To this day, it is very rare for me to return home from a live gig and put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard in this case and unload my memories into words that other people can try and decipher. Looking back, it’s been a good 18 months since I attended an indoor live show, something we may have longed for whilst standing outside the local corner shop waiting to be let in one by one to see what supplies they had left so you could attempt to conjure up a semi-healthy evening meal for the family. Can you tell from my opening gambit that I was more than happy to be out there once again, enjoying live music at a live music venue? Good, then I shall go on.

From time to time, a new musical act comes along, sometimes, they sound and look just like any other band and have to fight hard to get noticed and build a strong following. May I introduce you to a London based duo called Bob Vylan who fuse the modern day values of rap/grime and the raw power of punk to create some of the most hard hitting music I have heard in a long time.

I had been introduced to Bob Vylan a few months ago, I saw that they were playing at Attitude Festival in Bristol at the end of September and after I heard a few tracks on a popular streaming site, I was on their website, parting company with some money in exchange for a copy of their latest release “We Live Here” on lovely black wax. After a couple of listens, I decided that when these guys play live, I will be there, wherever and whenever this may be. My prayers were answered a couple of months later as, on their socials, they announced their ‘We Live Here Tour’ which kicked off at the end of July in Southampton and took them on a whistle-stop tour of the UK, taking in places such as Manchester, Blackpool, York, Leeds, Exeter, London and Tunbridge Wells along the way. Tonight was Monday 9th August and it was Exeter’s turn to see what the band had to offer.

Opening up proceedings were a band called XL LIFE, they reminded me a lot of Rage Against The Machine, hard hitting grooves, howling guitar and crunchy riffs whilst the vocalist spouted out his lyrics in a rap/poetic manner which gave the Cavern audience something to get down to and get down they did! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a support band fill the Cavern’s main room, maybe it was the fact that so many people have been starved of live music for so long, they were eager to wet their whistles ahead of the main act, but being the glass half full kinda guy that I am,  I’d rather believe it was because they were a solid band, playing heavy AF tracks to a room full of people who were as keen as they were to get out and spread their wings.

PANIC SHACK from Cardiff, fused modern day inclusive values with the styles of Bikini Kill and L7 in a frenetic display of grrrl power! The energy passed from the stage to the pit where the audience really picked up on the vibe and rode it like it was the last train home. Midway through the set, I heard what sounded like the chorus of RATM’s ‘Killing in the Name’ which did a superb job if whipping the Exeter audience into a frenzy. If you like the sound of these, you can catch them on tour with The Wytches in October and November.

Just prior to stage time, a minor chord bass riff rung out from the PA, it had the desired effect as people filed in from the bar and the other areas of the club. It was unclear if the plucky duo were having issues in the dressing room, maybe a wardrobe malfunction as it was a good 10 minutes until they took to the stage to a massive reception and kicked off the main event. My good friend Rhodri Cooper had camped out on the front row in order to secure some photos of the band in action and I was amazed to see that he had lasted half way into track 2 before his body advised him to GTFOT (get the fuck outta there) as it was fast turning into something that resembled a feeding frenzy in a 1980’s zombie holocaust movie…..

You know you’re in for a good night when the main man crowd surfs during the second track, a brave move that paid off as he was transported about the room, held aloft by the eager fans, before being safely deposited back on stage to carry on with the set.

If you are yet to enjoy the output of Bob Vylan, there’s something you should know, these guys are angry, and I mean ANGRY about things that rub people up the wrong way, be it minimum wage, zero hour contracts, the monarchy, the Tory government, the police, fascism, racism, homophobia and gentrification covering just a very thin slice of the topics covered in their brain splittingly, chest pumping music that was hurtling around the Cavern at 110mph.

Have you ever seen a Wall of Death happen at the Cavern? I have, it happened here….tonight! Bobbie split the room down the middle and upon his word (and not a second before), he launched the left into the right and everyone had a good old ruck and came out smiling!

Bobbie took to the mic to let the room that NME and KERRANG magazines had voted Bob the cutest drummer in punk rock for 2021, he said that whilst Bob was the cutest drummer, he was clearly the most handsome frontman but sadly never received an accolade for it, he taunted him for a few moments and said that he would be defending his title in 2022!

With the friendly banter safely out of the way, the brief silence was interrupted by a surge of power known by ‘Northern Line’ which thundered through the room like a subway car. As soon as the music took off and Bobbie lit the fuse with his vocal delivery, the room went off like an incendiary device.

I’ll be honest, Bobbie cut a menacing figure on stage, wielding a baseball bat, wearing a fishnet vest, shorts, piles of braided hair. A young lady on the front row was warned a couple of times by Bobbie for getting a bit ‘hands on’ and at the end of a track, Bobbie took to the mic to politely ask her to stop touching him, like he was a piece of meat, on stage for her enjoyment. He suggested that if it were a young lady on the stage being pawed at by men in the front row, it wouldn’t have gone down too well at all. I think she got the message and backed off, what may be deemed ‘acceptable’ at a Dream Boys/Chippendales show ain’t gonna wash at a Bob Vylan gig!

It was refreshing to see that I wasn’t the oldest rocker there, I think I can safely say that there were a number of people there well into their 60’s and it was incredible to see, even at this early stage in their careers, how their music transcends multiple age ranges, proving that music is a universal language, to be enjoyed by all. Whilst the pit was made up predominantly younger bucks, it was great to see some of the more experienced fans stood to the side of the room, pumping their fists in the air and singing along.

Before kicking into ‘We Don’t Care’, Bobbie explained how the ‘young rich’ have been taking over London, driving up the prices of property and kicking out all of the natives whilst learning NOTHING about the culture or the people that are affected.

He even dropped a new song into the set, I think it was called ‘Pretty Song’ but I could be wrong. It opened with a subtle acoustic guitar intro, but as soon as the beat dropped and the grenade went off, it was back to the trademark sound that everyone loves them for, overall, a nice melodic number which merged well with Bobbie’s raw, manic demeanor.

At the end of the set, Bobbie invited everyone on to the stage for a group hug, clearly not everyone was going to get on the stage but they must have had at least 30 up there with them as the final embers of music died out around the room.

So, was it worth hauling ass to Exeter on a Monday night to see Bob Vylan, oh yes, I dare say that if they were playing locally tomorrow, I’d be tempted to go again. With it being nearly 18 months since my last indoor show, I think even a Black Lace tribute act might have appealed to some, thankfully, the band that broke my 18 month live music virginity was Bob Vylan, for that, I am very grateful!

Words - Steve Muscutt

Pictures - Rhodri Cooper