Sixteen Fantastic Bands and It’s About Time!

Last Saturday saw the Bussey Building in Peckham play host to About Time #2. A day festival chocked full of the best in UK emo, screamo and noise rock is tough to say no to, so we headed down to check out some bands. The two stages were staggered so you could see everything, and we did our best. First up were Healing Powers, a shouty punk band from Durham who are definitely one to keep an eye on. As good as the music was (and it was great), the main thing we took away was their stage presence. A lead singer who, whilst angrily shouting, looked really cheerful as he bobbed up and down and a bassist who never once turned to face the crowd. Certainly a spectacle. Next up was COP, a noisy punk band who were enjoyable if not, er, hugely memorable… next band! Mars to Stay are a jangly slowcore band whose live showing was pretty weak. The guitar was a bit too loud and it all felt a bit over the top. Playlounge brought the tempo back up with a set of two-man noise rock that can only be described as a No Age clone. Don’t worry though, they are really good at it and a band I’d definitely recommend. Cosmic Thoughts were another noisy punk band and the first two songs blew us away and then they played a slow song that never seemed to end. Luckily Twisted didn’t slow down once – a pulsating set of exciting noise rock with some absolutely brilliant riffs. Definitely a great discovery! Carson Wells were on next. A fantastic screamo band from Aberdeen who were already a firm favourite with one of the group. Luckily, they didn’t fail to deliver, and we all left thoroughly impressed. Sadly, the next band were not so popular amongst our group. Blood Sport are best (and kindly) described as a shit Battles. By this point the vegan food stall had set up, so a burger each definitely helped deal with it. At this point there was an hour and a half break due to a play happening in the building. We took the time to recuperate in a local pub and then got straight back to it. First after the break were the incredible We Came Out Like Tigers, a black metal screamo combo who use a violin and spoken word sections as well as the more expected blast beats and brutal vocals. This perfomance was mindblowing. A frontman who spent the set violently throwing himself around the crowd just helped add to the mesmerising nature of it all. It was definitely something extremely different, but it really was spectacular. The fact that we all loved this so much despite the polarising nature of the genres involved really shows that there can still be beauty in brutality. Human Hands were pretty decent, but we were all still recovering from the majesty of the band before. Up next were Well Wisher, an upbeat emo-punk band who put on a really enjoyable show, whilst not being something to write home about. Plaids definitely are an emo band who take heavy inspiration from first wave emo but still sound fresh and exciting. They didn’t disappoint live either, delivering a great set of all their best tracks. Nai Harvest were on next, and they didn’t disappoint either – a noodley, twinkly midwest emo act who a couple of us have been big fans of for a while now. They are also a band who have disappointed live in the past. Not this time. This time they were spot on. Up next was something very special. Raein are the kingpins of the Italian screamo scene (it’s a thing). They are crushingly heavy when they want, but also capable of beautiful melody and anthemic singalongs at the drop of a hat. This performance blew the place apart. I’m still finding bruises all over my body and my arm still isn’t completely working but I don’t regret a single second. The main highlight was definitely the entire front section losing its shit for a spectacular singalong performance of Tigersuit. The penultimate act was Joanna Gruesome, a noisey twee pop act who put on a great show. Highlights included a great cover of Galaxie 500’s ‘Tugboat’ and the guitarist and bassist (who spent most of the set in the crowd) being lifted above the crowd’s heads against their will as they attempted to play their last song. Headliners were Joan of Arc, fronted by Tim Kinsella of Cap’n Jazz and Owls fame. It was a really nice, mellow way to end the night. Sadly, due to a few problems that happened with the venue, they were cut short and only played for 35 minutes. This was a spectacularly good day out. A fantastic advert for both the UK emo scene and DIY shows in general. 16 bands, most of whom were great, several of whom were beyond great. There may have been a few issues with timings towards the end, but that was out of the promoters’ hands, and to be honest, didn’t hugely detract from us having fun. I can say for sure that I will be making an appearance at About Time #3!