Another day, another Phoenix gig. But today was no ordinary Phoenix gig, because today, Five Knuckle were there to rip it all apart. In the best possible way, of course.

The first band of the evening were Seconds Out. These guys are a cool band, but to be honest, not really the most appropriate of bands to be supporting Five Knuckle, being all hardcore and all. They had some really impressive guitar riffs going on there, and the drummer certainly knew what he was doing. The look on his face was kinda scary though. They pulled off a good set, not enough to get the crowd going, but still, the night was young.

Next came The Once Over Twice. What can I say about TOOT? They are stupidly good. As usual, they were absolutely amazing. I really love this band, and judging from the faces and tumultuous clapping and cheering at the end of every song, so did everyone at the Phoenix that night. It’s not often I see a band who I want to see again and again and again and don’t get sick of, but The Once Over Twice are a shining example. They played an awesome set, with real catchy songs and loads of enthusiasm, and it was kinda sad when they finished and made room on stage for The Foamers.

Coming on straight after TOOT and wowing the audience is a tough job. Still, The Foamers were good and the crowd responded well. They were a band I’d never seen before; very punk-ska rock, a genre that is always welcomed with open arms. They didn’t fail to impress, and though they didn’t steal the show, I enjoyed their set.

Then came Five Knuckle. One word: AMAZING. As soon as they stormed the stage and began to play, the atmosphere became something unreal. They had an amazing stage presence; then again, a band as good as theirs, how could they fail to? At one point, the singer decided to do a bit of “Jackass” style stunts, and threw himself of off one of the amps onto the stage, but hey, nothing (and luckily, no one) was broken. The crowd showed their love of Five Knuckle by erupting in a mosh pit. Sadly, it was one of those pretty violent mosh pits that seem to produce a lot of blood, and there was one little guy (when I say little, I mean little, he must have been about ten) whose only way of surviving was to head butt people’s asses. All’s fair in love and mosh pits, I guess. One of the highlights was the song Banging My Head Against A Brick Wall, (my favourite!) which was absurdly good.

Five Knuckle really put a lot of punk bands to shame that night; they were so fantastic. I had a really great night, and I wasn’t even drunk, due to lack of beer money, so that’s saying something!

Written by Luce