LIVE REVIEW: Scuzz Throwdown Tour ft Max Raptor, Allusondrugs, Press To MECO, Borderline, London, 09/03/2016
The first ever Scuzz Throwdown tour rounded off in London’s Borderline last week, featuring the likes of Allusondrugs, Press to MECO and Max Raptor we headed down for what was to be an incredible night. It might not have been the smoothest tour with illness striking two of the bands along the way, but with everyone back and almost fighting fit it was time to send the tour off in style!
With a rotating headliner, it was the chance of Press To MECO kick off the final night. It can be said that the trio were the underdogs on the tour, having only recently gained mainstream attention thanks to album Good Intent. Performing tracks from both their Affinity EP and debut album the crowd are captivated, jumping along in time to the infectious tracks, singing back when demanded to by frontman Luke Caley. There’s something about these guys that just makes you want to get involved: they ask the crowd to get rowdy and that’s exactly what they get. Closing with EP title track Affinity, there’s a difference between the band that walked on stage and the one that left. PTM’s confidence grew as the set progressed and just like us the crowd warm up to them and their infectious melodies.
Despite their name, Allusondrugs have absolutely no need for them whilst onstage as their frantic, fiery sets are already wild enough. It definitely feels as if a large percentage of the night’s crowd is here for the quintet, as we witness a surge towards the stage in between sets. Known for tracks I Should Have Gone To Uni and Am I Weird?, it’s obvious why their following is so substantial, blessed with the ability to write emotion driven tracks yet also deliver them with a hynotic notion on stage. A heavily psychedelic air air fills the room as Jason Moules’ vocals leave hands flying, bodies crashing and sweat dripping as the crowd chants along. Their alternative rock is gritty and dirty, and let’s be honest Nervous will forever be one of those songs that excels live. Don’t believe us? Go and check out Allusondrugs live and you’ll understand what we mean.
Here at BTN, we’ve never hidden our love for punk rockers Max Raptor, but due to this, we had high hopes for their live show tonight. With the crowd seeming to take a couple of steps back as Allusondrugs left the stage, Max Raptor stormed onto the stage and frontman Wil Ray wasn’t allowing anyone to take a backseat. Opening with single Damage Appreciation it definitely wasn’t going to be a quiet end to the night! Known for their rowdy, riotous, political punk energy they lived up to this tonight as the heaviest band on tonight’s bill they brought the throwdown to the tour. Ray oozes with onstage charisma yet has the power to make you fear for life when he stares you down during Obey the Whips. The quartet excels as a unit across the board, each member genuinely seems to be loving the chaos occurring both onstage and within the crowd. Notable mention to guitarist Ben Winnington for getting a little too into it with his jumps and spins across the stage that we’re certain he nearly fell over a couple of times… Nobody can stand still for more than five seconds before a person comes hurtling towards them or a fellow bandmate decides to steal their onstage spot.
New track Old Romantics sees a lighter side to the quartet being shown, whilst maintaining the catchy anthemic lyrics they’ve got nailed including “Old romantics die together” which you’ll definitely have in your head two days later… From the classic two fingers up of Patron Saint (Of Nothing) to the final notes of The King Is Dead the energy never slowed down and the excitement of watching such a solid live band remained. If you like your personal space we’d recommend you avoid Max Raptor shows! With this being the last show of tour it was only appropriate to end in chaos and with members of all three bands onstage during The King Is Dead a large amount of crowd surfing from fellow band members occurred, followed by security running around like headless chickens and the realisation that these three bands are truly ones to watch.
Three bands who started the tour with pretty much completely different sounds ended the tour as best friends. Who said putting different genres together on a bill would be a bad idea? The Scuzz Throwdown tour has highlighted three UK bands with bright futures ahead of them, with stage presence and passion in the bucket loads we’ll be watching just where these acts go next.
8/10
Written By: Nicola Craig
