It doesn’t take too long as Harpy’s set gets underway for the whole venue to be filled with smoke and that mixed with red atmospheric lighting means it’s hard to make out what is happening on stage. What I can see is she is a girl after my own heart, absolutely rocking the long black hair, liquid eyeliner and PVC outfit. Described as industrial/ goth pop, her soaring vocals remind me a little of Cassyette with musical undertones not dissimilar to A Perfect Circle, and a strong message in songs such as ‘Swallow’, which is about turning pain into power when you suffer abuse at the hands of another. There is definitely nothing there I would complain about. Harpy and her band race through an eight songs setlist including recent song ‘Inside Out’ and the crowd are lapping it up (in between gasping for breath with the wall of smoke we are submerged in). This track was recently played on Radio One and I would wager that while not many people know the name Harpy yet, it won’t be too long many before more people will. 

As the thick smog dissipates, I head upstairs to take up a comfy seat in the bar and watch the growing crowd of young ‘uns below. It’s not too long before Dropout Kings dramatically arrive to charge through a rowdy and loud set of “Trap Rock” which is a new one on me, but I can definitely hear the influences of Wu Tang Clan and Limp Bizkit. It is a completely different vibe to what has just gone before but the growing audience seem impressed and are jumping around. Visiting these shores from Phoenix, Arizona, I’ve never heard of them, but they formed back in 2016. This four-piece have two studio albums including this year’s release “Riot Music”. In all honesty I kind of zone out. If I was downstairs with my mates maybe I would have been more enthused, but I don’t think I’m in the right mood for this kind of music tonight. I appreciate their talents but I’m just getting inpatient for WARGASM to take over. 

And then the highlight of the night for me “Wargasm” by L7 blasts out of the speakers! I only managed to see L7 once about 20 years ago, although I’ve been a fan for over 30 years and yet here I am, seeing WARGASM for the fifth time in 3 years! The intro music is not the actual highlight of the night but it’s a great announcement of our headline act. In my last review of the band from October 2022, I said I couldn’t wait to see them again and although I caught them earlier in the year at Slamdunk North, I am interested to see how their previous performances compare to tonight… 

Their presence is accompanied by a dramatic light show, dramatic energy and a simple branded backdrop stating, “angry songs for sad people”. I think I’m in the right place… and I am slightly more sad to be flying solo tonight instead of being accompanied as I have been for previous WARGASM adventures. The crowd are riled up from the first bars of ‘Venom’ the title track of the debut full-length album, that was released in October this year. This colourful audience, which features a clown (or is it something from Dr Seuss?), a rather impressive Mohican hairstyle, and various hair colours (but thankfully no Santa hats) are loving every minute. There are plenty of crowd-surfers throughout the night and more than a little encouragement from Sam, starting from the get-go with song two ‘Rage All Over’, when he commands everyone to open the pit. They duly oblige and this is the first of many including a huge circle pit later in the night for 'Pyro Pyro’. There isn’t much dialogue throughout the set, but they cram 14 songs into what feels like quite a short set. 

There are a lot of new songs from the new album including ‘Modern Love’ where Sam invites everyone to “Put your hand in the air like this if you’ve ever had your heart broken… now put the other in the air like this and say ‘fuck you’ to the person that broke your heart (middle fingers aloft). They lost you and you’re special because you are here with us tonight!”. Indeed. This is then followed by another love song ‘Sonic Dog Tag’. 

At various points in the set both Milkie and Sam show off their bass and guitar playing talents. They strut around the stage and Sam shows us how to successfully swing a microphone around and jump off a drumkit and I don’t know if it’s because I have seen it all before but tonight it feels like something is missing. Maybe I have been spoilt by the intimacy of seeing them in Academy 2 last year, but then with their album release and recent single featuring Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit, I guess there was only one way this duo were going; their popularity and success is wonderful to see. 

Milkie asks if anyone has seen a moustached gentleman in a red cap and gets the audience rather excited. I’m thinking not many of them were old enough to have been around for “Nookie” (sounds grim but maybe they are the produce of their parents’ Nookie in 1999! Ha). Thinking back to the last gig, they played ‘Lapdance’ (N*E*R*D cover) mixed with ‘Break Stuff’, which apparently was a staple of their sets and I wonder if this is how they lined up Fred to cameo. Sadly, this song doesn’t feature tonight and not surprisingly Fred does not make an appearance either, but the singer from Dropout Kings returns for this rendition of catchy number ‘Bang Ya Head’. The place is bouncing (much like the Ritz would have been to on a Monday night back in 1999… arrh fond memories). Milkie tells us they are doing an aftershow party in Grand Central and I must admit I’m rather gutted it’s a school night and I have no party pals to go along with, to pretend I’m a teenager again. 

Anyway, enough nostalgia… they race through another few songs before disappearing and despite them not playing a few of the big hits yet I do wonder if they are coming back for an encore as their enthusiasm did seem to tail off throughout the set. But not long after they return and give us what we want with ‘D.R.I.L.D.O’, a song that demands a sing-along “Drink, fuck, fight, love. Drink, fuck, fight, love”, followed by the song with over 5 million streams on Spotify ‘Spit’. And then Tina Turner blares through the speakers (the actual highlight of the night – almost) and they are gone. So, my final verdict… Based on what I have seen of WARGASM before… it seemed a bit soulless, lacklustre, and I wonder if it’s just because they have been touring non-stop for months… However, based on tonight’s performance alone, it was an enthralling show, and it is always good to hear more of their distinct sound played out with some great new tracks from their debut album. Get it from your usual sources and give it a listen. 

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Wargasm, Dropout Kings, Harpy