What better way to spend a Saturday night than going to see two bands you have never heard of? Lucas Mannion recounts his experiences doing just that, discovering Dub War and Tom Lumley & The Brave Liaison, proving that diving into something new blind is often worth the trip.
My friend is a big fan of Tom Lumley & the Brave Liaison and didn’t want to go to the gig alone. So,
despite never having listened to them or the headliner Dub War, myself and my boyfriend tagged
along.
With a name like Tom Lumley & the Brave Liaison, I was expecting the supports to be a folk punk band like Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls. Much to my surprise, the four-piece opened the set
with heavy drum beats and crunchy guitar riffs. I loved the combination of the frontman’s punchy
vocals and the soft high harmonies sang by the bassist, but it was a shame that I could not make out the lyrics. Frontman Tom Lumley interacted with the audience from the very start, beckoning them towards the barrier, talking about the meaning of the songs, and encouraging everyone to get moving. They ended their set with an adrenaline-fuelled finale called No Trust, which Lumley introduced with a quick and meaningful “f-ck the Tories”. It was (for lack of a better word) an absolute banger.
Throughout the whole set the Brave Liaison had excellent stage presence, dancing and jumping
around with one another and making use of the whole stage – the bassist even jumped off his
amplifier in the final breakdown. Though it was only a 30 minute support slot, Tom Lumley & the
Brave Liaison didn’t waste a second. They have made a great first impression on me and I look
forward to hearing more from them.
"I had no idea what I was expecting but it was not frontman Benji Webbe swaggering onto the stage in an Adidas tracksuit and a teal fur coat."
And then there was Dub War. I had no idea what I was expecting but it was not frontman Benji Webbe swaggering onto the stage in an Adidas tracksuit and a teal fur coat. They played a blend of heavy drums and crisp guitar mixed with reggae groove, with Webbe layering the sounds of a hand-cranked siren and a synth keyboard over the top. His gravelly vocals echoed around the room, dramatically contrasting his silky Welsh accent that only came out when he spoke between songs.
Webbe was an excellent frontman, changing the energy in the room at his will – if he thought the
crowd weren’t jumping high enough or shouting loud enough, he would stop a song to say so. He did
not hold back on responding to hecklers, mimicking any grumbles he heard and mocking them by
saying “there’s always one isn’t there?”, before returning to dancing around the stage with full
enthusiasm. Webbe also made sure to applaud the Brave Liaison, emphasising the importance of
supporting support bands “even if they are sh-t”.
The crowd themselves were great; it was intimidating as we were the youngest in the room by about
20 years and many of the men present were over a foot taller than us. But, when my boyfriend and
my friend (both under 5”3) returned from the mosh pit, they commented on how great the pit
etiquette was. Whenever anyone fell down, they were immediately picked back up, and when one
man suddenly became intentionally violent towards my boyfriend, a group very quickly intervened
and had the man removed from the venue. Experiences like this reaffirm how much I love the punk scene – misplaced aggression in mosh pits is never tolerated.
The vibe of the show was perfectly summed up after the final song, with Benji Webbe playing outro
music on the synth keyboard and talking like a character from Looney Tunes. It was a great night,
and I would highly recommend going to see bands you have never heard of – you never know what
you are going to get!
Lucas Mannion
Edited by: Izzy Morris
Cover and in-article image courtesy of Dub War on Facebook. Videos courtesy of Tom Lumley & the Brave Liaison on YouTube and Dub War on YouTube.
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