Man/Woman/Chainsaw at Thekla was a night of tipsiness, baby bangs, and androgyny (tipsiness on my part and androgyny on the band's). The six-piece art-rock band is composed of members Vera Leppänen (lead vocals, bass), Billy Ward (lead vocals, guitar), Emmie-Mae Avery (lead vocals, keyboards/piano/synths), Billy Doyle (guitar, bass), Clio Starwood (violin), and Lola Cherry (drums). It was originally conceived in 2019 by Ward and Leppänen before expanding into the current six-piece lineup that it knows today.
Their latest album Cannonball was released August 7th 2026, and provides an excitingly fresh look into what a rock band can look like, with Irish influences and intricate violin arrangements enriching their established art-rock sound. Reeling from their album release, the band set off on their UK-wide tour in September 2026, concluding in mid-October at London’s Electric Ballroom.
On 2nd October, the band brought a fully sold-out show to Bristol’s Thekla, one of the UK's best-loved small venues. The venue, located on a boat and normally used as a club, has a 600 person total capacity and was joyfully announced by the band to be fully sold-out on their Instagram story weeks prior. I was lucky, then, to sneak in with a reviewer’s pass, and my housemate luckier still — we came in at the start of the set to the minute, and the room was already ballooned and sweaty with an avid crowd of fans.
Lucy Bevan
The night sped by soundtracked by electrifying songs one after the other. One thing that stood out to me in particular was the violinists remarkable agility; often taking center stage at various points of songs to deliver a solo. Lead singer Leppänen was also incredible, with an emotive and strong voice — and the bands energy as a whole was infectious, dancing and jumping around the stage.
The set was a theatrical and boundary-pushing performance, and as Man/Woman/Chainsaw gets progressively more popular, it feels luckier and luckier to see them in these small and intimate venues.
Featured image: Chuff Media
Will you be catching Man/Woman/Chainsaw's next set?
