THE MENZINGERS - SOUTHAMPTON 06.02.20
Fans flock to the Engine Rooms to see punk-rock act The Menzingers return to Southampton after 3 years where they killed it at The Talking Heads. (RIP) This time however, The Menzingers came in support of their sequel album Hello, Exile, released late last year. Set with another flawless lineup of bands, The Menzingers clearly know what range of acts fit the bill to get the audience hyped for their performance.
Up first is Philadelphia-based quartet, Mannequin Pussy, who’s diverse mix of softly-spoken crooning contrast heavily with the other side of the set where vocalist & guitarist, Marisa Dabice launches into a tirade of bellowing into the microphone accompanied by thunderous riffs. No person in the audience had a single doubt after the set that the band were a force to be reckoned with.
With how packed the Engine Rooms had grown in anticipation for the next act, you’d think they were headlining the night. Spanish Love Songs came onto the stage to a highly energetic crowd to showcase their upcoming material from their 2nd album, Brave Faces Everyone, set to come out the day after the show. Despite not having visited Southampton prior to tonight’s show, they played with aplomb. The lyrics to almost every song in the set were shouted back in unison to the band which felt like they could be heard in Portsmouth. What was obvious as the members left the stage, that a full UK headline tour was rightly needed for the band.
Finally, the night had been building up to this moment as The Menzingers enter the room, without missing a beat, they burst into song as they introduce themselves with the hit of Hello Exile, ‘Anna’. As if a switch had suddenly been turned on, the fans turn into a frenzy of movement, whether it be jumping from left to right or frantically pointing whilst screaming the lyrics. At the front of the stage there isn’t a still person in sight. The Menzingers are one of those rare bands that no matter where in the discography their next song is from, there’s still the same amount of excitement and enthusiasm as there was to the song prior. The dual vocalists, Greg Barnett and Tom May work in tandem as if they’d been doing it their whole lives, that connection to their bandmates and the music is clear to anyone who’d seen the band in the past as well as this performance.
As the iconic riff from the Rented World stand out, ‘I Don’t Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore’ kicked in, the audience went up a notch, screaming out the chorus in unison. There are not many bands like The Menzingers, they’re not full of gimmicks and big all-out performances. They’re a down-to-Earth act who focus on the more important things. Their story-like lyrics resonate clearly with a lot of people due to their relatability, and this is defined in their live performances where you can see the passion that goes into their craft and it has certainly paid off tonight.
Words by Charlie Hill
Photos by Rosie Chalk