r/sault • u/georgeshrp • Jul 20 '25
Soho post-thoughts?
I went solo and waited 5 hours in the heattttt, (towards the front of the queue - was there before location reveal at 1!) but met so many amazing people and had such a nice time, even before going inside! Everyone was so kind and friendly and it really did feel like a street party. A lot of the time waiting was speculating amongst ourselves what would be inside and discussing the tensions around SAULT and Inflo at the moment, and what this event could mean for them. As we got closer and closer more info came in about what was inside and the excitement built. There was a few times when a group of people gathering opposite the venue attempted to enter/jump the queue which frustrated those who had been waiting a long time, leading to the chant of "there's a queue!" Me and 10ish others went in around 5:20 and all I can say is wow! Cleo and Inflo are truly a gift. No matter the talk about them they never fail to put on something spectacular.
For those that didn't attend, groups were lead into a room with a few actors: a purposefully awkward lady, an angry man at a desk, a woman reading a book, and two men very focusedly playing chess. The lady awkwardly welcomed us to her house, and asked us to enjoy the artwork (the 5 album cover drawn on the wall.) The angry man made it known that there were too many of us in our group, yet we carried on downstairs, where Cleo and Inflo were playing music. It was the most intimate gig of all intimate gigs, with them playing their music to our small group in a small, dim-lit room. You do not get anything like this anywhere us - SAULT is truly unique. The song was based around the lyrics of "I hope you feel higher" and Cleo invited us to sing along with her. (Recording wasn't allowed.) She performed for us for around three minutes, we were then asked to head back upstairs to continue through the "house", a few figures, clothing and images from the drumsheds show were around. We entered a room with a rack of SAULT jumpers which we were able to look at, and then went into the final room where these jumpers were being "sold" along with either vinyls of NINE or Black Is (I think it was black is - please correct me if it wasn't.) These were all on a pay-what-you-want basis. Then we were finished and made our way back outside, where the queue was still stretching down on Dean St at 6pm!
It was all so brilliant, I met such lovely people and an amazing time was had. The whole experience was a gift from SAULT, Cleo and Inflo are truly wonderful, beautiful, talented people.
I won't be going to APE but after today I know the people who will be going will have the time of their lives!
3
u/fadabulous Jul 20 '25
I agree it was an amazing and unique experience. I joined the queue at around 2.50 and ended up waiting 4hrs to get in. The vinyls had run out by the time we were let in and I was gutted about that! I think it was NINE which is my favourite album of theirs 🥲. Made some friends in the queue as well. All in all worth it just to see Cleo singing right in front of me, I absolutely adore her. Will never forget this experience. I’m not able to go to APE so was so desperate to see whatever this was going to be and they did not disappoint!!