WORDS: BEN ADSETT / IMAGES: DORY VALENTINE

Cynics

Starting a weekend of back to back bands with a final show is a risky tactic. In a packed room, Cynics are either going to make or break the weekend. Emotions are high as the venue (YES) hits capacity and what follows is a thirty minute outpouring of love for a band who clearly mean a lot to the people in the room. Within moments, the audience are in full voice, intensifying what is already a melancholic set and creating a close sound which can be felt bouncing off the walls and bodies. The delicate moments hit hard and the rousing choruses are infectious, and as the penultimate song ends on the poignant line “we don’t want this to end”, this feeling hangs in the room for a moment. The set closes on a surprising cover of ‘Brimful of Asha’ with the accompaniment of the entire crowd. This finale cleverly diverts to a joyous moment and fittingly waves good bye to a band who some will forever hold dear.

The Human Project

The Human Project take the stage and have the audience entranced within seconds. The clever guitars and razor sharp harmonies contrast with their crushing rhythm section and create a sound that could be scaled up to fill any room. This set feels important to the band and is delivered with a ferocity which is returned by the people at the front who move like a snowball; always increasing in size. The final notes buzz around the room for a moment as breaths are caught before heading to the next musical adventure.

Petrol Girls

The deadly mix of expansive musicianship, deep political dissatisfaction and pure rage makes Petrol Girls set pass by in the blink of an eye. Ren Aldridge expresses concern about performing in jeans rather than the usual lucky sparkly shorts having an effect on the set, but this is forgotten within moments as the entire band are clearly at the top of their game. The vocal fury and sweeping guitars build to a climax which leaves the audience wanting more.

The Slow Death

In yet another full room, The Slow Death are cementing their status as legends of this scene. The expansive sound they create nods towards the decades their career has spanned and the birth and death of musical sub-genres, meaning almost every song in their set is different. This is the kind of live mastery that only exists after years of honing your craft and is appreciated by a core group of fans finger pointing and singing along to every word.

Going Off

Never has a band had a more fitting name than Going Off. Within seconds of them taking the stage, the entire front of The Bread Shed is in motion. With the band hyping the audience up with words of encouragement and a perfectly executed set of beat down riffs, snarling vocals and drumbeats so tight they could be mechanised, the pit seems to be stuck in perpetual motion. This set wasn’t just for the people putting their bodies on the line though, there was plenty to get even the most reluctant heads nodding. With a deserved reputation that has grown over the last year and now puts them within lists of the hottest heavy acts, the pressure was on; yet its clear this is a band who perform best under pressure. By the end everyone leaving the room has a new favourite UK hardcore band, and what’s not to love about this vital and often brutal collection of songs.

Off With Their Heads

This festival likes to celebrate bands that have shaped the scene they work so hard to nurture, and Off With Their Heads and their seminal album ‘Home’ get that treatment today. The record is played in full and played with such infectious passion that the huge cramped crowd feels like a much smaller venue; The Union is vast but everyone is as close to stage as they can be. In a room filled with voices singing along, it’s hard to see ‘Home’ as anything other than a vital release. As the final few tracks ring out, you can hear voices start to crack after an hour of singing along and for a collection of relatively bleak songs, there are a surprising amount of smiles on faces. It’s touching to see a band clearly enjoying their headline set so much and sharing this moment with an adoring crowd.

Big D And The Kids Table

Catching the end of Big D And The Kids Table proved popular as we followed a group of people speed walking to Gorilla and packing in to the venue like sardines. Clearly warmed up after playing at least half a set, the band played a fast and loose selection from their large back catalogue and created a fun atmosphere but somehow fell short on the actual songs. This did not deter an entire crowd who bounced their way through the set and made the concrete floor feel like it was on water.

Knife Club

The night takes a completely different turn as the afterparty starts with Knife Club; it’s almost like we have been invited in to a completely different event. Gone are the smart venues and polished sets – instead there is a sticky floor, that unmistakable smell of a night club and a chaotic thirty minutes of double fronted DIY punk. With a stage packed full of musicians fronted by Andy Davies in heart shaped sunglasses and (briefly) a leopard print coat, it’s the crowd who instigate the chaos. Bodies fly around the room, from the stage and, on occasion from the top of the crowd, with a thud. This is like an invite to a local midweek basement show and it’s an absolutely fitting end to day one at Manchester Punk Festival.

Roll on Day Two.

Tickets for next years Manchester Punk Fest are available here.

Click the image below to see our Manchester Punk Festival – Friday gallery

Young recently admitted that he hated making the majority of OWTH’s records up until ‘Be Good’, which was released in mid-August this year. The band’s latest record is mainly Young reflecting on how he has to cope with the conditions that cause him problems. It is as you would expect from OWTH – fast, angry, intense and downright heartbreaking.

While they are never going to be the band you listen to when you want to feel good about yourself, Manchester’s premier dive bar is packed to the rafters to welcome the Minnesota natives. What lies ahead is a breathless 40 minutes with minimal stoppages and a deluge of blood, sweat and tears emanating from the stage.

Young rarely glances away from the microphone, but when he does, he proclaims the immortal line of “fuck tomorrow, it’s all about tonight.”

His growling voice echoes through the venue throughout as OWTH thrash through a frantic rendition of new tracks ‘Disappear’ and ‘Be Good’. Every word is forced, spewing out of his mouth as they dive in and out of their back catalogue. There is absolutely no let up, no time to catch breath – just wall-to-wall double-time drum beats and furious bar chords.

Young does take a cursory moment to issue a warning that “if you have a Leftover Crack t-shirt on, don’t get on the stage”, before taking aim at frontman Stza – “honestly, fuck that guy”. There isn’t even time for drummer Kyle Manning to re-fit a hi-hat as Young hurriedly motions for the next song to start.

Among the chaos, there are piercing, heartfelt lyrics in ‘Tear Me Apart’ as Young screams “start cutting me up, it’s what you wanted, and erase any good that’s ever come from me.” All the emotions seem to be juxtaposed with a man crowdsurfing while holding a pair of crutches.

A highly-charged closer of ‘Clear The Air’, an open letter to Young’s depression, see the front man hurl himself into the waiting crowd. He clambers back onto stage and, almost with a quiver in his voice, softly says “thank you, I can’t believe this shit means anything to anyone.”

It is an unexpectedly tender end to a furious show, and what has seemed to be a cathartic experience for everyone in attendance.

TOM WALSH

This is a mantra Off With Their Heads frontman Ryan Young has recently adopted. A band familiar with wearing their hearts on their sleeves and not afraid of conveying gut-wrenching sentiment onto record, there is a sort of sea change to their fifth studio album ‘Be Good’.

In Young’s own words, he didn’t want to make a record about “moping around and feeling sorry for yourself”, instead this is an almost visceral celebration of learning to deal with anxiety and depression – if there could ever be such a method. However, if you were expecting this change in perspective to provide lyrics a little less bleak, you don’t really know this band at all.

Young’s opening riposte of “now it’s perfectly clear I never should have stayed here, I should have just disappeared” within the first seconds of ‘Disappear’, show a person still grappling with their internal struggles. However, there are notes of personal growth as Young cries out for guidance of “someone please show me the way” on ‘Take Me Away’.

While Young has openly admitted he really doesn’t like how previous records have sounded, Off With Their Heads have consistently produced loud and angry records. The intensity associated with both live performances and in the studio makes them among the more recognised faces in punk rock, and ‘Be Good’ does sound like a band enjoying themselves.

‘Trash It’ provides a grooving riff over the heart-shattering lyrics while ‘Severe Errand’ features a soaring chorus that could even be likened to some of Off With Their Hands’ more poppier output. While ‘Locking Eyes’ delivers an unexpected anthem, ‘You Will Die’ is a swaying slice of classic Young and Off With Their Heads.

‘Be Good’ is still an infinitely bleak album but it feels like one that sits better with Young more than any other. The catharsis of continuing to tackle problems head on and vent them through songwriting and perhaps being more content in his current headspace could mean that ‘Be Good’ isn’t a record he dismisses in the years to come.

When everything becomes more and more desperate, maybe this is the best time to be a cautious optimist and this record may prove to change the outlook for one of punk’s more miserable bands.

TOM WALSH

It sees them performing the songs ‘Start Walking’, ‘Drive’ and ‘Nigel’. The session will be available on vinyl via Asbestos Records.

The band’s most recent release was their split EP with Canadian punks Crusades, which was released earlier this year via Anxious & Angry.

It is available for $5 or more via bandcamp, with 100% of all proceeds going towards the victims of last week’s tragedy in Las Vegas, primarily aiding the UMC Foundation, the city’s only Level 1 Trauma Centre. It features tracks from over 130 artist, including rare cuts from The Wonder Years, The Menzingers, Lemuria, Off with Their Heads, Direct Hit! and Taking Back Sunday.

The investigation led to the connection between the two through Reddit comments on Jennings’ cell phone. Another man, Pierre Cooley, was also been charged in the murder. The autopsy revealed the victim passed from a combination of heroin and fetanyl and was found in his St. Louis apartment.

Gontard’s bail is set at $50,000 and his next court appearance is scheduled for September 11.

For more information, click here.

They performed the track, which is taken from their 2008 album, ‘From The Bottom’, live in session at The Rock Room.

Check out the footage below.