The 80s anarcho-punk legends return, with sterling support!
Ah, the Underworld – it’s been a while (about a year, in fact), and that’s strange, as we used to visit you pretty much week in, week out, back in the day. We’re not sure if anyone really takes your ‘No Stagediving’ signs seriously, but we would like to give a shout out to your sound engineer, who has all three bands sounding nice and crisp tonight.
Diaz Brothers sound remarkably young for a band of veterans, and are armed with their recent new album ‘The World Is Yours’, which deservedly gets a substantial airing tonight. There’s a brief moment of reflection as they dedicate ‘Empty Bar Stool’ to friends who have passed, but for the most part, they crack on with obvious relish and no little energy; the raw-edged yet melodic likes of ‘Who Am I’ and ‘Hourglass Full Of Quicksand’ hitting even harder than they do on record. Seriously, do yourself a favour and check out that new album if you haven’t already.
“Cheers to whatever day it is!” That’s Yur Mum vocalist/bassist Anelise, and given the Brazilian duo’s punishing tour schedules, you can forgive them their confusion. At times, we can’t help wishing this was our first time seeing them; undoubtedly, their thunderous fusion of hardcore punk and grunge still hits the mark, but having previously witnessed them utterly lay waste to fellow north London venues The Dev and The Hope & Anchor, tonight we find ourselves feeling merely impressed – rather than blown away. It’s not their fault, though – they play as loud and hard as ever, the bass tone remains delightfully Sabbath-esque, and new song ‘Social Media’ is an absolute beast. All that’s missing is the kind of seething pit that they seem to incite so effortlessly at their own gigs; here’s hoping for many more of those.
Every so often, we see a band that makes us wish we’d been born a good decade or so earlier. Last year, it was Midway Still; this year, Instigators play the kind of urgent, passionate set that has us envious towards those who saw the anarcho-punk quartet back in their 80s/early 90s heyday. They’re back together after more than three decades apart, and vocalist Andy doesn’t seem remotely fazed as he nonchalantly steps up to the microphone for the opening blast of ‘Tricked And Abused’.
So begins an epic twenty-song romp through the Instigators back catalogue. Though their roots lie in anarcho-punk, they took on influences from post-punk and US hardcore during their initial existence, and what unites everything played tonight is that it all sounds so wonderfully restless. These old lyrics are – for the most part – sadly still relevant today, and songs like ‘Computerage’, with its chug-tastic riffing and the almost Killing Joke-esque ‘Summer’ are proof enough that Instigators always had so much more to offer than your average three-chord mercenaries.
The small but volatile pit kicks up a notch for the encore of ‘Dine Upon The Dead/Eye To Eye’ and ‘The Fix’, and then the band depart, having reminded us just why they had such a devoted following back in the day. Please don’t make us wait too long for your return, guys!
Main Photo Credit: JAMES SHERRY
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I spend my days teaching English to foreign students, and my evenings attending as many gigs as possible. Raised mainly on a diet of 90s third-wave punk, my tastes have grown to include just about anything from trad ska to thrash metal. The Ramones are my musical gods.
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