When invited to an HMRC live show, you simply never say no. The fast rising local punk outfit don’t just put on a show themselves, but also know how to curate a line-up. It was, undoubtedly, a night to remember!
Their night at The Miner was opened by genre-hopping outfit Alice Street who tread the line between blues, rock, and ska and sing, scream, and rap like their lives depend on it. Exciting, refreshing, different, and fascinating, the band left an impression and made for a great opener of the night. Next on stage was an outfit the jury is still deciding on; Perfect Chicken create an artform that is yet to be named, but it combines theatre with comedy and music.
There’s a fine line between pretentiousness, seriousness and complete and utter chaos and Perfect Chicken don’t touch any of those lines. A set filled with jokes, pirate slurs and lyrics about cum leave us all entertained yet confused. Can we call them a band or do we go for podium-filler? My pretentious and sensitive music-lover’s heart isn’t convinced on either and is eager to finally hear HMRC. If you are into a band starting either a mosh pit or a fight at the end of their set then Perfect Chicken are the ones to watch.
Beano deliver an annoyingly good, musical set filled with lots of attitude and deliciously dark vocals. Thunderous drums, lots of heart and blues rock, and the best out of their set being those with the addition of saxophone player Luke, Beano have swayed us by the end of their performance. HMRC being the main event gave it their all at Newcastle’s The Common Room, bringing raw passion and energy to an eager audience. With a captivating frontman and hard-hitting musicians creating incredible musical soundscapes, the band had us in the palm of their hand from start till finish. Utilising the building’s balcony and grand floor, HMRC made sure no inch of the building was untouched.
HMRC offer a hopeful view of the future in a world that is ruled by a class unable to relate to the working class. They paint a picture of faint hope and address societal issues in their lyrics and perform them passionately. HMRC combine their broad range of anti-establishment influences and spit them into the faces of their audience, making them the punk band the north east has been missing. HMRC prove that punk isn’t a certain type of music, it’s a lifestyle, an ideology, and they live it.
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