In a rare intimate show, Jake Longhurst made the trip down to the capital to witness the punk-rock juggernauts at their raucous best.
One of the best live acts in the UK, one of the best venues in the capital, and one of the most excited crowds I’ve ever seen could only ever add up to one thing - chaos. Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes are known for putting on a show and a half, but even compared to the five previous times I’ve seen the band, this felt different. The band were enclosed on a small stage, in a room that could fit approximately one thirtieth of the crowd that they performed to when headlining Download Festival’s Opus stage earlier this year, and yet the grit and energy with which they performed was never anything less than they’ve brought on even the biggest stages.
All this being said, the stakes were, bizarrely, incredibly high. As a group, the Rattlesnakes have worked tirelessly to foster a reputation as one of the most high energy, crowd-centric, blow-your-head-off loud shows in music and have thoroughly succeeded. They’ve been plying their craft as ‘Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes’ since 2015, but as individuals have all been performing for far longer, and have recently been playing larger and larger events, so naturally expectations for seeing them playing in such a cramped environment were nothing if not sky-high. I’m sure that the band were aware of this, but if they felt any pressure from the fact you couldn’t have guessed. Walking onto the stage and gazing over the crowd with the sort of imperious look that only a man of Frank Carter’s ilk can, the incendiary front man launched into set opener ‘Devil Inside Me’ and without a second thought all bets were off, the Underworld erupted into moshing, singing, bouncing and more.
"The grit and energy with which they performed was never anything less than they’ve brought on even the biggest stages."
Being able to fill a set with songs that are as exquisitely crafted for the live setting is always a helping hand, and credit to every single member of the band for being part (in whatever capacity) of the creation of so many singularly brilliant songs. From anthemic singalongs like ‘My Town’ and ‘I Hate You’ to bruising pit-openers like the fan requested ‘Juggernaut’ and ‘Fangs’, every single song elicited some sort of cheer or preparatory intake of breath into the lungs of the crowd. Lead guitarist Dean Richardson (or as he’s affectionately known, Deano) has meticulously managed to write many of the best guitar lines in the new wave of British punk rock, and the joy so clearly written onto his face when he was playing guitar atop the screaming masses was as well-deserved as such a thing could possibly be. Riffs like ‘Trouble’ and my favourite song of the night ‘Kitty Sucker’ have become ingrained into the pulsing heart of British live music, and the glorious, riotous screaming from each and every lucky attendee is testament to how much the band have done for not only themselves, but clearly for their many, many fans.
I am yet to see a bad Rattlesnakes concert, and whilst I’m sure eventually they may outdo even this, it will take some doing. There is assuredly no competition left to topple the first night of their residency from its lofty spot atop the podium of the best live music performances I have seen this year (a number that is comfortably into the triple digits, approaching 300) and I am sure they will only keep getting better. This band have been labelled as firebrands, as a phenomenon, and even as live legends, but in my humble opinion, their performance at the Camden Underworld deserves even higher praise. I can’t decide whether to call it flawless, devastating, impeccable or absolutely f*cking insane. One thing is for sure though, they are on the precipice of becoming amongst the greatest live bands the UK has ever produced, and with a bigger stage at their feet I’m sure they will make the leap with ease.
My final word on the matter is this: Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes can take on the world, and they just might win.
Edited by: Ali Glen
Cover and in article image courtesy of Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes' Instagram
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