A cold Saturday night on Plymouth’s Mutley plain, not the place I would have chosen to be unless I had a reason to be there but luckily for me, I did have a reasons to be there, I had a ticket to a gig at The Underground to see Bristol based 4 piece punk outfit CUFFS who were being supported by three immense acts, No-Robell, Fluff & The Likelihood.

It’s been a while since I last attended The Underground venue, I think it was a band called We Are Carnivores who I last saw there and as I descended the steps to the main room, the memories came flooding back. The stage was about the same size as Exeter Cavern’s and as the bar was situated towards the back of the room, you didn’t have to wander far to obtain liquid refreshment.

There was a merch table setup in the corridor at the back of the place, littered with choice offerings from the acts performing on tonight’s incredible bill including T-Shirts, hoodies, CD’s and stickers.

At 7:30pm sharp, the opening act No-Robell took to the stage to kick off with a set full of melodic punk riffs, energetic bass and pounding beats. Coupled with self-deprecating humour (the vocalist/guitarist admitted that they sound better the faster you drink), they tore through a tight set which included a great cover of The Misfits’ ‘Last Caress’.

Through shared vocal duties, the guitar and bass players switched from melodic riffs to all out heavy breakdowns with a touch of a pedal which pleased the audience no end. With a cadence akin to punk legends SNUFF, these guys had what was required to keep the room engaged and as the contents of a Budweiser beer bottle erupted onto the body of the guitar (it was being used as a slide device), the band switched form an almost controlled manner into an all out assault on the senses, leaving the room hungry for more but almost glad it was over so they could catch their breath! Learn more at their Facebook page.

After a quick shift around onstage, it was time for Exeter based one-man-punk legend FLUFF to showcase his wares to the Plymouth massive. I’m no stranger to his sets having caught him a few times last year but it’s always a treat to see him wading through the crowd wearing his bright yellow balaclava and shouting at random people through his megaphone which signals the start of his show.

His high octane set was full of social commentary, political injustices and the general state of the fucked up nation that we are forced to live in, his magical midi powered boom box delivered the backing track as Fluff snarled and snapped through his set.

What I like about Fluff is that he doesn’t give a fuck when it comes to reactions to his music, his message is relevant, precise and if you think about it, absolutely bang on the money so what’s to disagree with? His newest offerings ‘Jaguar’ and Cistern Snax’ went down a storm with the Plymouth crowd whilst his older numbers which included ‘Tea & Toast’ and ’21 Thunder’ conjured an almost anthem sing-a-long which everyone got involved in.

After chatting to Fluff on my radio show the night before (https://bit.ly/3HPRdvz) I think that 2023 is going to be a big year for Fluff, he is well positioned to hit the ground running and with a couple of larger scale festivals to help showcase his material to new listeners, he really can do no wrong! Keep up to date with his sonic happenings at his Linktr.ee page.

With a new album to promote, Plymouth’s own heavy indie rock quartet The Likelihood took to the stage to set the room alight ahead of the main act. I got indie punk vibes from these guys but there was more, a heavier, darker edge to their sound which made them stand out from the other million-and-one indie acts that seem to be rowing the same boat at the moment, these guys had guts, they had a cocksure swagger about themselves and rightly so, they were fantastic!

Fusing vocals and rap, the frontman led his band through their set effortlessly which was filled to the brim with killer riffs, incendiary drums and an all out angsty approach to their music. One track saw them create a really nice groove, with its elastic baseline and tight beats, they kept the room captivated and involved. As their set wore to a close, they hit a home-run with an excellently executed Talking heads cover which would have had David Byrne himself stood up, applauding come the end! Their new album ‘Right Swipe Generation’ is available NOW, for this and more, head to their Linktr.ee page for more.

Punk rock is an amazing thing when it is done right, now please don’t shoot me down as I’m aware that ‘punk’ is exactly that, there is no right or wrong and how dare I suggest that a band might be doing it wrong?! What I am trying to convey here is that when 4 young chaps from Bristol called CUFFS take to the stage and kick into their set with such ferocity and passion, it makes you glad to be in the crowd, watching it unfold.

With their debut album ‘To Hell and Back’ landing just hours before the show, it was great to see how many of the new offerings would make it to the setlist and thankfully, they had included a good number of them, rightly so as they are all incredible and deserve to be heard in a small, sweaty Plymouth club as well as via Spotify.

They effortlessly fuse topical lyrical commentary with powerful punk music to get their message across and who am I to disagree with them, I took in every word that left Brodie’s mouth and stood in awe as the band created an awesome sonic soundstage for him to stand upon. It was clear to see that their influences include politically driven acts such as Rage Against The Machine, which again, is a great thing to see as we are talking here about a band who dropped their debut in the early 90’s and to see that it’s legacy is still resonating with the youth of today is a very good thing indeed! ‘Witch Nails’ kicked in with its super gnarly riff, the room erupted into a chaotic dance, the guitarist and bass played jumped off the stage and joined in the fun in the pit, epic scenes. ‘You Make Me Sick’ was pure passion, the riff, the beats, the power, it was all there for the taking!

‘Selfish Desires’ took on more of a mellow guitar riff with him being joined by Brodie in the pit, on their knees as they rung out the last of the intro words before taking to the stage and leading the room into another bout of unauthorised chaos which had the place bouncing in no time. Come the end of the track, the drummer announced that he had broken his snare drum and hed it aloft, asking if anyone had a spare…..fortunately, someone from The Likelihood took to the stage with a spare snare and after a short time, it was in place and ready to go….

‘Cash Cow’ is a track that I opened up my radio show the other week with (https://bit.ly/3kRqYNg) and seeing it performed live on stage was a joy to behold. Brodie asked if there was anyone in the room who fancied a bit of crowd-surfing, with this, 3 people jumped on stage and as the band kicked into ‘Watch Me Die’, I think it was the bass player from The Likelihood was lifted into the air and remained airborne throughout the track, granted, there were times when it looked like he was going to land on his ass but everyone managed to keep him aloft throughout the track. With an impromptu stage invasion leaving a few oldies (me included) in the pit, the show continued. The time came for the final track of the set and they announced a killer number from the album called ‘Scandals and Vandals’ which saw the pit come back to life once more as they waded through it.

Having never seen CUFFS live before, tonight was a great chance to see them in a small environment, if they carry on the way they are with material as tight and polished as it is, I cannot see it being long until they get swept into the arms of a major label to assist with touring and distribution. ‘To Hell and Back’ is available NOW and it won’t be long until physical formats of the album are available to purchase, head to their Linktr.ee account to keep up to date with their happenings, you’ll be glad you did!

Review by Steve Muscutt

Photos by Plymouth Music