This ‘All Should Eat’ gig at the Crescent was organised to raise money for a fabulous Yorkshire charity, SASH. The organisation is a youth homelessness charity that works across North Yorkshire. They help young people aged 16-25 who are facing homelessness. It is a charity that I love and respect hugely, they do such great work. So when this gig was announced I purchased a ticket right away. Yes I know that I get into many gigs for free, but I always pay my way when it is for charity! If you wish to find out more about SASH or wish to donate to them click here.
The night featured five bands, one of which I had never seen before. First up it was the Expression who have featured on these pages a few times before. They gave us a delightful set of 21st century prog with some vibey dark jazz undertones. The guitarist was not only a great player he was also an absolute genius in creating sounds using his effects pedals. A big shout out to the drummer too, he was ace.
They were followed by the Blair Bitch Project. This would be one of their last gigs under that name, the Blair Witch Project film franchise company contacted them and requested that they stop using the name. They will now be known as Bitchcraft, which to be fair is yet another great band name. This band are at the vanguard of hard rocking all female bands. Their songs are truly original. Especially “Banshee” and “My Cat”. The latter saw some crowd surfing from the band’s toy cat. They are a part of the line up of the first Love Music Hate Racism gig on 27th February. They rocked the absolute fuck out of the Crescent!
Ghostship were next and they seem to evoke the history of classic British rock with some fine very UK rock vibes. There were shades of Pink Floyd and the more mellow songs of the Faces that featured Ronnie Lane on vocals rather than Rod Stewart. Their harmonies were sublime and reminded me of Lindisfarne in their prime. If Ian McNabb had worked with Pink Floyd it might have sounded like Ghostship. They closed their set with a powerful and simply awesome cover of the Beatles classic “Dear Prudence”.
Finally it was time for the Disappearer to take the stage. This was th only one of the four bands that I had not seen before this gig. They are purveyors of fine melodic rock with a smattering of bluesy jazz. They have a great mellow shoegaze style in some songs. Their closing song was introduced as something of an experiment. Now that was a brave move, while it was generally good it sometimes felt a little ‘try hard’. I think it might work better in a studio. But didn’t take much away from what was overall a stunning set. So a great night for a great cause, what more does a philanthropic music fan need?
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog.You can also follow us onInstagram, Bluesky, and Linkedin.
Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch via EMail.
This would be the first time I had seen Suede for a few years and probably the 6th or 7th time I have seen them overall. The first time was at the sadly long defunct Old Trout in Windsor back in June 1992. After hearing the new album ‘Antidepressants’ I was quite excited for this gig. But before I tell you how it was let me tell you about the support band, Bloodworm. They are George Curtis, Euan Stevens, and Chris Walker from Nottingham. They have a strong post punk feel, added shoegaze elements, a sprinkling of dark goth and a huge injection of metal. Their riffs were piledriving and the crowd seemed to love them. Their massive sound hits you head first like a runaway fully laden express train and it feels fucking good! This band may well be huge one day.
Finally it was time for Suede to hit the stage for this sell out show. The band are clearly, and rightly, so confident in the new album that the first three songs in the set were lifted from it: “Disintegrate”, “Dancing With The Europeans” and the title track “Antidepressants”. They sound like they have been part of classic Suede sets for years, but that can’t be true! “Dancing With The Europeans” was one of many highlights for me. Most of the hits were there “Trash”, “Animal Nitrate”, “So Young”, “Metal Mickey” and “New generation”. The latter was making its 2026 tour debut. The song the raised the crowd to a level of mass hysteria though was “Beautiful Ones” as Brett encouraged us all to sing along to that magnificent “la la la la” refrain while we were “shaking our bits to the hits”. Brett Anderson is 58 years old, but that never shows. He is a true showman and worked the stage like he owned it as he welcomed us all to Suedeworld once again. This was a fiery, bombastic, explosive set from a band once again at their peak. It was capped with a goosebumps inducing two song encore of “The Only Way I Can Love You” (from ‘Autofiction’) and “Saturday Night” (from ‘Coming Up). I thought that Suede were good the first time I witnessed them nearly 34 years ago, but who knew they would become such a great band. Even after all this time they get better and better!
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog.You can also follow us onInstagram, Bluesky, and Linkedin.
Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch via EMail.
We are big fans of HerOrangeCoat’s music here at Mayhem Towers, so we were very excited when we heard about her new project, the EP entitled ‘The Woodland Sessions’. Georgia a.k.a. HerOrangeCoat was able to undertake and complete the project with funding from the Next Gen fund from Youth Music. She went to five woodland locations and wrote and recorded five songs, each in a single day. Georgia says of the songs “These songs are unlike the rest of my catalogue – these are field recordings designed to capture the ambience of the spaces that inspired the music“. These are gorgeously intimate, soulful and introspective recordings with an ambience of natural sounds underlying each of them. The clarity and fragility of Georgia’s vocals is interwoven with the beautifully crafted gentle ukulele accompaniment. This is an EP that takes me to a very happy place and is perfect for a chilled meditation. I haven’t heard anything so wonderfully raw for a long while. These songs will be recorded in a studio for a later release in May. The five songs are listed below alongside the forest and woodland areas they were recorded.
“The Algae and Hope Grow” (Judy Woods) “I’ve Seen a Deer” (Knaresborough Forest Park) “Down Where the Stories Grow” (Garbutt Wood) “Under the Yew Tree” (Castle Eden Dene) “Adder Stone” (Dalby Forest)
Take a listen, you will love the way this music transports you to another magical place.
Photo by Kevin Donnelly
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog.You can also follow us onInstagram, Bluesky, and Linkedin.
Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch via EMail.
Marky Ramone is one of just a few living Ramones and certainly the only survivor from one of their 1970s incarnations. He joined as a drummer in 1978 and stayed until 1983 and came back from 1987 to 1996. He is now touring as Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg. Are they any good? Read on to find out but first I need to tell you about the rather splendid support band Bones Ate Arfa from Brighton. They describe themselves as “a psychedelic street punk/desert rock three piece” and I can see why. For me they absolutely owned the stage with a solid amalgam of heavy metal, punk and angry hair metal. Their songs were immense and when they displayed the “FUCK REFORM” message I was sold! They also exist in a parallell comic book univers, I even bought one of their fabulous comic books! I definitely want to see this lot again.
Finally it was time for a true brudder and some lil brudders as Marky and his boys took the stage. I first saw the Ramones before Marky joined back in 1977 (December 31st) at the Rainbow in London. That night they played 28 songs and 21 of those were played by Blitzkrieg at this Brudenell gig tonight. Typical of the original band there is not much communication between songs although you do get the regular intros counted in as ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR. They were like an incredibly tight and well rehearsed Ramones tribute band, only they had the bonus of an original member. It was a wonderfully nostalgic night in a room packed with blokes of a certain age, like me. Aging punks are always up for a good night and this was no exception. There were plenty of highlights and my particular favourites were “Beat On The Brat”, “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker”, “The KKK Took My Baby Away” and “Blitzkrieg Bop”. They also played a great version of the Louis Armstrong hit “What A Wonderful World” which Joey Ramone covered on one of his solo albums. This was an absolute blast and I loved every minute of it!
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog.You can also follow us onInstagram, Bluesky, and Linkedin.
Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch via EMail.
Earlier this month the High Priestess of Brat Punk and the Queen of all marginilised, mistreated minorities released “Illegal Aliens” possibly her best song so far. It is a powerful protest song driven by anger, caring, empathy. Much of the songs caustic venom and rage is directed at the patriarchal powers that be, notably the fascist Trump regime. It is built on a bed of music made from punk, hip-hop, nu-metal and the lyrics are in your face. The words are raw and passionate and convey a huge outrage better than some of the greatest protest songs that have come before. The depths of Delilah’s ire on this track are never ending. Why are more people not as angry as her at the various shit shows and vile people that are running/ ruining the world? To paraphrase the Sex Pistols Delilah “means it maaan!” Delilah has said “I’m donating all proceeds from my ‘Digital Downloads’ bought directly from my website to MIRAC (Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee) a grassroots volunteer based charity helping immigrants impacted across Minnesota with food banks, legal advise, support and protest organisation.” Go to her website to download this epic song, https://merch.delilahbon.co.uk/
Delilah has described the genesis of “Illegal Aliens” as “a song I wrote and produced in response to the violence happening currently in the US as over 73,000 immigrants including documented citizens and children have been captured and detained in unsanitary overcrowded ‘camps’ with no legal representation or justice. 38 people (that we know) have died within these camps without access to medical care, reporting abuse, SA and violence at the hands of ICE agents. 12 People have been shot and 4 killed, with thousands taking to the streets in protest to defend their neighbours while many hide within their homes in fear. I wrote this song back in February last year and have sat on this rage for too long. Before, I was too nervous to release this song as I had tours in the USA, but now is not a time for holding back, now is a time of urgency as we watch peoples lives being torn apart before us. This song is for those that are standing up and fighting back, a soundtrack to your incredible activism and strength“.
Following on from a first successful tour to the USA Delilah was scheduled to return later this year. However those plans have had to be cancelled thanks to the Nazi regime in the White House. America has become a totalitarian state where anyone who dares to be different, is not white skinned, straight or MAGAs is deemed persona no grata. I am radical leftist woke scum and proud of it. But the state of Trumpstein right now would be dangerous for anyone as outspoken as Delilah. Land of the free? Seriously? Delilah does not want her US fans, or Bon Bons, to be too disappointed so she has organised a one off gig in May at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds which will be professionally filmed and recorded for later release. The show will be dedicated to those US fans that have missed out on the tour and all profits from the show will be donated to 3 charities that will support immigrants impacted by ICE detention and family separation.
I believe that the lyrics are so powerful I have copied them below, I hope you don’t mind that Delilah!
“ILLEGAL ALIENS” – DELILAH BON – LYRICS
She did things that nobody would ever think of Now she wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison This is a radical left liberal As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government That there are only two genders, male and female
Yeah, yeah, yeah All these people in the street Holding signs, scream with me We’re the mothеrfuckin’ change That these men don’t wanna see I see women and workers The immigrants, POC The Indigenous people No LGB without T
All these people in the street Holding signs, scream with me We’re the motherfuckin’ change That these men don’t wanna see I see women and workers The immigrants, POC The Indigenous people No LGB without T
Look, if that is the president How fucking misguided is everything? What happened to loving thy neighbour? You’ve traded him into the government They’re putting them all in these camps We’re watching it all on our apps I’m scrolling my phone and feeling so helpless Just waiting for someone to act Man, fuck your opinions, it’s awful Mexican children in courtrooms You went from “protecting the kids” To letting them die just sat in their classroom I go from believing in change To hiding my face with the shame They’re pointing their finger at immigrants, finger at anything Other than what’s in their face
All these people in the street Holding signs, scream with me We’re the motherfuckin’ change That these men don’t wanna see Looking around at these artists I wonder why none of them talkin’ So many not speaking about Gaza, speaking about nothing Carry on scrolling
All these people in the street Holding signs, scream with me We’re the motherfuckin’ change That these men don’t wanna see I see women and workers The immigrants, POC The Indigenous people No LGB without T
Try to divide us, keep us in silence Segregating the people with violence Talking about freedom, talking about justice Talking about all of those seeking asylum Talking about Gaza, all of those people? Sending them back to the rubble? Sending them back, knowing that nothing exists Go ahead, call it collateral I feel ready for change Ready to say, say it with all of my chest I will take to the street Using my voice for those that gave every breath The President’s calling them aliens Illegal aliens Dehumanize and terrify the majority They’re putting all the blame and the hate on minorities I never get it I see the way that these people are indoctrinated Force fed all the words that they never question Walking blind in the line with a billionaire His right hand in the air, sayin’ “Look what happens when a rich prick gets All of the money while we pay the debt Hands in the air, I’m the worst one yet” Saluting these people that don’t even know what it means yet
Organise, defy, resist (Thirty thousand beds) Organise, defy, resist (In Guantanamo to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens) Organise, defy, resist (Threatening the American people) Organise, defy, resist
Look, if that is the president How fucking misguided is everything? What happened to loving thy neighbour? You’ve traded him into the government You’re feeding your people with scraps While saying that you got their back Distracting the people with immigrants, people with anything Other than what is a fact Sending ’em back, taking the land from the natives Drilling for oil, you’ve killed their environment, fact All of your power is built on systemic racism Putting your foot on their back Watching as systems divide You on the left and you on the right Controlling the masses and trying to hide They are the enemy, they are the reason you’re tired Nothing to do with minorities Nothing to do with the people just living their life Nothing to do with the women and girls You’re raping and killing, removing their rights Nothing to do with the immigrants Nothing to do with the books that you’re setting alight Nothing to do with these people But look at him, look at the men on his side Where is your anger? Where is the “save the children” when children are legal as brides? Where is your passion for kids When all of these immigrant children are spending the night Treated like criminals, treated like animals Holding their palms up out to the sky You’ve traded them into the government
All these people in the street Holding signs, scream with me We’re the motherfuckin’ change That these men don’t wanna see I see women and workers The immigrants, POC The Indigenous people No LGB without T
The problem’s in our phone (They’re fucking the robots) The problem’s in our home The problem is the media They wanna take control (The men are fucking the robots) The problem, the problem We see it every time we scroll The problem is the media (Let’s delete them) They wanna take your soul
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog.You can also follow us onInstagram, Bluesky, and Linkedin.
Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch via EMail.
Sleuth Gang Unleash Explosive New Single “Run Rabbit Run”– OUT NOW!
Leeds-based seven-piece alternative rock powerhouse Sleuth Gang return with their eagerly awaited new single, “Run Rabbit Run,” set for independent release on 19th February 2026 across all major streaming platforms.
Blending forceful alt-rock intensity with the raw dynamism of nu-metal, metal, rap, and hip-hop, “Run Rabbit Run” captures Sleuth Gang at their most fearless and genre-defying. Produced by Dave Boothroyd at 6DB Studios, the track blends classic hip-hop rhythms with earth shaking nu-metal guitar work, delivering a sound that is both nostalgic and unwaveringly 21st Century.
“Run Rabbit Run” pulls together the hip-hop grooves and heavy guitar elements that define the band. It is intense, powerfully rhythmic, and unapologetically Sleuth Gang. “It’s no fun when the rabbit’s got the gun!“
Emerging from the thriving alternative scene in Leeds, Sleuth Gang have steadily built a reputation as one of the UK’s most exciting and unpredictable live acts. Their music has been championed by major national broadcasters including BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Introducing, exposing their unique sound recipe to a growing audience across the UK. Yet it is their visceral, high-energy live performances that have cemented their status as a band to watch, earning them a fiercely loyal following. It was their astonishing live show that made them very worthy winners of the Fulford Arms (York) Battle of the Bands contest in 2024.
“Run Rabbit Run” marks a defining moment in Sleuth Gang’s evolution — a bold statement of intent from a band determined to challenge expectations and carve their own path through the UK alternative landscape. They have described themselves as “Your mum’s favourite boy band” if that is true then your mum is cool as fuck!
The single will be available worldwide from today, 19th February 2026. The full on video will be premiered on YouTube in just a few hours! Click here after 6pm UK time today (19th February) to see it!
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog.You can also follow us onInstagram, Bluesky, and Linkedin.
Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch via EMail.
This was my fourth gig of 2026 so far, but my first at the fabulous Fulford Arms. This promised to be another excellent night of great music pulled together by Northern Radar supremo Simon P. Read on to find out if it was up there with all the other Northern Radar gigs I have had the pleasure and privilege of attending. The bill included four acts that I had never seen before and that is always a bonus in my opinion. First we were treated to a solo acoustic set from Hull’s Martin Gallagher. His covers were ace and included Queen, Jake Bugg, the Zutons, Queen, U2, Ed Sheeran, the Beatles, the Kings Of Leon and Johnny Cash. His powerful rendition of the Cash classic “Folsom Prison Blues” was spine-tingling. Aside from the covers Martin’s original songs are very special indeed, particularly “Mixed Signals” is a sad song with fathomless emotions. I spoke with Martin after his set and he is not just a great artist, but a top bloke too.
I love it when I find an artist that is difficult to fit into a genre box and next on the stage were Call It Vain and they are exactly that type of act. Their music has elements of hip hop, emo and huge cinematic ambition. The songs are perfectly constructed and a couple in particular really stand out: “Life” and 2025 single “Saturday Superhero”. The echoey jangly guitar and mountainous drums on the set closer were awesome. Call It Vain is Calum Green and at the Fully he was backed on drums by his brother. I believe that Call It Vain has the potential to become much bigger.
If Talking Heads had delved into shoegaze they might have sounded a little like Committee Of Sleep who took the stage next. They are masters of the quiet loud but perhaps slightly more lo-fi than the Pixies. As the set proceeded the sound moved up a few notches as the band proudly displayed their fine jangly pop vibes. But they also know how to rock and their rockier moments are dark and fuelled by some fucking huge solid riffs. This is a highly talented and entertaining band. I can imagine listening to them late at night in a badly lit room while nursing a JD on the rocks. They closed with a song called “Planet Of Chocolate Bars”, a great song with possibly one of the best song titles ever. I am confident I will be seeing Committee Of Sleep again.
Sadly much of the relatively small crowd had left by the time the Silhouettes took to the stage. I loved the song about selling your soul to the devil. The band have perfected the classic jangly pop guitar sound and their song craft reminded me at times of Vampire Weekend but without the African guitar influence. Vocally there were shades of Kaoru from the Dead Zoo. The drummer is immensely talented, I think he might outgrow this band. They closed the set with two covers: “I Bet That You Look Good On the Dancefloor” (Arctic Monkeys) and “Mr. Brightside” (The Killers). These were good covers but I think I preferred the originals, maybe opening the set with the covers might have worked better. This is a young band and I think they will continue to improve as they get more gigs under their belts. So overall this was another fine night of music brought to us by Northern Radar!
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog.You can also follow us onInstagram, Bluesky, and Linkedin.
Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch via EMail.
I love it when a band or artist takes a different and unexpected direction, especially when it is a band I have been a fan of for a long while. Lost Trends are back with a new single which takes a funky, west coast hip hop style and they make it their own. The rhythm section are faultless and drive the track with some delightful laid back, understated funk vibes. Meanwhile Pete’s guitar is so good that it could fit neatly into something by the likes of Parliament/ Funkadelic. This is all overlaid by Rusty’s vocal which while it draws on that US 90s west coast feel, think Warren G, it maintains the English roots of this superb band.
Lyrically it is perhaps their most powerful song so far and is a comment on the state of the world we live in and the people who made it bad. Couplets like “At the food bank, gonna tank feeling really low. But you can’t make a difference if you haven’t been to Harrow” says so much in just a few words. Their last single “Takedown” was explosive in sound, this new one is explosive in voice and sentiment. I am excited by the thought of seeing “Interest Free” played live. I have played it a lot since I first heard it a few days ago. If you want to give it a spin, and by the way you NEED to, click here. Meanwhile stay alert, stay angry and be the voice of those who don’t have one. That is just a few of the messages I took from this song!
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog.You can also follow us onInstagram, Bluesky, and Linkedin.
Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch via EMail.
The rise of strident fascism under a vile wannabe dictator of low intelligence in the USA is beyond shocking. Many people hoped Trump was done after an abysmal first term. But then millions of Americans voted for him a second time in 2024 with an agenda based on the divisive far right doctrine in ‘Project 2025’, which I am sure many of his cult members didn’t (or couldn’t) read. I did read ‘Project 2025’ and like many others we saw what was likely to happen in the USA. Everything that is occurring now was from that playbook; splitting NATO, threatening allies, attacking sovereign nations, using soldiers on the streets, deportation of American citizens and so many other Nazi style activities. Is Trump a Russian asset? I think he probably is. His admiration and hero like worship of Putin is sickening.
Trump has so far got away with this because the vast majority of his cabinet are more stupid, but no less evil, than he is. There are exceptions and one of those is Stephen Miller. I believe that he is pulling the strings of power as Trump plummets further into an addled abyss driven by dementia and who knows what other ailments. I hold no sympathy for Mr Trump’s clearly deteriorating health and I hope that he and is cabinet are faced with hard justice for their actions. All Americans need to wake the fuck up and thankfully millions of Americans are. The mass protests against ICE on the streets of so many US cities gives me hope for the future. A government that kills its own citizens and lies about it needs to be toppled. A president that cannot speak coherently nor do simple arithmetic needs to be sacked. You have to wonder how many of his cabinet, his associates (I doubt that he has friends) and family are in the Epstein files. Let’s hope that all is revealed very soon. Is Trump a pedophile? Based on the evidence so far and a desire to hide so much of it I would say 100% yes.
Anyway I could rant on about demented diaper Donny for ages, but that won’t solve anything. But protest will. The mostly peaceful protests against Trump’s gestapo a.k.a. ICE haven’t resulted in martial law yet. In fact the violence and brutality shown by the proud boys of ICE has slowly begun to turn opinion against the Mango Mussolini. What is needed is an inspiring protest song and Springsteen has delivered it with his latest release “Streets of Minneapolis”. It shows the Boss at the height of his passion and anger against a fake king and a vile regime. He calls out King Trump and the likes of Miller and Noem. This is more angry than Bob Dylan was on “Hurricane” and more eloquent than the bristling rage of early UK punk. I have also read that some MAGAs in the US have said they no longer like Springsteen as he has “gone political”. The Boss? Political? How the fuck did you not notice that he has always been like this.
Many other artists have been vocal about this administration including Rihanna, Adele, Neil Young, Beyoncé, the Rolling Stones, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and Celine Dion, who have publicly disavowed his campaign’s use of their work. In addition the estates of Sinead O’Connor and Tom Petty have called for Trump’s team to stop using their music. Neil Young has now given his catalogue of songs to Greenland, another territory that was at the top of Trump’s annexation/ invasion wish list. Others that have spoken out against the tangerine tyrant are Pharrell Williams, Linda Ronstadt, Philip Glass and Nickleback. In a separate action a group of artists including Mick Jagger, Lorde, Sia, Blondie, Sheryl Crow, Green Day, Lionel Richie, Elvis Costello, Keith Richards, Steven Tyler and Rosanne Cash in collaboration with the Artist Rights Alliance, have signed a letter demanding that politicians seek permission before playing their music at campaign rallies and public events. I am sure there are many other artists that have also taken action. I would also like to thank the NFL for booking Bad Bunny and Green Day. I believe there will be an anti Trump release from one of my favourite artists, Delilah Bon soon.
Let me end by saying that Trump is widely hated in the UK and Europe whatever you hear from those pathetic sycophantic news channels in the USA. FUCK TRUMP, ICE OUT and take the World Cup and the Olympics from America! Let’s keep fighting until we ring the bells of freedom from this tyranny!
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog.You can also follow us onInstagram, Bluesky, and Linkedin.
Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch via EMail.
Those wonderful lads from Vagabond invited me to review their headline gig at the City Screen Basement and I was never going to turn down an offer like that was I? This would be the third time I will have seen Vagabond perform in just over a year. This was a sold out gig. Where they any good? Read on to find out dear reader, but first I need to tell you about the support bands. All three bands were so young that the venue had a dry bar, that was a new experience for me! First on stage were District! and incredibly this was their first ever gig. I sensed a degree of nervousness at the start, however they seemed to work through those nerves quite well and became more confident with each song.. Some of their original songs have a perky pop rock vibe and display a lot of promise for the future. Their choice of cover versions was inspired. Especially Radiohead (“No Surprises”) and the Arctic Monkeys (“When The Sun Goes Down”). A quick aside, how the actual fuck is that Arctic Monkeys song 20 years old?
The second band was Some Lions, another young York band. They provided us with a fantastic rock onslaught from the opening instrumental through to the end of their set. I have a couple of special shout outs. Firstly the lead guitarist who played like someone who has been around for years. All his solos were inventive and absolutely bang on. But the drummer shone even brighter, he was undoubtedly the most energetic sticksman I have seen for a while. But it wasn’t just the energy, at times it felt like he was the band’s engine room and that engine was a highly tuned Rolls Royce. Their cover of Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing In The Name” hit the heart of the zeitgeist of our times. It also drew some of the biggest mosh action of the night. This band have the potential to get so much better and they are damned good already!
Finally it was time for Vagabond and they hit the stage like the owned it, in fact more like they owned the city, no scrub that, this set was played with the intensity of a band that believed they were headlining a stadium. Fin had a “gimme your hands” moment with the crowd early on. (Bowie scholars should get that reference!) The crowd, can I call them Vagabonders, are somewhere between adoring fans and acolytes. This is “their” band and they are here from the very beginning of what I believe will be a phenomenal journey. At their roots and in their hearts Vagabond are clearly a punk band, but they have so much more. It is a solid and curious amalgam of the traditional and the modern. Punk, pop punk, power punk and funky punk to list just a few. They drew some significant mosh action too, with the mosh charge being led by the aforementioned Some Lions drummer. In a set full of highlights the pinnacle for me was probably “Freddo Fantasy”. They entertained us all with the awkward stylishness of launching t shirts into the crowd. They were riotous, rambunctious, brash, roaring, strident and were enjoying themselves immensely. They have a healthy amount of arrogance, which works perfectly. If Vagabond continue to develop and improve at this pace they will become not just a band, but a rock phenomenon. Vagabond “mean it maaan”!
At the end of February (27th in fact) Vagabond will be headlining the first Love Music Hate Racism gig at this very venue under the banner of Love Punk Hate Racism. Fin modelled one of the Love Punk Hate Racism T Shirts in their set. They will be supported by the Blair Bitch Project and Sweeping Statement. Look out for much more about that gig in these pages soon!
All of the excellent photographs are courtesy of @bandograph
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog.You can also follow us onInstagram, Bluesky, and Linkedin.
Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch via EMail.
With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 