Live Review: Cancer Bats - Rebellion, Manchester
2nd July 2023
Support: Tiger Claws, Grove Street
Words: Dan Barnes
It’s back to the Rebellion Bar in Manchester for a Sunday night of hardcore punk in the company of Canadians Cancer Bats and their touring partners from Southampton, Grove Street. And, with them feeling generous, how about a third band to kick things off? Here’s Tiger Claws from just up the road in Wigan.
Hitting the stage to a wave of feedback, Tiger Claws launch into a stomping, heavy bass and some heavy hardcore. Their sound ups the tempo as the set progresses, settling somewhere in the range of Raging Speedhorn’s Sludgecore, with two-stepping beatdowns open up the growing pit. Songs about relationship break-ups and misinformation sees the dedicated battling invisible ninjas before the arrival of a few sound gremlins. They even manage a Slayer-soundalike in the form of a new song and finish with a big, open pit, though it would appear the ninjas have momentarily gassed and are having a breather.
Grove Street arrive on stage with high hopes, especially opening their set with Suicidal Tendencies’ You Can’t Bring Me Down; a brave gambit, no doubt, but one to draw the attention. The south coast five piece is nothing if not a frenzy of energy, just waiting to explode. Think, gravelly guitars usher in a NYHC Crossover feel, supplemented by some Urban beats; their sound is very much in the UKHC aesthetic of bands like Ironed Out and Street Soldier. At one point the bass is so low and driving that it can be felt through the concrete of the floor. The pit gets more rambunctious, and security are keeping a close eye on things; but it’s fine, just some lads letting off steam.
Having your expectations shattered can go either way and, having seen Cancer Bats at several open air shows over the past few years, I thought I had a pretty good angle on what the band were all about.
But, Hell no!
In the confines of the Rebellion Bar, the Canadians are a very different beast than the early afternoon alfresco animal. From the get-go, Liam Cormier leads his charges through an hour or so of ferocious punk-infused hardcore, never once allowing the high energy to drop through the eighteen-song set.
There’s something from every album played tonight, hitting the stage with Brightest Day from the 2018 record The Spark That Moves. Immediately you can sense the energy lift, even following the frantic supports, and Jackson Landry’s guitar is thick and intense. Sadly, those sound gremlins get into Jaye Schwarzer’s bass-rigg, forcing the band to start Trust No One sans a core, but the techies get the show back on the road and the band go from a standing start.
Clad in a hoodie and shorts, Liam looks like he’s off down the Arndale for a bit of mischief making; though, ever the genial host, he mentions the changeable weather in Manchester as the introduction to oldie, Pneumonia Hawk. Sorceress is fast and furious and Liam covers about as much ground as Napalm’s Barney.
For all their speed and ferocious approach, it should never be forgotten that Cancer Bats also exist as Bat Sabbath and there’s a whiff of the whacky-tobacky about the more stoner groovers Winterpeg, Hammering On and Lucifer’s Rocking Chair.
Newer material Radiate and Lonely Bong feature massive grooves, as does Dead Set on Living’s Bricks and Mortar, whereas The Hoof has a distinctly skate-punk sound going on. As the show begins to draw to its close, Liam calls for us to “Fuck up the whole week” and launches into the song from
Cancer Bat’s catalogue most likely to manage that: Hail Destroyer. So anthemic has this now become to the band that not a single person was not moving in some way to its infectious beat.
As soon as that ended it was straight into the cover of Beastie Boys’ Sabotage, which feels as though the Canadians have damn-near made their own.
Tonight’s show does not contain an ounce of fat, as every song is there to provoke or inspire reaction of some kind. Arsenic in the Year of the Snake has an old-school rock vibe going on, while True Zero is dedicated to the old-timers.
Who doesn’t love an outdoor show? Soaking up the sun which watching a plethora of bands. But, if you’re after the true heart of an artist, put them in the confines of a sweaty club in front of several hundred ravenous fans and see what happens.
This is what happens and, for all the snarl of Cancer Bats on a festival show, they will happily tear you limb from limb in any small venue.
