Liver Review : PENGSHUi + Dead Retinas @ The Star And Garter, Manchester on February 3rd 2022

It’s a chilly Thursday evening as my train pulls into Piccadilly. I’ve recently shaved part of my head and remembered… “Wow, having no hair is cold”.

We’re early into the year, but already one of the albums which is on repeat for me is the blistering “Destroy Yourself” by tonight’s headliners PENGSHUi. I’ve seemingly been waiting forever to see these guys again since their amazing set at Download festival in 2019. My own life has gone spectacularly wrong in recent weeks… covid… a massive dose of heart break, cheating, betrayal… getting caught up in the recent John Badger scandal… oh and the eyebrow lady didn’t wax me the way I like. It’s been fucking disastrous, so I’ve needed tonight like it was some kind of medicine, a hefty dose of therapy. Nothing heals you better than the music you love, right?

Firstly, we visit the interesting world of Manchesters own Dead Retinas. Billing themselves as “Hardcore from the Rainy City”, this punky band pack a massive punch with their inspiration drawing heavily from subjects like bondage, fetish, drag, and the ever delightful genius that is John Waters. Honestly, not subjects I believed I would be hearing about from a support slot on a Thursday night, but as the front man CJ strips off to reveal what is quite a nice looking harness and jumps down to continue the set in the audience, I can’t quite take my eyes off him. It’s so refreshing to see someone so comfortable in their own skin and embracing every moment of all the kinks and quirks that make a person beautiful.

Standout moments of the set come in the form of ‘Gold in Monochrome’ and a cheeky little cover of a Turbonegro track (Denim Demon if I remember rightly..?). The band are incredibly confident and tight, and obviously loving the opportunity to return to playing live, as so many bands are now. 

If you would like to see Dead Retinas in the next few weeks, you have the opportunity to catch them down at Rebellion on February 13th, where they will be playing in Manchesters Metal to the Masses Heat 4 for the opportunity to win a slot at this year’s Bloodstock Festival. I can guarantee that will be an amazing night. 

The night truly belongs to our headliners PENGSHUi though. Made up of front man Illaman, Prav on drums and Fatty on bass, PENGSHUi are the perfect fusion of grime, punk and Metal. I go to a lot of drum and bass events, so I have always been drawn to Illamans style of MCing since I first discovered the band a few years ago. He’s on form tonight, not missing a beat through those incredibly fast paced verses. 

The band are keen to showcase the new album, and rightly so, it’s a masterpiece of social awareness and politically charged anger. There’s talk on stage of Boris Johnson needing to Fuck Right Off, and the crowd cheers in agreement. PENGSHUi are not for Tories. 

‘Break the Law’ works particularly well live and with that catchy hook “We came, we saw, we broke the law” the whole audience is on board. Every bass note resonated through my chest, unfortunately there were a few teething problems with ‘Eat the Rich’ where Fattys bass just decided “no”. 

The audience is in full mosh pit mode by ‘Nobody Cares’ which seems to be one of the bands anthems now. The whole night has been wonderfully rowdy but in the spirit of unity, love, and togetherness. I’m aware of some issues recently around the Manchester scene with problems of crowd killing/dangerous dickhead behaviour at gigs, and I am relieved to report nothing like that went on tonight. Just some good safe moshing to some absolutely unreal music.

I fully recommend checking out this band if you are drawn to the likes of The Prodigy, The Qemists, Chase and Status… like I am! 

My only regret is having to dash off for the last train before I could get myself a tshirt. Guess I’l just have to come to the next gig and pick one up there.