After a couple of bruising years, which she’s talked about openly more recently, Tor Maries walked out calm, candid and funny, lighting the room from the inside. Much has been said about the anger in her lyrics, but frankly, I think she voices the frustrations that many of us feel and observe within the tests of life. In contrast, her delivery on stage was warm, poised, witty and faithful.

First, a curveball; the support act. Not your usual musical act, instead, we were presented with a stage loaded with equipment, champagne bottles, a disarmingly unstable dummy, and then the incredibly impressive Emily Sadler, a Bristol-based circus artist, with flexibility, dance, and aerial skills that seemed to know no boundaries. It was a full ‘cirque’ treat, and a brilliant tonal set-up for the fairground nods of the headline show. It shouldn’t work, but it absolutely did.

Glasshouse Two proved to be exactly the right room, cosy and intimate, with comfortable standing space that was busy but still enough space for a shimmy. The seated rows were full, locked in, heads nodding, eyes fixed. The stage was efficient and playful with a small carousel horse, a chair with a ghetto blaster, and a few signs, just enough to echo the ‘Metalhorse’ world without drama.

From the outset, Tor barely stood still, dancing with faultless energy through every verse, needling choruses, and entertaining the crowd with thought provoking questions and invited discussion on subjects such as ‘What if the moon exploded?’ (see ‘Moon Explodes’) Why are stairlift adverts so odd? And was Meat Loaf really at the JFK Super Bowl? (Don’t ask. I think we all ventured down that rabbit hole late into the night.) With her talented duo of Liam Chapman (drums/harmonies) and Mandy Clarke (bass/harmonies), it was great to hear her tracks with live instruments, complementing the electronic muscle that usually accompanies Billy Nomates’ tracks. The band were a tight, generous engine; lush, punchy, and never crowding the vocal.

The setlist mixed new with now-classics such as ‘Life’s Unfair’, ‘Plans’, ‘No’, ‘Gas’, ‘Pornos’, ‘Knives’, ‘Blue Bones’, ‘Hippy Elite’, ‘Spite’ (a personal favourite), and ‘The Test’. ‘Dark Horse Friend’ became a crowd call-and-answer for which Tor drove the room like a conductor. Then a left turn; ‘Strange Gift’ with the acoustic guitar, for which the transition from kinetic bounce to pin-drop focus was breathtaking. You’d never have guessed she’d been jumping around for the previous nine or ten tracks. Her control and presence were immaculate.

Across the night, the contrast kept landing; songs that bite, delivered by someone who chats like your funniest pal at the bar. She joked about Sunday scheduling, thanking everyone for giving up “sitting in pants and thinking about your choices”, and promised that would be her plan the week after the tour wraps. The crowd believed her and loved her for it.

She also humbly flagged her end-of-year “little tapes”, mixtape-style releases you have to pounce on via Bandcamp/Invada before they vanish. (Tell us there’s one coming this year, please!)

On a personal note, I adored Tors’ Glastonbury set a while back, the broadcast later pulled after some less than complimentary noise about electronic production. Tonight felt like a quiet, joyful two fingers to all that. ‘Metalhorse’ is a strong third album, born of real-life weight, and these songs grow teeth and tenderness onstage. The sheer joy in her eyes, and yes, I was that close, said everything.

A Sunday night spectacular, musically sharp, emotionally generous, and funny as hell. Empowerment without the jargon, questions without easy answers, and a performance that left you lighter on the way out.

Billy Nomates is back on her own terms, and Newcastle loved it. Come back soon, Billy.

5th October 2025