The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing – The Live Rooms, Chester 20/03/18

It’s been a while since I’ve attended a gig in Chester (almost two years!) but The Live Rooms has always been a favourite venue of mine since it opened in 2013. It’s a decent size, with shows having a nice intimacy without being too small – and a bonus is that it’s within spitting distance of the train station!

The night got underway with three-piece punk outfit IDestroy, who have been joining TMTWNBBFN for the entirety of the tour. It was impossible not to enjoy their infectious brand of noisy and in-your-face punk, and the three musicians had a lot of energy for the entirety of the set. I especially enjoyed the performance of their seriously catchy single Lemons (taken from their new EP Pure Joy of Life) and what was especially good about their set was how hard they worked at getting the crowd onside, with various invites for crowd participation. By their performance came to a close, they definitely had the room onside.

Headliners The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing got things started with Supply And Demand, the opening track of their latest album, which was a fun start to the set. Following this song, the set dipped a little as the band refused to continue playing until everyone had crowded round the front of the stage, even going so far as singling people out and forcing them forwards. It left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth – call me grumpy, but I was a little bit tired and had a good view of the stage from my chair at the back, so wasn’t too happy to have this view exchanged for a claustrophobic sight of the back of a bunch of people’s heads.

Minor nuances aside, the set as a whole was still good. The way everyone got so enthusiastically involved was great, at one point causing frontman Gerhard to remark that although we were one of the smallest crowds of the tour, we were also one of the most energetic ones! With people clapping, headbanging and pogo-ing about, at some points of the night the floor was practically shaking. There was such a nice vibe in the room, even with the copious amount of songs about death, and it was a fun set from the band.

Punk may not be one of my preferred genres, but there’s no denying that it’s a fun style of music, especially in a live environment. Make sure you go and see them if you get the chance – but woe betide you if you dare to sit down at the back!

7/10