On a very cold Thursday evening in November, Pop Will Eat Itself played to a sell out crowd at the Rescue Rooms in Nottingham. It might have been cold out, but the atmosphere in the venue was hot. You might think that because PWEI were formed in the late 80s that they may not sound as good anymore. You would be very wrong. They sound incredible. You might think that because the majority of the crowd were long times fans (possibly a little older), that the gig might be a quiet event. You would also be very wrong. The room was loud and sweaty and everyone was jumping, hands in the air. It was also great to see younger people in the crowd too, just showing how popular the Poppies are. Graham Crabb, was down the front, in the crowd and crowd surfing. This was exactly how I remember PWEI and it was immense.
The line up may have changed over the years, but the sound hasn’t. The band are clearly great friends and know exactly what the audience want.
Adam Mole walks straight onto the stage, picks up his keyboard and holds it in the air, while climbing straight onto the stand.
The keyboard has 2 messages written on it ‘this machine kills fascists’ & ‘ignore alien orders’.
On vocals, we have Graham Crabb (complete with megaphone) and Mary Byker
On drums theres Cliff Hewitt and Davey Bennett on bass.
The set was everything I wanted it to be. Hearing Graham introduce Ich bin ein Ausländer noting that not much had changed in 30 years. Byker declared there was no room for flag shaggers and the crowd cheered in agreement. Its sad to see that the message in the song is as relevant today.
As soon as the keys started, the crowd were jumping. I barely was able to get my breathe. Singing and jumping isn’t as easy as it was 30 years ago!
The new songs from Delete Everything were joyously received from a crowd that never stopped.
The other thing that really stood out to me was the crowd. The people. The fans. The warmth, love and unity in that room was fabulous. No pushing (except the dancing) just unity.
Setlist
The Slammer
Wise Up! Sucker
Incarcerate The Rich
Get the Girl! Kill the Baddies!
Bruiser
Everything’s Cool
Disco Misfits
PWEI-zation
Dance of the Mad Bastards
Never Mind the Botox
Def Con One
Play A Fast ‘Un
Bulletproof!
Their Law (The Prodigy cover)
Built For Fun
Ich bin ein Ausländer
Encore:
Can U Dig It?
Mofo Face
Karmadrome
Follow pop will eat itself online website // facebook // intsgram // spotify // youtube