A review of a Manchester gig by a time traveller...
Now most of humanity lives on boats, punk and hardcore gigs are quite rare: the loud vibrations attract too many [REDACTED] from the deep waters. So it made a nice change to travel back briefly for these four bands. As an amateur historian of early end times punk/hardcore music, there was lots for me to enjoy! First up were Fatalist, playing pleasingly brutal hardcore. Fast, heavy, and shouty, in the vein of Misery Signals mixed with Sick Of It All. Absolutely fantastic and full of urgency and rage. It's not too much of a spoiler to reveal that their EP, Ire, released only a few days before the gig, went on unexpectedly to top the charts, leading to a familiar trajectory of success, drugs, rehab, reforming and a decade-late second album that was ruined by the input of too many pop producers, rappers and marketing men. A great shame, but getting to see these guys at the peak of their powers was awesome. Second, AVAS! They've recently [2052] enjoyed a spike in popularity, but only due to people searching the Old Net for ways to win more victories at sea. Still, a percentage of mistaken searches have been converted to genuine fans here in the future. AVAS were great - a storming set of gang vocals, catchy tunes and energetic, melodic punk. It was bittersweet to see Boothy and Cotty, who in my time are better known as Punk's Dick and Dom, and who famously [REDACTED] on live TV, causing quite a scandal! At least until the world's attention finally got round to the fact that global warming was destroying everything we took for granted. I took a short break after AVAS to have a cigarette outside Fuel - you can't get them in the future! - and it was delicious. But as the windows started shaking I knew it was time to get back upstairs sharpish for the incredible Get It Together who'd come all the way from Scotland (which we now call 'the only liveable islands'). For fans of Comeback Kid-style anthemic hardcore like me, it was fucking brilliant. A flawless performance from a band built for massive venues in the upstairs of a cafe. It was SO LOUD. Last of all, Follow Your Dreams played a set of weird, awkward hardcore, peddling their trademark over-complicated song structures (they actually applied for a trademark in 2022 - unsuccessfully). Kaz lost her voice halfway through, thanks to asking me thousands of questions about what cats were like in the future. Apart from that they were good, and again it was nice to see them while they were still properly hardcore before they got all "post-post-post-hardcore" during the Brexit wars. Overall I had a fantastic time, and can only pity those who didn't turn up, ignorant of how few chances to see live music they would have left. Thanks for asking me to do this review from the future! I'm off to distil my own piss into drinkable water."
