It's no secret that I love
Pup. Tracking them down whenever they come near and so I was first in line when they finally announced a proper gig in Brum. Stefan acknowledged this early on - no shit, the last (and only?) time they headlined was in
the basement of
The Rainbow. Anyhow that was the past and this was now and as always they were here to rev it up and so they did by launching into
Morbid Stuff with as much abandon as ever. The
Kids were incredibly stoked for the set as they shouted along to every lyric, even those from this year's
Morbid Stuff through which the band understandably did a deep dive (considering they toured the hell out of the last two albums already). With a captive audience,
Babcock took full advantage to espouse on politics, encouraging us to vote even if it sometimes seems fruitless ("we're Canadian and we adopted your shitty system so we understand"
Steve added), and eliciting a
Seven Nation Army "Jeremy Corbyn" chant. They also encouraged donations to their European charity
Sea Watch. On other topics, Stefan admitted he likes being a shit-disturber and repeated his slagging off their first album despite receiving negative feedback for doing the same thing the previous night. He did say that there were a few tunes they still liked, presumably
Dark Days and
Reservoir considering their inclusion in the set. But back to the music, despite Stefan's sick throat they didn't hold back and threw in a few from
The Dream is Over as well, highlighed by
Familiar Patterns. Now road-worn they can really rip a set without looking too weary for the effort. This included ventures out into the constant mosh pit by Stefan and Steve while the crowd literally carried them, physically and with "backing" vocals throughout. By the time it came around to sign off, Stefan was still being purposely unlikeable and clearly voiced the band's stance on encores, even going so far as to suggest that other bands should stop doing them and encouraging us to chant "No More Songs" at future gigs. All that to say they didn't leave the stage before playing their "encore" of the still-incredible one-two punch of
If this Tour Doesn't Kill You directly into
DVP. If anyone in the crowd had any breath left in their lungs beforehand it was all spent by the end of this sweaty, raucous set from this band that three albums and innumerable in give no appearance of coasting in any regard yet.
Sløtface have been on my radar for a few years now and so I was really excited to catch them again. And they brought it, despite not having yet unleashed their second album. Everyone involved did their part though it is their pint-sized frontwoman who sets the scene. The crowd was appreciative to start and got more and more into it, with moshing and the like. Finally I couldn't take it anymore after one of the new singles
Telepathetic rolled into
Nancy Drew as I ran in to join them for the closing of the set. A perfect set-up for
Pup.
Arriving partway through the set from
Fresh I got a good dose of what I expected based upon their recorded stuff - decent indie rocking music with a melodic female voice atop it all. They didn't blow me away but I wouldn't shy away from them in the future either.
Pup Setlist
Morbid Stuff
Kids
My Life Is Over and I Couldn't Be Happier
Back Against the Wall
Free at Last
See You at Your Funeral
Sleep in the Heat
Dark Days
Scorpion Hill
Closure
Familiar Patterns
Reservoir
If This Tour Doesn't Kill You, I Will
DVP
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