LIFE from Hull is a band that was on the fringe of my music radar before tonight. I had heard a few of their songs and liked them but I had never seen them live, until now. Did I find them to be a good live band? You will need to read on to find out because first there was the little matter of one of York’s best current bands, Faux Pas in support. This was the third time that I have seen them live in the last twelve months and they step it up a couple of gears every time I see them if they continue at this rate they will be huge. It was a fast-paced, blistering set that showcased the power and poise that this band has in abundance. Ru’s vocals were at peak performance and equal to Brian Molko on his best days. The guitar work from Lewis was everything from Steve Jones to Johnny Marr with the Edgell stamp across it all. Super sticksman Joey sweated an ocean as he pounded the living daylights out of his kit. “That’s My Ego” was the highlight for me, but there were so many to choose from. If I was in a band I would not want to follow Faux Pas on to the stage.
But LIFE did follow them and they were phenomenal, touring to promote their monumentally stunningly good second album ‘A Picture Of Good Health’ they owned the Fulford Arms. If they wanted to they could probably have levitated the building with the sheer volume and energy that was emanating from the stage. Vocalist Mez is a real heart on his sleeve punk showman who looks like he loves what he is doing and he totally gets his audience. The crowd was totally up for this set. It was great to hear the cheers from the crowd when Mez shouted “Fuck Boris”, Fuck The Tories” and “Fuck Trump”. Mez ventured among the crowd a lot and we lapped it up. He ended the show on someone’s shoulders for the final song, no mean feat given how low the Fulford Arms ceiling is. As with Faux Pas, there were many highlights, but standouts for me were “Half Pint Fatherhood”, “Bum Hour” and “Popular Music”. I also have a confession relating to misheard lyrics a.k.a. mondegreen; I had not listened to “It’s A Con” before the gig and I was convinced that Mez was singing “It’s A Cunt”, rather embarrassingly I was wrong, but in my head that is how I will sing it forevermore! If any of you ever doubted that punk had a future, I can tell you that it definitely does, especially in the hands of bands like LIFE. Mez, Lydia, Mick, and Stew take a bow you were possibly the best band that I have seen in 2019 and there have been some great ones. LIFE, the best band to come out of Hull since the Spiders From Mars!
All the photos were found via Google searches. The videos were all found on YouTube. If any of the pictures or videos are yours and you would like a credit or for me to remove them please let me know.
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