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Mack Sproates has a sensational night with the punk rock techno tyrants Pop Will Eat Itself
Image by Andi Christ
A double whammy of bands hailing from The Black Country, up first were GANS; a noisy punk rock duo who pack a punch. Bringing heavy tunes with wavey synths, explosive drums and crushing riffs, GANS were an absolutely superb act to warm us up on a cold Thursday night. The duo’s energy was addictive, they felt really fresh and fun, especially their gritty interweaved vocals. I loved their messages behind the songs, a stand out being PUB, which had an important political edge – plus a fantastic moment when the drummer and co-vocalist arrived in the audience to treat us with a dance/handstand and roaring vocals delivered as starfish flat on the floor!
Now, I must admit, I almost forgot to take notes for the headliners as I was too busy losing my sweet mind jumping, dancing and singing my little heart out. Pop Will Eat Itself were off the scale, and absolutely blew me and the entire crowd away in what could only be described as a spectacle of a night.
Storming the stage with big noise, fantastic immersive visuals, belly bounces and keyboard acrobatics galore – the Poppies were a non-stop funky fast beat machine; with beast after beast of hip-hop and punk rock techno anthems filling the room with atomic riffs and electric energy. The band were on top form; their ruthless momentum nothing short of sensational, hurtling us through their back catalogue like a DeLorean with a speeding ticket. Classics like Wise Up!, Bulletproof and PWEIZATION had the audience buzzing, sounding bigger and better than ever. A special highlight was co-frontman Crabbi emerging in the middle of the crowd to deliver verses of Dance Of The Mad Bastards, which was utterly brilliant and truly demonstrated his indelible rap/vocal skills.
Newer jams from their latest release Delete Everything went down a storm, such as the most excellent Bruiser and Play A Fast Un, bringing us something fresh and new – going even harder and heavier, and are just so irresistibly danceable and fun. Disco Misfits hasn’t left my head since its release and has been a special anthem of mine over the past months, and hearing co-vocalist Mary Byker belt it out with utter raw power and grace was incredible.
A powerful moment of the night was Byker remarking “We don’t do any of this flag shagging stuff…” before launching into the epic Ich Bin Ein Ausländer, a song written over 30 years ago and still more prevalent than ever.
The room felt so alive and filled with so much love and mayhem for one of the most important bands to come out of Britain, who you could see having just as much fun as the crowd – you’ve just got to go experience Pop Will Eat Itself for yourself.
