Matt Wellham
After years of photographing and filming the London music scene, Matt’s now based in Sydney, Australia. A lover of the post-punk and alternative movement, he can usually be found in the grassroots venues, camera in one hand and a beer in the other.
Personal Trainer comes with a reputation – the seven-piece Dutch outfit is known for hitting their audiences with seriously catchy earworms, chaotic dance moves, and a lot of sweat.
Stepping out onto Chalk’s stage, the band drew a near-sold-out crowd in closer with vocal harmonies and intimate acoustic elements on their opening track, ‘I Can Be Your Personal Trainer’, before cranking the amps and raising the heat with hit single ‘Round’. This theme of balancing delicate tones with explosions of guitars continues for the rest of the night, as the band work their way through 16 tracks – a mix of their debut record, ‘Big Love Blanket’, and last year’s ‘Still Willing’, along with a sprinkle of new songs. ‘Key of Ego’ was a particular highlight, as the heavy synths and compressed, distorted guitar riffs had every Radio 6 Dad bouncing off the club’s beer-soaked floor.
As they work through their setlist, the band’s friendly personalities feel refreshing. Frontman Willem Smit leans out to give affirming thumbs-ups and thank-yous to front-row onlookers. Behind him, Abel Tuinstra seems to be in his own world, throwing out karate chops and eccentric dance moves before turning back to reel off licks from his trumpet and arrangement of keyboards. All while the rhythm section has their own dance party on stage left. You could easily choose an individual member of the band and stand mesmerised by them for the duration of the show.
Nearing the end of their performance, the band performed their emotional song ‘Still Willing’. Chalk, with its low ceilings and lack of a barrier, created the perfect space for a track like this. It gave the song an extra personal touch, allowing the audience to feel one-on-one with Smit as he stood under the spotlight, his vocals cracking as he delivered the reflective line, “I wonder who I used to be?”. Chalk marks the final stop in their thirteen show run around the UK, and intimate moments like these make you appreciate just how much work this act have put into their road-tested craft.
Check out my favourite track from Personal Trainer’s set, ‘Still Willing’ –
Personal Trainer are known for doing something a little extra with their encores, and keeping to tradition, the band returned to the stage, joking that they could figure something out with the evening’s openers, Westside Cowboy. What they delivered was an all-out, electric performance of their lively track ‘The Lazer’, before covering Westside’s brilliant debut single, ‘I’ve Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Really Love (Until I Met You)’.
It’s easy to see that this is a group of talented musicians having the time of their lives on stage because it feels like they’re into their music just as much as their fans.
As I left Chalk and stepped out into Brighton’s ocean air, Personal Trainer had me thinking about duality. This band delivers eccentric, quirky performances, but underneath are lyrics that make you stop and take a moment. All in all, their show reminded me why live music is so. damn. fun.
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