Chaos & Christmas – Skinny Lister at Lafayette London

Written and Captured By | Morris Shamah

Skinny Lister wrapped up their 2023 tour with their annual Christmas season London extravaganza, this time hosted at Lafayette London in Kings Cross. Joining the folk punk quintet was Noble Jacks – playing as a duo rather than full band – and Man The Lifeboats. The evening started as every good Christmas party should, with complimentary sherry and mince pies on entry, and not fifteen minutes after the doors opened, the music was on.

Man The Lifeboats, who are self-described as a “full throttle alternative folk” band, started the party with what was indeed 35 minutes of full throttle alternative folk. The banjo, fiddle, guitar, and bass band sang and played about beer and whiskey, rizzlas and, of course, Christmas. Taking a short break to thank Skinny Lister for inspiring them to start a band back in 2016, Man The Lifeboats were a great warm-up act, high energy and perfectly on brand for the evening.

See more photos of Man The Lifeboats HERE

Noble Jacks, who play folk-influenced Americana, are usually a five-piece band as well. However, for this tour they’re playing a mostly fiddle-and-guitar double act. The result is a tender, thoughtful take on the high-energy folk of the night, and it works surprisingly well. Their set was 45 minutes to Man The Lifeboat’s half hour, but the slower pace stretched it out to feel like a headlining act unto itself. A welcome breather before the main event.

See more photos of Noble Jacks HERE

Skinny Lister took the stage at 9pm, immediately grabbed the venue by the throat and didn’t let go for 90 glorious minutes of punk-influenced folk. Lafayette’s wooden floor was bouncing from the get go as the sold-out crowd wasted no time jumping along. Skinny Lister hails from London, formed in 2009, and despite a small handful of lineup changes, the core band of Dan Heptinstall and Lorna and Max Thomas holds strong. By the end of the first song, “Wanted”, both Lorna, on lead vocals, and Max, on lead melodeon, had broken the stage-audience barrier to the delight of the London faithful, while Dan strummed his acoustic like if he did it fast enough it could light on fire and warm up the town.

The rest of the set proceeded in much the same fashion. Skinny Lister’s remarkably old-fashioned-yet-modernly-singable take on so-called folk music is tailor-made for a joyful bruise-up on a cold, December night in the center of town. In fact, at least one song is written about that very thing (albeit an actual street fight, and not a caring, loving, mosh-pit).  From the fast-paced “Company of The Bar” off of the band’s excellent latest record, Shanty Punk, to the London drama call to arms “This is War” from their 2014 breakthrough Down On Deptford Broadway to the more-punk-than-folk tracks on 2016’s The Devil, The Heart & The Fight, Skinny Lister ran us through a career spanning 20 song set full of booze & bruises, arm wrestling and street fights, calls for identity and calls for heartbreak, love, lust, and above all, unity.

See more photos of Skinny Lister HERE

While their set was 90% high-octane, there were a handful of calmer moments, including “Mantra”, Lorna’s standout track from the new record, and the brief pause to introduce Lorna and Max’s father, Party George. Of course, once Party George hits the stage, the party continues with “William Harker”, the ode to the characters you’ll find in the local pub.

For the glorious curfew-breaking finale, Skinny Lister brought Party George, Man the Lifeboats, and Noble Jacks back on stage for a full house performance of Fairytale In New York and Six Whiskies, complete with giant balloons released into the hall. As the crowd swayed and sang into each other and the at-capacity-stage bounced giant balloons into the air, the spirit of the holidays had fully arrived, soaked in sweat and thrown beer. If only every Christmas party was this joyfully chaotic.