Confessions of a Traitor frontman Stephen MacConville is already jumping around the small sweaty pit that is the Fighting Cocks, goading punters and attempting to stir the early arrivals. The band do metallic hardcore well – searing riffs, heavy breakdowns and a predator like frontman, all the ingredients to take them where bands such as While She Sleeps have already trodden. They are sure to gain plaudits as they continue to tour, and no doubt will be the next big thing on your wireless.
Grove Street Families are really quite something and the excitement around this band begins to grow. Inspired by Grand Theft Auto, the band (who don’t take themselves too seriously) provide a huge set of hardcore breaks. Despite their fresh faced appearance, these boys are laying down a serious mantle as challengers to their Aussie counterparts and sharers of the stage tonight, Deez Nuts.
‘It is Lit’ declares Grove Street Families’ frontman several times, which appears to mean ‘excellent’ or ‘above all expectations’. Self-proclaimed ‘hoodcore’, these cheeky lads provide a set of raw, visceral and rousing beats. It is their intoxicating and tongue in cheek persona that wins them immediate fans. The Kingston crowd slowly creep in towards them, despite their being at least one half naked pit idiot down front, who seems more inclined to show off his pecks than listen to the band.
But don’t be fooled by this band. Below the jokey aura, there is a band making headway in the scene. After recently being taken on by Germany’s Avocado booking (All Pigs Must Die, Brutality Will Prevail, Horse The Band), these boys might just be swapping computer games for music venues all around the world. It could well and truly be ‘lit’.
London’s very own TRC are, in the hardcore scene, one of the bands who you just can’t believe aren’t much, much bigger. Live, their two man front piece is staggering, Chris’ continual request for energy providing the catalyst for never-ending chaos throughout their set. What has stopped them exploding all over the scene is hard to put a finger on. They possess everything that bigger bands do, and in fact, do a lot of these things better. They write politically and poetically motivated lyrics that are delivered with a punch and swagger that shows that they too, know they should have had more acclaim to date. ‘Bastard’ gets the biggest reaction of the night, with ‘H.A.T.E.R.S’ coming in a close second. The band announce new music is to come. Hopefully this can elevate them to where they belong, as live, they are one of the best that we have to offer.
Deez Nuts possess an arsenal of party tunes that make any night watching them nothing short of raucous escapism. Having come by train from Ieper Festival in Belgium, they look less than fresh with guitarist Rogers declaring he is on his twentieth pint.
It’s amazing that Deez Nuts have come as far as they have. The band, who started as rather a satirical poke at the music industry have now become a firm fan favourite, and the energy in the room affirms that their bro-based music could be around for years to come. Fan favourites ‘I Hustle Every Day’, ‘DTD’ and ‘Your Mother Should Have Swallowed You’ give the delirious few their chance to holla back, and adding to the day’s heat, the thermostat gets well and truly turned up to eleven.
Deez Nuts have a unique selling point and they are maximising their return. Lyrics such as “I ain’t in this for money or fame, but if I stack a little change, f*** it, I won’t complain,” perfectly personify this band. They are enjoying the crest of a wave that has been coming inland for way longer than anyone expected. But it works, and people love it. As long as they can continue to deliver tracks such as the aforementioned, Deez Nuts will be repping your hood for quite some time to come.