Split Dogs and friends make Good Friday in Camden truly great!
Friday 3rd April saw Jolly Roger and I catch UK punk rock’s rising stars Split Dogs, on their ‘Boogie Till You Puke’ tour at The Underworld in Camden Town, London.
A 6pm door time and a light evening did not deter an eager bunch of punk loving, bank holiday gig-goers from getting there early. A decent and enthusiastic crowd headed downstairs to watch the first band of the night, Snatch, a power punk trio from West London.
The band – Harry on guitar and vocals, Ross on bass and Macey on drums and vocals, or “The Filthy Threesome” as they style themselves, do not disappoint at all. Snatch make full use of the Underworld’s ample stage, whilst tearing through a thoroughly listenable set of songs, which seamlessly take in straight up punk, ska, and even some reggae vibes. Effortlessly mashing up and crossing between all three, in the best traditions of The Ruts and at times even The Clash!
The imposing presence of a formidable rhythm section – both sonically and physically – drives every song from start to finish, with some lovely crunchy Gibson SG guitar and angry vocal delivery from Harry giving the lads a real punk edge, while remaining totally coherent throughout! Their set comes to a wonderful crescendo with – ‘Dead’, a real crowd pleaser that concludes what was a splendidly surprising start to the night. We’ll be keeping an eye out for them, and we understand that new recordings are imminent! (Judging by the interest at the merch table, not before time!)
Next up were the frenetic and rather fabulous Fantazmaz. Hailing from Brazil but now based in London, this borderline hardcore four-piece features Thamila Zenthöfer on vocals, Raf Olivera on guitar, the ubiquitous and instantly recognisable ex UK Subs and now Toy Doll, Jamie Oliver on drums, and tonight we have Jon Priestly from The Godfathers joining on bass.
As the band hit the stage, the energy level perceivably goes up more than a few notches. Thami flies into action, kick-boxing imaginary foes centre stage, as she gets down to attacking a fabulously fast set of songs, mostly taken from their self-titled album of last year. Raf’s guitar is chopping brutal riffs throughout, and anyone who has seen Jamie play knows that when he hits those drums, they stay hit!
Jon’s solid bass work fits right in too, and at one point, Thami asks the audience if he has passed his Fantazmaz audition? The crowd’s enthusiastic reaction suggests he has indeed done so, before the set carries on, with the standout track for me being ‘Bullet’. Having seen the band at Rebellion last year, I knew that Thami likes to get close to her audience, spending time perched on the monitors and often commandeering a pair of broad shoulders to ride on as she sings. Tonight it was a young lady who bravely stepped forward for piggyback duties. Together, during the thankfully shortish ‘Corporate Behave’, they delighted the circle pit surrounding them with their off-stage adventure!
The crowd are equally delighted when the band launched into their cover of Stiff Little Fingers’ ‘Suspect Device’, yours truly helping Thami out on vocals for the first verse! A real sing-along that raises the energy levels in the room even higher. After a breathless 40 minutes or so, it’s all over! And as Fantazmaz leave the stage, I was left to reflect just how much they fitted this venue. The bar has been set high and there is now real anticipation as a swelling crowd await Split Dogs.
And so, to the main event! The now pretty much full Underworld cheer loudly as Split Dogs band hit the stage, initially sans vocalist Harry Atkins… But as guitarist Mil Martinez’s first chords kick in, on she comes, brooding and hugely charismatic, as she tears into rip-roaring versions of ‘Meg’ and ‘Tear Down the House’ to kick things off.
Harry’s stage presence, boundless energy and facial expressions are nothing short of mesmerising – constantly moving, squatting, dancing, grimacing and using not just her body and the whole of the stage, but also her eyes and mouth to connect at close quarters with the whole audience to deliver real interaction, and at times, some good natured menace.
The rest of the band unleash fast, as-tight-as-you-like rock and roll riffs over the tightest rhythm section you’d want to see. Suez Boyle on bass and Chris Hugall on drums lock it all down as Mil crisply delivers riff after powerful riff. Things get a bit hotter at the front as crowd favourites ‘Big Fred’, ‘Feed her’, ‘Stay Tuned’ and ‘Gutterball’ follow in quick succession. New single ‘Rock & Roll Business’ is given a live airing to a great reaction.
Mil thanks the crowd for coming and getting into the show, but really there’s no time for talking, as ‘Precious Stones’, ‘Prison Bitch’, ‘Born to Lose’ and ‘Monster Truck’ are belted out with blistering intensity. This is fast, furious punk rock and roll. A new tune is let loose upon the Underworld crowd – ‘Leave it Alone’ – presumably from the upcoming new album ‘Nice & Rough’, due out later in the year. Then it’s time for ‘Be a Sport’, ‘Be Somebody’ and a real crowd pleaser, ‘Lafayette’.
Before what turns out to be the last song of the set, a young fan is invited on stage, handed a guitar and seamlessly joins the band to play a stonking version of ‘And What’.
The band have apparently seen Olivia Wilson perform this track on social media, and she absolutely smashes it tonight! We are all impressed, and Mil jokes that he could be out of a job! In what seems like a blink of an eye, that’s it, but of course there’s time for an encore before the early 10pm curfew. Split Dogs come back to finish the night with ‘Punch Drunk’, which seems somewhat appropriate as after the past two hours of full-on sonic attack. That’s what we’re all feeling too – punch drunk but very happy!
Main Photo Credit / All Photos: RICHIE VIRAL
All Videos: RICHIE VIRAL
17 Apr – Boogie Till You Puke Tour Bristol, United Kingdom
25 Apr – Scotland Calling Edinburgh, United Kingdom
20 May – Bearded Theory Festival 2026 South Derbyshire District, United Kingdom
Nice N’ Rough album launch in-stores:
25 Sep – Crash Records Instore, Leeds
26 Sep – Blitzkrieg Records, Glasgow
27 Sep – Rough Trade, Liverpool
28 Sep – Just Dropped In Records, Coventry
29 Sep – Rough Trade, Bristol
30 Sep – Rough Trade, Nottingham
01 Oct – Rough Trade East, London
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Writer, lyricist, and guitarist with The Viral Breakdowns, radio presenter and passionate protagonist of Punk! From teenage rocker in the seventies, to playing my own original music in far flung parts of the world, I have a love for fast, loud, short sharp tunes with attitude and edge. Based in Chelmsford, you can find me out and about on the Essex and London music scene or rooting through the racks of record fairs, markets and car boot sales, looking for hidden punk rock treasures.
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