The sixth Punk Rock Outlook gig - another massive success of crowd-pleasing bands!
It’s that time of year again! Another awesome Punk showcase at The Outlook in Reading, UK, hosted by the incredible Launch Control and Shadow Promotions. This one was a lot of fun and was a well needed night out! It’s great that Reading has such an amazing punk scene, and what better way to celebrate that than with a gig? I already can’t wait for the next one!
First band to start the night was Halloran. I love this band a lot. I have seen them a few times in Reading and I have to say, their energy is still insane! Fast and heavy with a lot of jumping around, headbanging, skanking, and guttural screams. Halloran know how to get a crowd excited and moshing hard! They played their single ‘Trauma Related’, which has a music video for everyone to check out.
Next up we had Launch Control themselves. This band always puts on a great show! They got the crowd already starting a mosh pit in the second song, with frontman Lee Switzer-Woolf joining in as usual! These guys have great banter with each other, have fun and catchy songs, and have a lot of energy. Launch Control played ‘Everything Is Fine, Stay Calm’, which is their last track on their album ‘The Omnipotent Wage’ for the first time live, it was well received by the crowd and myself of course!
Third band to play was Skinhawk. Another heavy band with so much excitement! Frontman Nikki interacts with the crowd and joins in with the mosh pit, getting the crowd and myself singing along with tracks like ‘Killer Robots’ and ‘Techno Launch’. A lot of skanking and jumping around was had! Skinhawk announced their upcoming EP, which is yet to have a release date. Look out for an announcement from the band and a review in Punktuation! Magazine soon.
And lastly, we had three-piece Bristol band Scare Bears. This was their first time in Reading and in my opinion, I think they should play here more! Melodic and heavy, this band are fun and crowd-pleasing! I love when a band swap instruments, not many do it, it’s very unique. The Scare Bears lead vocalist and bassist swapped with the drummer for a couple songs. They played singles ‘Softboy Disco’ and ‘Emails’ and announced their their debut EP – ‘Worse For Everyone’ – will be released next month!
This gig was so much fun, and I honestly wish it didn’t have to end! I highly recommend checking out all of the bands who played. Play their music, watch them live, and buy their merch!
Main Photo Credit / All Photos: HANNAH CALVER
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I’ve been going to gigs since I was 18 years old, and have loved them ever since. They are my second home. I enjoy discovering new bands, meeting punks of different ages, and learning more about the scene. I sing, play guitar, and learning the drums. Punk for life!
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