Live Review: Skindred – Birmingham
1st October 2021
Supt. Raging Speedhorn and Saint Agnes
Words: Cat Finch / Photo: Tim Finch
A Friday night at the Institute in Birmingham means only one thing… gig goers getting kicked out early so the venue can milk the student community for every penny at their club night. So sadly it’s an early gig tonight, with a 6pm start and 10pm curfew.
Despite this, a sizeable crowd builds inside the classic looking venue by the time opening act Saint Agnes take to the stage. The relatively unknown act kick off proceedings with a huge ball of energy. Fiery riffs and a heavy dose of angst drove this band forward. By the end of their short half hour set they had the crowd eating out of their hands, bouncing along and tearing the Institute a new one.
They may have kick started the evening, but they are of course mere appetisers to the main course… RAGING FUCKING SPEEDHORN BABY! A band thought brought a tear to my eye at Bloodstock with an outstanding performance that highlighted just what it meant to absorb live music again after an 18 month absence!
“We’re Royal Republic” Dan cries, making reference to the band they have replaced on this tour. The opening salvo from this battering ram of a band is made up of newer numbers from the past couple of albums, ‘Hand of God’, ‘Fuck The Voodoo Man’ and ‘Motörhead’ before original classic ‘The Gush’ has us all singing along whilst the pit goes wild.
From front to back they have the room jumping to ‘Spitfire’ something you’d expect from tonight’s headliners, and it’s great to see the Speedhorn love spreading. As the band tear through their set, Dan taking his usual jaunt into the crowd for some mass participation, we can reflect on another storming Speedhorn set, masters of the live arena.
It may have been a set of mainly latter day material tonight, but that highlighted just how good they are and how awesome their new album is. In a few weeks we will see them again, playing their debut album in full, and that I cannot wait for!
But the night is not over as the dessert is still to come, headliners Skindred have big shoes to fill following that Speedhorn performance, but yet we know they are capable of it. The crowd sing along to Elton John and Queen in a warm up for what is about to come. As the dubstep remix of the Imperial March dies down the crowd roars aa one by one Skindred take to the stage. Benji a massive presence on stage as they launch into 'Stand For Something'.
One of the highlights of the summer festival scene this year, Skindred played everywhere and now they have taken their post-pandemic momentum in the concert halls of the UK. As the crowd are asked to bounce along you can feel the floor of the Institute move below your feet through 'Rat Race' and 'Sound The Siren'. 18 months of shit has been well and truly washed away with the energy Skindred exude.
The early curfew at the venue means we get just over an hour of the headliners tonight, but the set is stocked full of killer tunes, if anything an extension of their festival sets. 'Ninja' and 'Kill the Power' keep the crowd rocking at the midway point, whilst the set is rounded out on a high with 'Nobody' and 'Warning'.
If the pandemic has shown us anything, it's that live music can survive a full 18 month shutdown, but also that the British scene is alive and well and the three bands on show tonight prove that as a nation we can rule the music world with some of the best live acts around!
Live Photo Credits: Tim Finch Photography
It was a stunning show and felt so good to be back watching live music again. Having never seen Raging Speedhorn before I didn’t know what to expect, needless to say I will be seeing them again at the earliest opportunity!!