Deez Nuts + Stick To Your Guns @ ULU London 6/5/15

Support: Trash Talk + Being As An Ocean 

After making a short appearance at Manchester’s Impericon fest, Being As An Ocean opens the one off show at London’s ULU Student Union. Attracting a large percentage of the audience, bodies start to sway with immediate reaction. Springing around the stage, vocalist Joel Quartuccio slowly makes his way to the floor. Reunited with his friends, Quartuccio wastes no time in welcoming new people, he gets right up into their faces, passing the mic around this shared circle.  Debuting a new song that had previously gone down well, the proud band live up to their hyped up expectations as London enjoy ‘Little Richie’ just as much.

Trash Talk soon then appear on stage with such confidence and authority, as if they were headlining the show.  “Turn these lights off right now,” vocalist Lee Spielman demands as the student union is now consumed in darkness. It’s never a Trash Talk show until Speilman gets right into the crowd and starts to cause havoc, which is exactly what happens next. Stealing all energy from the teen filled crowd, the bands heavy influence get rallies of pits forming and running about in full circles. Their traditional hardcore edge floats well with London’s crowd, as groovy riffs are blasted, bodies move in time to each beat.

Up next to co-headline this monstrous show, Stick To Your Guns appear with their rebellious expressions plastered across their faces. ‘Nobody’ is the first track that immediately opens up a racketing crowd. Playing live, the deep bass line is amplified to the max, sending vibrations throughout your body. The band move their way through tracks off their latest record Disobedient, to, treasured songs found in Diamond, such as ‘Against Them All’ and ‘We Still Believe’.  Occasionally Jesse Barnett would make a short speech, right on queue about the corrupt world we live in, and his hate filled political debates to the crowd as they roared with agreement.

Being away from the UK for such a long period of time seemed to have made an impact on the bands sound. Being positively greater than the Never Say Die tour. Barnett’s tells a story about his best friend being a dog, and listening to his problems. Are we at a pop punk show? Evidently the band have come to grips with their stern sound, that live gets their serious message across, as bodies dive off the abnormally high stage.

As Deez Nuts appear, the venue, which was not sold out in the first placed seemed even, bore empty. I guess the trains were finishing early that night? It was clear that the band had not attracted most of the audience to this show, but the support acts had managed to pull such a large collection of fans.

Nevertheless the front of the stage was lined with faces that pointed towards the band, and spat each lyric aggressively.  They play ‘Like There’s No Tomorrow’ and the crowd picks up slightly.  For the rest of their set things didn’t seem to be going as great as the night had been. I guess three amazing support acts are hard to live up to, as keeping the crowd off their phones was another task. After all the show is on a Wednesday night. Deez Nuts still play with such enthusiasm and authority, as bounces of hair flicks contain the view throughout their set.

9/10

Make Do and Mend @ Birthdays London 12/5/15

Support: Hindsights + Calls Landing

Hiding the intimate show at Birthday’s London, Make Do and Mend arrives in the UK for just one small gig. Secretly promoted, the cramp underground venue was half filled with the hardcore fans that eventually found the show through their everyday stalk of their favourite band. (It wasn’t even sold out.)

With support from some of the UK’s finest melodic filled bands, Calls Landing made a great opener to the night. Inviting fresh and dated pop punk styles, the band filled the stage with posi jumps and energy blasted vocals that represented the growing British scene. Followed by Burnham/Maidenhead’s emo collective, Hindsights who arrive on stage with such an elegant manor. Their melodic infused riffs captivate the audience’s eyes, as tones of alternative rock fill the room, the quartet bounce around joyfully.

For the one off show, both supports add equal value and worth to open for such a treasured band. With almost ten years of being a band, the four-piece travelled all the way from the states to play a show that sums them up perfectly.

No needs for introductions or that awkward talk at the start of the show, the band get stuck into what they do best. Blasting out powerful punk riffs, while the swaying of Mike O'Toole’s hair gets caught in your mouth.

With such a small stage to move around in, the band made great use of it by continuously keeping us alert as they move in sync with the melodic tuning of each song.

Celebrating their recent release Don’t Be Long, the four-piece debut the titled track live. Performing it for the first time in London it proves to be a massive hit as mouths move alongside James Carroll’s own. It had been a while since MD&M had produced a record or been on the radar, and with this absence there had seemed to be a loss of interest around the band. However this show was something the band did for the dedicated fans, as every single face lit up throughout their set.

Everyone’s favourites off Part and Parcel and End Measured Mile are playing in a mixed order. ‘Unknowingly Strong’ set in and hands start to point to the front of the stage, as words are shouted back and heads bang in time to the drumbeats.

Make Do and Mend are a band that will forever be treasured and placed deep within our hearts no matter what age, as the audience reflected this perfectly. Everyone got to relive their youth days tonight, and just let go to highly assertive punk music.

9/10

Knuckle Puck + Trophy Eyes + Trash Boat @ The Fighting Cocks 7/2/15

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Drawing a close to the UK tour with Neck Deep, support Knuckle Puck and Trophy Eyes had just one last day in Kingston to wave goodbye to a final show at the Fighting Cocks.

Packed in the cramped corners of the venue, a young talented UK band, Trash Boat took to the floor stage. Levelled with the audience, the five-piece opened up the night to a driven start.  Boosted by the audience’s reaction, the band made use of what little space they had, interacting with the crowd heavily as waves of fingers were pointed in every direction of bodies bouncing.

From one energetic performance to another, Trophy Eyes seemed to withhold an amplified number of souls prancing towards the stage in a punk manor as ‘May 24’ set in.

The Australian punk band drew a heavier tone to their gripping music, swaying all over the stage and screaming in raspy breaths. From finishing a two-week tour, the quintet had perfected their set for one last show, before they head off to Europe, capturing the best performance the UK had to offer.

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Taking one final gathering on stage were Chicago’s own, Knuckle Puck, squashed together on the dimly lit stage where stampedes of bodies were soon joined as they broke out into a panic stricken night. From the very first introduction made, the bundle of people pushed forth in an outburst of echoed lyrics, as vocalist Joe Taylor dived into their red faces.

The band blasted an even mix of tracks from their latest and previous EP, giving a little taster for everyone to enjoy. Already seeing this band on tour twice, it is safe to say that the Kingston show ripped every single one to shreds. The immensity of fans interacting and the pristine sound produced by the quintet left no room for silence. Every part of the room was vibrating with the speakers being bashed upon by a raving crowd that let out passionate screams.

‘Woodwork’ and ‘Stuck’ drew in their original tones which surprisingly matched a great deal of voices being shouted back as the show soon transformed from the floor to the stage, it was hard to tell the difference between the band members and the audience, with this close expression of music filling The Fighting Cocks with a sparking aura. Trademarking their way Knuckle Puck ended their set with their most treasured song ‘No Good’, which sent Taylor in the air along with many other diving fans that surfed through the
night, hands of support gently carried down everyone’s beating hearts as all three bands played a great tribute to the 10 year anniversary of Banquet records.

10/10

Moose Blood @ The Joiners 21st Jan 2015

Supports: Choir Vandals, Boston Manor, Arid Wave

Halfway through their headline tour, Moose Blood arrive at Southampton’s most treasured cramped venue, The Joiners to carry on spreading their emo vibes amongst another set of ears. Supported by three equally as creditable bands, the tightly knit line line-up was sure to cause a chaotic night.

Opening the night was Southampton’s locals, Arid Wave from around the corner; the trio caused quite a remarking sight. It was clear that this band were not from the current decade, presented with a strong 90’s grunge, punk influence to their sound, the band instantly hit it off with a Nirvana cover and similar rocky beats.

Their dated tone, then juxtaposed with Boston Manor, the second support of the night who brought a modern pop punk whirl of noises to the stage, promptly pumping the energy to boiling point.

Bringing an innovative sent to the room, the quintet provided a well-animated dance with every syllable, roaming around the stage in an upbeat presence.

Working their way up to the main support band; Choir Vandals who travelled all the way from St. Louis, the four-piece brought a whole new spread of waves. From the very first introduction, it was clear that this band had created a whole new sound for them, marking the quartet to stand out from any line up. Their distant feels creates an addictive movement in your body with their dancing beats and charismatic rhythms, the band were a great credit to be playing to a UK audience.

Keeping the audience entertained for Moose Blood, the band took to the stage with the notes of ‘I Hope You’re Missing Me’ lingering in the air. With a grand entrance taken from their new record; I’ll Keep You In Mind From Time To Time, the quintet from Canterbury bashed out another three tracks taken from this record to be shouted back by a throbbing crowd of hands, pointed in the direction of where their voices howled.

Maintaining a balanced occurrence, the band played an all time favourite track ‘Bukowski’, which got everyone’s voices warmed up in unison. This community atmosphere warmed up the venue, highlighted by Eddy’s “Thank you” outlets after every song, expressing how much it meant to the band that people were having a great time at their show.

Celebrating their newly successful record the band carried on with their latest tracks that were greeted with cheers from the crowd who anticipated hearing ‘Boston’ their last track of the night, which ended the whole show on a heartfelt note.

9/10

Baby Godzilla + Zoax + Hooligan Collective LIVE @ Hatfield The Forum 5/12/14

A perfect breed of two brilliant bands, Baby Godzilla and Zoax, joined forces to hit up the road just before Christmas for a full run of show.

Joined at the Forum Hatfield, Hooligan Collective were the first band to open up the night.

Their hardcore/ punk influence sound was presently heard within their performance as the youngesters had a dated noise to them, with their performance taking to the floor space rather than the stage, the band tried to re live what old punk shows were about, getting the crowd as close as possible and moving along. With a much lengthened set, Hooligan Collective gave a visual performance, bouncing around in his glittering jacket, guitarist Dale swamped the lime light.

Bordering on from one energetic performance to Zoax who gave a whole new level of intensity, the night was sure to be heating up just in time. If you have never seen this band live before, then you are sure to be in for a treat with their most talked about frontman. Lead frontman Adam Carroll, decided that he belongs on the floor with the crowd, doing all kinds of shit to make sure that every single person was included. 

Starting off, Adam roamed around the venue, having a little chat with everyone before he screamed into their faces, crossing paths with their shocked expressions which seemed to charge his charisma even more, plunging his microphone to dance around the room while capturing members of the audience in his waltz. The rest of the band who were left on stage, left no silence. Getting stuck in with bashful moments which complimented their vibrant loud, angry sound the band gave an astonishing performance that truly left the crowd in mutters of what they had just witnessed. 

If that wasn’t enough then Baby Godzilla were on next to finally take over The Forum and leave your souls running out of your body. Known for their outrageous stage presence, the band wasted no time in getting stuck in, as the show seemed to take place on the floor rather than the stage. Not complaining, Baby Godzilla who claimed to describe themselves as "General extreme noise” certainly did live up to the expectation. With such a spacious room to cause havoc in, the band sent circles spinning, climbing onto the bar, interrupting conversations between friends, they are the band who literally don't give a fuck.

There is no word to describe that night other than complete and utter chaos, one of the best shows that Baby Godzilla have played, by making girls cry in the process of destroying themselves, Matt Reynolds dominated his angry howls, making sure everyone was shitting their pants while Jonny Hall got upfront and personal.

‘Powerboat Disaster’ ended the beaten night with gang vocals of the crowd cheering in in a bundle of madness, as exhausted screams let out one final whirl wind of noise before dropped to a halt.

10/10

Basement + Cloakroom + NewMoon 29/10/14 @ Electric Ballroom London

It’s only been two years since the quintet from Ipswich Basement have played a London show, since their announced hiatus in 2012. Playing what was thought to be as a last ever show at Camden’s Underworld, soon became a myth as a venue less than a breath away, The Electric Ballroom developed the base of the four dated tour. 

Following similar support acts, the sold out London show dragged along Belgium's’ NewMoon to get the crowd  pumping. 

Taking an early start, the dreamy indie vibes soon filled the packed venue as their instrumental explosion captured the crowds senses. More than half of their songs seems to be strained out noises rather than vocals, all emerging into one. Somehow this rare eruption worked perfectly, with the right amount of weight floating each way, as although their set did seem to go on forever, NewMoon proved to be an outstanding support act for Basement. 

Gently pausing in-between breaks, the grand venue soon became filled with huddles of bodies emerging as dear friends and ex-members of old bands made an appearance including, Edd McRae (vocalist from Your Demise) and Charlie Holmes (Vocalist from Heart In Hand).

Main support act, Cloakroom pushed on to take the stage next, as the room fell silent once again.

Similar to NewMoon, Cloakroom produced a lingereing instrumental piece witch soothed your ears and soul, feeling yourself free to wonder along with the music.

With more of an indie inflection, the band filled their slot with a mixture of juxtaposing sounds that pleased the crowd as bodies slowly moved from side to side in time.

Time passed steadily as the build up of tension rose for Basement to make an appearance. When the clock had finally reached 9:20 on the dot, five familiar faces appeared within the mist of the orange lights, spotlighting each shadow. 

Straight into ‘Whole’ the crowd greeted this with a plunge of flying figures bouncing in all directions.

Andrew Fisher’s vocals swept in, met with the hundreds of echo released by the audience, pelting with full expression. The crowd now fully pumped, the band decided to simmer down with a new track off their EP Further Sky, embarking their comeback.

There was a certain chilled out atmosphere at the gig which had seemed to be lost in many others, sure it was a well waited performance, yet everyone seemed to respect others in terms of going nuts. Not saying that the gig was totally calm, as various spots were causing massive havoc while the overall coverage seemed to be chilled out.

The band kept their energy flowing, absorbed by the crowds fuel, as they covered their most famously known tracks within the two albums, occasionally dipping into their new ones. Delighting the crowd with this mixture, screams of voices escaped their mouthes, as the band gave a passionate performance, before ending with a much loved favourite, ‘Crickets Throw Their Voice’.

This sent everyone in the room roaming for one last mosh.

For a band with such a high reputation and style, they have certainly done well to maintain this, two years later performing as if nothing had happened. Basement are more than just a band to most of their fans, and tonight very much proved that.

9/10

More Than Life LIVE @ Borderline London 19.10.14

Constantly on the road touring, More Than Life, have left the UK starved for two years without a headline show. It was the Sunday night of October 19th, when the quartet returned to London’s Borderline for a one off show.

Taking an early start to the night was Southampton’s locals, Creeper. An unfamiliar sound to the crowd, the band didn’t let this interrupt their punk rock vibe, as the lights dimmed and the Jeepers Creepers song took to an intro, the band appeared on centre stage blasting out their energetic presence. For an opening act, Creeper got a few heads bobbing capturing new fans instantly with their passionate connection they exposed.

Following another eminent act of the night was Nathan Detroit a Punk band from Trowbridge. 

Halfway into the show, the bands guitarist decided to part ways leaving the four remaining members at a minus. Despite this, the band picked themselves up, gaining more attention form the crowd with their fast moving beats and bouncy actions, even those who weren't familiar with their sound found themselves moving along.

Before flying of to Australia the next day, More Than Life had gladly assembled, Up River to give the crowd one last warm up before their influx.

Similarly appealing to the current audience, the foursome instantly engaged all senses from the faces of everyone in the room. Unmasking their hardcore, bluesy sent soon spread filling the room with emotive screams. More known the crowd, deeper movement of bodies connecting and lips moving joined Up River, as their set proved worthy.

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The floor was now filled with floods of bodies all hurled together, bounded by one band who were soon to play on stage. Deep red lights filled the stage where the current members stood, setting up for a special night of empathy.

Diving right into the bands news record, What’s Left of Me, came ‘Weight of The World’ a chillingly, gripping song that erupts passionate howls from every lyric that was amplified by the crowd. Intertwining with ‘Fear’ the older fans responded with chaotic bodies flying all over the floor, diving in mid air and screaming inches from James face. Working their way to ‘I’ve Lost Track of Everything’ taken from their famously known record Love Let Me Go, the collateral faces clustered together once again, in a community of cries.

Altering between their history with a few new tracks added, each song interacted a live audience as the non stop flow divers and mothers, kept the floor covered with a close line of unity.

Midway through ‘Do You Remember’ started and everyones faces dropped in tone, as the whole room was overslept with touching bodies learning towards the stage, screaming their hearts out to every line.

Where there were short breaks in the set a sweet, tranquil interlude was played to harmonise the crowd with their mournful blast.

Closing up the the night, vocalist James reached out, dedicating the last song to his mother who had just passed away. If the night wasn’t emotional enough it was about to get even more downbeat. Pushing all feeling aside a final basement of frames were clattered in a large group, grabbing onto each other or prancing around on stage. The set ended in a ferocity outcry, as they didn’t need an encore, More Than Life are just a band that just leaves you there in darkness, pulling yourself back 

together after such an emotional journey, you feel yourself wanting to relive it all again.

Isha Shah Photography

Two years was definitely worth the wait to experience such a hectic night that seemed to last forever, More Than Life have left the London in scraps, still raging to come back for more.

8/10

Grayscale EP release show @ Borderline 20.4.14

With the release of the 90's emo punk band Grayscale's EP: The Thoughts That Linger, a headline show followed down at the Borderline London.
Added to the list were three unique support bands, who were good friends of Grayscale.

First on were Thousand Photos Of You, who are a four piece pop punk/ hardcore band from Essex.
Supporting such a great line up, they proved to fit in with their alternating style of music, as elements of pop punk mixed with hardcore breakdowns, backed up my metalcore djent riffs and high screams. Combining similar genres together, TPOY certainty did prove to show a lot of diversity and talent, as each song differed from the last, producing hybrid styles of music.

Very unusual for a band to change so much within just one song, however it seemed to work with them as they polished each one off well, marking a clear difference to anyone else.

Following that lively performance was The Holiday Plan, a four piece rock band from London. Taking a nostalgic step back to the punk days of rock music, they certainly did look the part of an old school band with their music to match. Perfectly in line, The Holiday Plan produce similar styles to Blink-182 and Jimmy Eat World, with the catchy 4/4 beats.
Easy to bounce to and feel yourself go, The Holiday Plan put on a hectic bouncy performance, whilst busting out some old stage jokes, keeping both the crowd entertained as well as themselves. Really enjoying their set as their first impressions paid off, and won my ears to their new sound, a local band you should definitely consider seeing!




Lastly up to support was Richa, a four piece alternative emo rock band from London/ Brighton. Again unfamiliar with their style, the band got right into their set with an energetic outbreak of screams and movement. Not knowing what to expect, they instantly gained my attention with their trancy rhythms and quirky vocals.
Reminding me a lot of old underground rock, as well as vocal styles reaching various peaks, they expressed their genre through a rapid outbreak of movement, as the lead vocalist got so absorbed into the music, his passion screamed through.

Hard to compare them to any existing bands as they are so advanced in sound, Richa are a band you have to see live as their presence draws you into their music, giving you a much developed show to enjoy. Playing a series of slow to fast aggressive pace songs, each one gives a different vibe as there is a lot of variation to share among a large crowd.




As the night draws to a close the headlining band Grayscale begin to set up to play five special songs taken directly from their brand new EP: The Thoughts That Linger released the same day!
You can purchase it or stream online: here

Still unrecognized by a mass audience, Grayscale are pretty new to the scene, only forming around a year ago, they have arrived just at the right time as the emo punk scene is reaching its ultimate peak in the music industry.

Straight away we are blasted with new music, played especially for their EP launch.
A blend of new talent is present as their sad beautiful music hits your ears, you feel yourself not moving, but glued to their sound as it takes you into a trance.

In reminiscence of Balance and Composure and Basement, Grayscale make their mark alongside these big talent bands as they flow with the same atmosphere perfectly.

In a small venue, with a small intimate crowd with a dimly lit stage was the complete settings for a band like Grayscale to play in as it added to the whole vibe of the gig, giving off a real experience into their music.


The simple yet complexed mixture of slow guitar strums along the steady bass notes fit consummately with lead vocalist Miz's sharp voice.
Swimming Pool proved to stand out to me personally, as the cute little guitar intro which was carried out throughout the song kept me alert and aware, before an match up of two vocals came together moulded the song into a more upbeat polished sound.

As a whole the whole EP swam together in perfect unison as each song complimented the next, changing in pace and tone, to show off the many styles of talent in which Grayscale can display.

The whole line up was solid, as each band were placed in a considerable slot to build up tension for Grayscale, as each contained elements of the surrounding music, it was a swell night, so make sure you check all of the bands out to hear more music!
More photos from the night are found on facebook