My first thoughts on walking up to Academy 2 tonight are they really need to sort out the queuing. Again, there are two shows on tonight and although I have the privilege of walking straight in, so I don’t miss the support bands, I feel sorry for the first act, Knife Bride. They get to perform to a room that is only about a third full because everyone is still stuck outside. 

It’s the first time I have seen Academy 2 look so empty, and it feels smaller, but the place soon starts to fill up and the band have brought some fans with them tonight. They describe themselves as “Slut Metal”, with their Instagram profile stating, “Come for the tits, stay for the pits”. Speaking of which, I know one of their songs ‘Tits and Teeth’ but that does not make the playlist tonight. Instead, they race through a seven-track performance, nicely warming the crowd up for what is to follow. They do indeed demand a pit but only a minuscule number of people get involved, from this unsurprisingly young audience; I do feel for them. My sidekick points out they sound like Jinjer minus the growling and for me, quite controversially, that is a massive plus. There isn’t much dialogue but lots of hair flicking, a tight set and not much else to say, except I like them, so check them out.  

Next up we are treated to a blast of Aqua’s ‘Barbie Girl’ and an act that many of the audience have turned out for. Scene Queen aka Hannah Collins is an American singer and songwriter, who is performing in Manchester for the first time tonight. Her music is self-confessed “Bimbocore”, which is apparently metalcore with feminist themes. She is attracting attention from a much younger demographic than my advanced years, with over 230,000 followers on TikTok but is she any good? The venue is about two-thirds full now and many are singing along and getting into the flow with lots of crowd surfers doing their thing. 

We remain at a safe distance and observe, and wow I feel even older than I am… In preparation for tonight I had read up on Scene Queen and was intrigued to see her perform. Tonight, I am slightly underwhelmed by the music but admire her drive to be herself and, most importantly, use her music to raise awareness of the objectification of women. Listening back to ‘Barbie and Ken’ after the gig, it is a catchy number with a cool video. Maybe I will give her music another try… Sadly, after the show I did see her tweet that during the final song (which strangely she played twice, back-to-back) ‘Pink Rover’ which is about street harassment, a guy in the crowd had been groping people and was thrown out of the venue. I am angry and frustrated on her behalf. It’s 2022, why does this still happen? If you see it, call it out. 

And so, we get to our headline act… 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐀𝐒𝐌. I have been listening to them for a few years and witnessed their rise to fame when they won the Heavy Music Awards as Best UK Breakthrough Band in 2020 (check out their performance on YouTube). Having seen them perform at both this year’s Download and Download Pilot I am really excited to see them in a small venue (before they reach new heights which seems inevitable). And it must be said any band named after a L7 song are cool in my book. This tour is hot off the heels of their debut full-length release “Explicit: The Mixxxtape” which is much anticipated after an onslaught of singles since 2019; it finally came out last month. 

They absolutely bring everything with them tonight to set the place alight. Boundless energy, great rapport between duo Sam and Milkie, as well as their touring band, and the bass is definitely turned up to eleven! My ears are liquified and my chest is pounding with every reverberation. The room is now uncomfortably full and hot, but we find a spot by the wall and have a great view of the stage. Their fashion styles are completely different with Sam in white jogging bottoms and trainers, plus a hoodie (which is removed after the first song, after which he remains topless), while Milkie (who is a model) is totally stunning with her cropped blonde hair, cut-away top, short skirt and bullet belt (oh and knee pads, always wearing knee pads).  

Despite Sam appearing to have a few sound issues throughout, this does not cause too much disruption and he bounces around, jumping on the drumkit and swinging his mic. The focus is on the music so there is not loads of dialogue, but at every opportunity they are psyching the crowd up and they achieve this with ease. Even at one point stating that in Edinburgh they had 99 crowd surfers, so setting the scene for the night. 

They power through an impressive setlist with one notable exception ‘The Void Stares Back’, which I find out they did perform with Rou from Enter Shikari the following night in London. But the rest of the songs are an onslaught to the senses with a mix of songs where Sam and Milkie are just singing, like ‘D.R.I.L.D.O’, a song that demands a sing-along “Drink, fuck, fight, love.
Drink, fuck, fight, love”, and the ever so catchy ‘Scratchcard Feeling’. While on others song like ‘Post Modern Rhapsody’, their debut song but ashamedly not one I have heard before, they show all their talents with Milkie on bass and Sam on guitar. Yes, they have a distinct sound but with every song they bring something different to the fore. Two highlights for me were firstly ‘Gold Gold Gold’ where again they both play, and the tempo alternates between slow and steady to brutally fast and in your face. 

“I'll gladly give you the keys to this kingdom of mine
Built from gravel and wine
Lost in time
We'll all turn to dust, marrow and rust
Because at the end
It's in nothing we trust”

Secondly ‘Your Patron Saints’ another number where they are both playing, but the song shifts from Milkie’s melodic vocals with Sam’s screamy interludes. Towards the end of the show, we are treated to their rendition of ‘Lapdance’ (N*E*R*D cover), which is mixed with ‘Break Stuff’, and I am reliably informed that at every show their stage manager uses this opportunity to crowd surf and away he goes. Straight after this we get ‘Backyard Bastards’ which I think is the first WARGASM song I heard, and I was instantly hooked. The encore begins with a few bars of ‘Fuel’ by Metallica but is the song many have been waiting for ‘Spit’, with its high pitched “so disgusting” which is mashed up with ‘Bodies’ by Drowning Pool. If you have not heard WARGASM yet, this is the song to listen to, and the lyrics give an insight into what to expect. I love it. 

“I only loved her 'cause she looked like you
And it's the worst thing that I'll ever do
I only loved her 'cause she looked like you
And every ride since then is bittersweet
When he had you on your backseat
Did you love him 'cause he looked like me?”

The nu metal vibe is strong tonight, and I do not regret a single second of being here. It has been immense. It is not very often I can say this about a band, but I genuinely cannot wait to see them again. 

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!