THE SESH: LOW HUMMER REVIEW
THE SESH / POLAR BEAR HULL / 1ST FEB 2022 / BY JOE SPIVEY / PHOTO: DANDREW PHOTOGRAPHY
For 20 years now, The Sesh has provided Hull with a spellbinding weekly showcase of the area’s best and brightest musical prodigies. Over the past two decades, the night has evolved from humble beginnings at The Linnet and Lark, to one of the biggest platforms for new exciting acts from across the region, climaxing in a yearly, weekend spanning, 32,000 capacity festival, that celebrates everything The Sesh has provided over the previous year. Tonight, the legendary Sesh returns to its weekly abode, The Polar Bear, an equally iconic and history spanning venue for Hull, that has acted as the heart and soul of The Sesh since the night’s inception in the early 2000s. On the bill tonight, with solid supporting sets from Hull born singer songwriter Imogen Hart and pop punk three-piece False Advertising, are one of Humberside’s hottest prospects, Low Hummer, visiting their homeland one last time before zipping off to storm the USA, playing the infamous Austin Texas festival South by Southwest in Mach of this year, waving the Hull flag proud as they do so.
There was certainly something in the air. The Polar Bear seemed to be vibrating from the outside as I approached its now iconic front doors. The rumble and chattering were dripping off the walls and anticipation burst through the windows into the cruel winter street. After being forced into cancelling their traditional yearly show at the infamous Adelphi due to the also infamous (in a different way) Covid-19, Low Hummer chose to perform at The Sesh as a way to substitute the hole that cancellation left, and they picked the right night to do it. Upon entering Polar Bear, the room was already reasonably filled, something that doesn’t normally happen until later in the evening. Tonight however, people seemed eager to be there early to both show appreciation to the great supports, but also to reserve their spot at the front for when it came time for the headline act. There was an overwhelming feeling of nervous excitement mixed with the comfort in the reliance of a home crowd. Low Hummer seemed at home in more ways than one before they even stepped foot on stage, but still felt the pressure of their friends and family’s eyes. Alas, this cocktail did nothing but motivate the band, as they soon entered onto stage and the room took a plunge.
Taking to the stage, Low Hummer opened with tracks from their debut album, ‘Modern Tricks for Living’, specifically ‘Take Arms’ and ‘Don’t You Ever Sleep’, before blasting into a new song that gave the crowd a flavour of what is to come. The band are currently recording songs for a new release, in between playing gigs across the country, before leaving for America. As the five-piece broke through their set into further album tracks like ‘I Choose Live News’ and ‘The Real Thing’, the crowd started to become unglued and began the traditional Polar Bear mosh pits, pushing and shoving and jumping in a swirling vortex that masked the dancefloor with flying limbs. For the rest of the night, the crowd were no longer individuals, gathered there out of sheer coincidence, but instead one mass, a large cloud, a single body, moving in a wave of sound, a ship captained by the synth, guitar and drums of Low Hummer. Before finishing their set with fan favourites, ‘Sometimes I Wish I Was a Different Person’ and ‘The People, This Place’, the band thanked their home town crowd for their continued support and promised to be back in the near future.
Low Hummer gave The Sesh and Hull a performance to remember them by. There didn’t seem to be a square inch of The Polar Bear that was neither empty, nor disappointed in what they had just experienced. After the band had said their goodbyes, the dancefloor remained full and fellow Hull band LIFE’s Lydia stepped up and took control of the music for the rest of the night, which included a solid, crowd pleasing mix of indie-punk tunes that kept the night dancing until the early hours of Wednesday morning. Low Hummer stormed The Sesh and gave one hell of a goodbye as they pack their bags for Austin, and I am assured the arms of Hull will be wide open to welcome them back.