15th October
Roadhouse
9/10
Big things are to be expected when small, up and coming bands sell out small, relatively unknown venues and when it comes to Drenge a big sound is to be expected too. Currently touring off the back of their newly released self titled album that has seen critical acclaim from the Guardian, NME and even a former Labour shadow minister’s resignation letter. The brothers, Eoin and Rory Loveless, are only just getting their foot in the door of England’s music scene and look like they’re heading to big places. To get to the big leagues though you’ve got to prove your musical chops at the crappy clubs, that’s where Roadhouse comes in.
Support came from Missouri’s finest punk band Radkey, made up of Dee, Isaiah and Solomon Radke (clearly thepromoter has a thing for brothers). The trio combine a chord heavy riff structure reminiscent of classic Ramones with a heavy metal approach to solos to create a current take on an old school punk sound. With a brilliant stage presence throughout their set and a great ability to get the crowd involved, they’re definitely worth looking out for if you’re into punk.
The yanks finish up with crowd surfing, the packed out venue squeezes a few more in, and the understated Englishmen shuffle onto the stage, get to their instruments and play. With the simplicity of just a guitar, mic and a set of drums to create their sound, Drenge demonstrate beautifully how complexity is not key in making music, all you need is two astounding musicians. The crowd laps up the rhythmic riffs and intense drum work and are rarely still and constantly headbanging along to the beat. Both brothers play well despite having the tendency to throw towels, empty bottles and insults at one anotherm, althought they start to relax with the crowd towards the end of the set. They’re clearly a band that knows they’ve currently got a lot of eyes watching them, and with a live performance this good you can see why.
