Category: Gig Reviews
Tonight Alive – Haarlem, Patronaat – 27 May 2026
Keeping the swift plethora of shows this week, Jase W took himself off to Haarlem to catch Tonight Alive make their return after a fairly lengthy bit of radio silence. Taking up the main stage in Patronaat, which is easily one of his favourite spots when it comes to shows in the Netherlands, it was time to grab his usual balcony perch. And along for the ride were Greywind to complete the set. There may have been only be two bands but both were easily worth the time to get stuck into for a midweek show.
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Paledusk – Utrecht, De Helling – 26 May 2026
According to Jase W, it was “warm as fuck” the other night! It was absolutely bloody boiling but thank God for a venue with decent air conditioning that at least kept him at a reasonable temperature until the inevitable slew of pits warmed the venue right back up again. It was the return of Paledusk, one of Japan’s fiercest metal acts, back after their run supporting One Ok Rock and going right for the throat with their latest pop-infused riffery…
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HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS – BELFAST, VOODOO – 21 MAY 2026
There’s a private little game Monk likes to play at gigs, especially ones where he’s moving even so slightly outside of his comfort zone, and that is “Spot The T-Shirt”. The boss man feel it helps to give him an idea of the demographic of the audience and the appeal which the band the people concerned have paid their hard earned pennies to see and hear on this particular night. For tonight’s low key but nevertheless sold out pre-festival run show by the ÜS screamo vets, it’s indeed an interesting mix, ranging from the perhaps expected Green Day and Taking Back Sunday through Tool to the black metal Sadé one that was vogue a few hot minutes ago… hell, there’s even a Krusher-era Kerrap! crop top!
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Solace – Bournemouth, Bear Cave – 18 May 2026
With ears still ringing from this year’s Desertfest in Camden at the weekend, three of the bands that graced those stages made a quick trip to the seaside the following day to join some local doomsters for a cracking four band bill at Bournemouth’s intimate Bear Cave.
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Basement – Manchester, Projekts Skatepark – 10 May 2026
Basement’s album launch show to celebrate their new album ‘WIRED’ transformed Manchester’s skatepark into an intimate and raw DIY experience. Hannah R had never been to anything like it before, and probably never will again. The venue’s unique industrial backdrop almost had her feeling like she was transported into a Tony Hawk game, with fans packing the concrete floor like NPCs and climbing skate ramps to secure the best view.
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Beth Hart – Bristol, Beacon – 14 May 2023
David O had waited seven years for this gig. Ever since reviewing ‘War In My Mind’ before the world shut down during Covid, he had wanted to see Beth Hart perform live. Was it worth the wait? Read on to find out…
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Bruit≤ – Amsterdam, Tolhuistuin – 4 May 2026
Bruit≤ are a truly fascinating band that left an immense impact on Jase W last year at Pelagic Fest down in Maastricht, a truly incredible performance and showcase of what post-rock can be. Our European special correspondent had the other fortune to catch them supporting Alcest not too long after and there wasn’t a chance he was going to pass up another shot to witness them a stone’s throw away from his house in Amsterdam.
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Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses Belfast Grand Final – Belfast, Voodoo – 8 May 2026
There can be no doubt that few, if any, other festivals are as committed to or invested in the cultivation and development grassroots metal scene quite as heavily as Bloodstock, as evinced by this annual showcase of the finest rising talent, which this year alone offers the invaluable opportunity for bands from 30 different locations across the Über Kingdom, and beyond, to burst out of their native environments and onto at least one, and hopefully more, bigger stages.
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INHUMAN NATURE – BELFAST, VOODOO – 2 MAY 2026
One of the most common complaints about bands and their tour schedules is how they often don’t reach to the outposts of the Überverse, with artists seemingly content to deliver one show in a capital city or major population centre and palm it off as a full-blown “tour”. Of course, we all know that touring costs money, and taking chances on veering off the beaten path, as it were, can turn out to be expensive if well-intentioned mistakes… But sometimes the risks are worth taking, and bringing shows to outlying bastions of metaldom can be extremely rewarding, as these London crossover thrashers proved when they became the latest act to paint a four-pointed star across the island of Ireland, traversing from east to south to west, finishing up here in the north…
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Solence – Utrecht,Tivoli Vredenburg – 3 May 2026
The Netherlands had a brief moment of summer which has been quickly broken up by the traditional massive storm following it but thankfully wasn’t serious enough to mess up Jase W’s trip to Utrecht for tonight’s show. Hot off the back of their tour with Nothing More last year, Solence were back on the road for their own headliner run and had the lovely lot in Dream State in tow as main support along with Written By Wolves.
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OUR PROMISE – EINDHOVEN, DYNAMO – 23 APRIL 2026
Supporting the supports is Jase W’s diehard rule for gig going. One he absolutely refuses to break and when it came to tonight’s main act, it’s a rule that he was very happy that he stuck to when it came to Future Palace coming through Amsterdam a while back because tonight’s headline act, Our Promise, absolutely blew his tits off and he’d been hungry for more ever since…
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The Macc Lads – Nottingham, Rock City – 25 April 2026
The Macc Lads may have gotten older and the world may have changed around them, to a point where there are plenty of people even less tolerant to their antics, but this hasn’t stopped the band that spent most of the 80s getting banned from venues and even entire towns across the ÜK. They’re still alive and fuelled by Boddingtons (although arguably that’s not the same as it used to be either) bringing in 2026 with a new album ‘Wild Cider Wife’, so it’s only natural that, after an extended break, Jonny B dusted off his press credentials and made his way to Nottingham’s Rock City for a night of ‘Beer & Sex & Chips n Gravy’.
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