From the word go, there are crowd surfers. By the end of the night, you’re pretty sure that most of Troxy’s capacity has spent it above the ground than on it. Security constantly kept getting called to the front once they realised the level of chaos that they were in for – mosh pits and circle abound from the word go. Troxy came here to riot. They more than delivered. Open strongly with Diamond before going into What Choice Did You Give Us? The band rewards the fans who have turned up early.
It’s a powerful set – new song Invisible Rain (fight on, fight on as you are / always hurting / fight on… with your life in your hands and the pain in your heart) encourages the ethos of the band acts as a rallying cry, warning them that the old world is dying, it’s your world is dying – and you must survive in a world that is not meant for you. Emotional stuff, and oh so current.
With it comes a wall of death and there’s plenty for the crowd to do. Barnett is a natural comedian and crowd-baiter; he asks who have heard of STYG before and says about 50% have; and about half of them are naturally lying, so that’s good odds. He’s aware Paleface Swiss themselves are watching so has a gauntlet to throw down to them – and Stick to Your Guns do just that; blending hardcore punk with thought provoking lyrics that keep the band energised; drums and bass relentless throughout the night. The vocals are soaring and it’s as much a stage performance as a live show – melodic and razor-sharp sound that keeps the weight in tow. Fan favourites Amber rules the night – lyrical twists with an emotional edge. Not often are first supports as confident, good and triumphant as this.
Next up are Static Dress who have been around as an outfit since 2018 and frontman Olli Appleyard is instantly aware of where the band came from. He calls them out for being real bands in a world of fake ones that just want to take your money and go home – and launches into a provoking, rage-inducing bit that asks the audience to stick their middle fingers up in the air at all the bands that take things that isn’t theirs celebrating the launch of new 2026 release human props, their latest track, whilst pulling plenty from Prologue, stylised as a comic book soundtrack – working as a teaser for things to come. Appleyard too; is complimentary of Paleface Swiss, a fan of both outfits – having followed them from a Manchester festival in a room of 300 people to here. They’re aware of how lucky they are to have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to perform here; but it’s clear they’re destined for bigger things to come.