks with equal amounts of professionalism and playfulness.

The Seattle rockers are well versed in feminist values, pop culture references, and effective glitter use, and showed their crowd how to enjoy all three, whilst simultaneously playing in a rad pop-punk band. Guitarist Eric tried to remove his dazzling sequin bomber jacket after the band’s opening song (he’d borrowed it from drummer, Lelah), but the crowd protested against his efforts; prompting him to wear it for the entire set.

Vocalist Emily led the conversation between songs, commenting on the ‘never-ending fog machine’ which was ‘so London’, and Lelah thanked the London crowd for making this Tacocat’s first ever sold-out show. Bassist Bree got the most dedications; including ‘FDP’ (which Emily explained as “a song about the first day of your period”) and ‘Horse Grrls’, which Bree aptly described as a song about “teenage girls who get obsessed with horses”, which was accompanied by some seriously impressive ‘neighing’ from Lelah.

The four-piece played tracks from their new album, Lost Time; including super catchy singles ‘Talk’, ‘Dana Catherine Scully’, and ‘I Hate The Weekend’, as well as ‘The Internet’, ‘You Can’t Fire Me, I Quit’, and ‘Men Explain Things To Me’. Tracks from their 2014 debut, NVM, included ‘Stereogum’, ‘Bridge To Hawaii’, and ‘Hey Girl’.

The most anticipated song of the set, however, was ‘Crimson Wave’, which Emily introduced as “another song about periods”. The girls (and boys) in the crowd raucously bopped along, enjoying the song’s humorous but strikingly relatable lyrics: “can’t believe all the pain I’m in, give me white wine and vicodin”. Towards the close of the set, a crowd member requested ‘Psychedelia Quinceanera’. The band hadn’t rehearsed the track, but cheerfully decided to give it a whirl. “If you’re reviewing the gig, please turn away now” joked Eric, before they performed a faultless rendition of the song.

At the end of the gig, fans rushed to the merch stall to purchase t-shirts, CDs, and limited edition bracelets (hand-made my Eric’s Grandma). Tacocat are the perfect blend of activism, autonomy, and aversion to reality; and dazzle live with their sequins and super cool pop-punk sounds.

Support came from London post-punk/grunge band, FISH.