LIVE: Milk Teeth / Black Foxxes / Eat Me @ Barfly, Camden

By Chris Robinson

An evening with Stroud’s finest punk rock pals is always going to be something to look forward to, so heading down to Camden’s Barfly on a sunny, gorgeous Thursday with the capital looking its finest, there’s an awful lot of excitement from those inside the venue and loitering outside for Milk Teeth’s sold out London show on this hotly received UK headliner.

Full blown slaves to the ‘90s, Eat Me kick off the evening, and with their immediately invigorating and energetic fuzz-laden pop-rock they catch almost everyone in the audience’s attention within a song or two. While the temperature rises in the upstairs of the Barfly, it doesn’t dampen anyone’s desire or enjoyment – Eat Me are a fantastically entertaining band, and worth keeping an eye on.

Black Foxxes immediately stake a claim this evening to be one of the hottest bands to look out for in the next year or so. Instantly infectious from the first note to the last, the strength of their songs, performance and delivery turns a chatty crowd deathly silent, completely in awe of what this three-piece are doing on stage. From recent single ‘Husk’ to new track ‘I’m Not Well’, Black Foxxes have something very, very special about them. With the ability to go from soaring Xcerts-esque singalongs to emotionally charged quiet tracks, they’re capable of so much.

With such strong support acts, you’d think the pressure is on Milk Teeth, but after 89 days of touring at this point, across 11 countries, they come out swinging, looking fresher than ever and not missing a single note. Milk Teeth sound the best they’ve ever sounded tonight, raising the bar for a sold out show in front of many adoring fans, friends, and family,

Opening with a rousing rendition of ‘Brain Food’, it’s the venue-wide singalong of ‘Brickwork’ that leaves frontperson Becky Blomfield almost speechless at the love this audience has for them and their music. A heartfelt reminder on the importance of discussing one’s own mental health, and supporting those who are struggling, accompanies a deeply emotional rendition of ‘Kabuki’, which is respected with silent observation from the crowd. Throwing in deep cuts from the album and a few choice favourites from previous EPs, Milk Teeth’s set not only demonstrates how far they’ve come as a band but also how bright the future is for them.

Closing out with ‘No Fun’ and ‘Vitamins’, the party mood is in full swing – with the release of balloons and confetti cannons, and the floor of the Barfly bowing under the weight of an entire audience dancing along. Milk Teeth bring their best this evening, and it seems fairly obvious that they won’t be playing venues of this size on UK headliner tours for much longer.

CHRIS ROBINSON