LIVE REVIEW: PUP, Solids, Shit Present, The Fighting Cocks, Kingston, 10/09/2016
Since the release of their second album The Dream Is Over, PUP has been busy travelling all over the world bringing thousands of people their heavy-yet-melodic punk rock. With their friends Solids and Shit Present in tow, this intimate set at Kingston’s legendary The Fighting Cocks has all the makings of a memorable night.
Although Solids and PUP had two weeks left, it was Shit Present’s last night on the tour. Where this celebratory vibe impacted the band’s performance and made more of an impression on us, or if they’re just always this good, we don’t know! Either way, Shit Present blasted through their set with the precision of a well-oiled machine. Their line-up runs as follows: singer and guitarist Iona Cairns (Great Cynics), guitarist Thom Weeks (Gnarwolves), drummer Ben Cottam (OK Pilot) and bassist Nicholas Heron (The Smith Street Band) – and they sound exactly as awesome as you’d expect a band with so much prestige surrounding them. Our favourites of the night were Anxious Type and Melbourne, and all the new songs sounded great too. With a self titled EP from last year under their belts and a new one due to be released in November, Shit Present are ones to watch.
Solids have fewer ties to the Banquet/Kingston scene yet, oddly, the audience seemed more engaged and appreciative of them. Then again, after the release of their 4 track EP Else back in April, it’s understandable that this band have some buzz about them. The French-Canadian grunge punks seemed so happy and into their performance, and looking around, we saw that quite a few people in the crowd were singing along. This was a significant improvement on the general reaction to Shit Present, which consisted of some claps and whoops after every song. Needless to say, Solids complimented PUP really well.
After watching two great support acts, the room was palpably buzzing with excitement about the headliners PUP; and so were we. The Fighting Cock’s punk ethos, layout and tiny capacity made it the perfect venue for them. Before PUP had even taken the stage we knew to expect lots of fist pumps and crowdsurfs, and we got exactly that.
The band opened with the electrifying first two songs of The Dream Is Over: If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You, Then I Will and DVP. We love the way the songs bleed into each other on the record, and this made for a wonderful live moment. The whole room erupted for DVP, reminding us just how great of a song it is. Although the set focused heavily on the newer songs, our favourites being Doubts and Sleep In The Heat, there was plenty of room for the classics too. No matter how well received The Dream Is Over has been among fans, nothing will beat the frenzy of excitement the band stirred up when they launched into old favourites Back Against The Wall, Guilt Trip and Reservoir.
After playing the considerably larger Dome in Tufnell Park the night before, PUP seemed to be particularly attentive to audience requests. “If you felt disappointed that we didn’t play anything last night then we’ll try to take requests and play some stuff we missed out from yesterday!” said frontman Stephan Babcock. We really enjoyed the intimate vibe this show gave off. Then again, this is something you’re almost guaranteed to get when you go to The Fighting Cocks. After playing a show to 600+ people the night before, we’re sure that PUP enjoyed it too. It was almost impossible to penetrate the wall of people that made up the crowd, so we hung back and watched over the heads of moshing lads. Sweat was literally dripping down the walls, and the heat generated by the energy of the band and the crowd was insane.
Thom from Shit Present jumped up on stage to sing with the band on Old Wounds, and the insane guitar riffs and solos made it impossible not to jump around and throw your fist in the air. With the crowd demanding an encore, PUP played Lionheart with Louis from Solids. Nearly every PUP song is a certified crowd-pleaser, with enough harmonised “woahs” and memorable lyrics to scream at the top of your lungs. Needless to say, we left covered in bruises and sweat and smiling from ear to ear.
9/10
Written by: Kathryn Woods
