Rockfreaks.net

support Gumm + Riverhead
author PP date 26/11/23 venue Loppen, Copenhagen, DEN

It's Sunday night, freezing outside and I'm late to Loppen. I'm still accustomed to shows here never starting before 20:30 so I notice it way too late that the music is scheduled to get going by an unspecified "around 8 pm", so I miss the first few songs of tonight's opening band Riverhead. The local boys have been brought in to open the festivities for the two American bands on offer, the hyped hardcore crew Gum and the rising mid-tempo punk rockers Militarie Gun.

Riverhead

Riverhead

Riverhead is well underway with their set as I'm dropping my coat and grabbing a beer from the bar. The venue is half empty at this point, but that doesn't stop vocalist Jacob Bredahl from aggressively pacing in front of the stage by the curious onlookers, grabbing a hold of the wooden pillars and rafters from time to time, and generally trying to get something going in the crowd. "Broken Boy" sounds good as usual, as does "Time" with its raucous "Time is running out for me, time is running out for you" finale. "Torches" finishes their set with the first song where the crowd seems to get into the show. Despite their initial hype, I'm still not quite convinced Riverhead has neither the songs nor the energy (save for Bredahl) to matter in the long run.

Gumm

Gumm is one of those hardcore bands with an undeniable buzz in the underground right now. Their debut album "Slogan Machine" has received rave reviews, and their on-stage performance does not disappoint. "Yaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!", is how their vocalist starts the show with his razor-sharp scream, while frantically racing across the stage and dragging his mic stand with him. This continues into crazed jumping, constant trampoline-style bouncing by just about everyone in the band, and non-stop running back and forth across the stage. Oh yeah, this is a high-energy onslaught, alright, which immediately captures the crowd's attention.

Gumm

The set is jam-packed with explosive moments of fervour, driven by their old-school, 80s-inspired hardcore played with a modern twist (think similar vein as Turnstile, Angel Du$t, et al.). It's in-your-face and genuinely raw while remaining instantly catchy on the first listen. With the band engaged in constant movement, shaking and swirling in their respective spots, and their vocalist oozing charisma and energy while manically pacing the stage (to an extent where his mic keeps disconnecting), their explosive set is sublime. What a positive surprise that swept the rug from underneath the Loppen audience's feet and resulted in two-step energy throughout.

Militarie Gun

Now that's quite a spectacle to follow up on, yet it's clear that the crowd is here for Militarie Gun. They kick off with "Will Logic" where the whole band is bouncing up and down, which is mirrored by the crowd during "Let Me Be Normal" right after. Here, it feels like Loppen is morphing into a trampoline given how much energy is exhibited by the crowd.

"We just released a new record called "Life Under The Gun" and we're gonna be playing a bunch of songs off it", vocalist Ian Shelton announces shortly after. And fans are in for a treat, as the band will have played almost every song off their debut, as well as most of the deluxe edition of "All Roads Lead To The Gun" by the time they finish tonight.

Apparently, they snitched on themselves in Norway last night by having a weed logo on their t-shirt, so they got caught with the drugs and didn't get into the country, resulting in a canceled show. And given that "My Friends Are Having A Hard Time" is played twice today, and the band plays 21 songs instead of the 22 they announced, there's some reason to suspect the cops might have been onto something.

Militarie Gun

That said, "Think Less" and especially "Return Policy" are great, despite things having calmed down considerably both on stage and in the crowd. What better way to revitalize the energy than to invite the Gumm vocalist on stage for an older, more hardcore-rooted song, "Disposable Plastic Trash". His stage presence is once again wild, to say the least.

"I wanna see you bounce", Ian announces before "Seizure Of Assets" and the crowd happily obliges. For the second rendition of "My Friends Are Having A Hard Time" (unless I somehow fucked up the lyrics in my notes - but it does seem like they do repeat songs from time to time also in previous sets), the band launch into energetic fervour that you'd hope to see all the time.

The crowd is mostly dancing and moving around, but there are quite a few lulls in between their best material. But when they are at their best - like during "Very High" and especially "Do It Faster" - it feels like some of the hype is justified. The latter sees people singing along and joining Ian on the microphone, screaming their lungs out. It's a great example of why this band is much better at an intimate venue like this one, compared to their rather anemic afternoon show at Roskilde Festival earlier this year. Solid, if a little chaotic, but it is Gumm who stole the limelight tonight.

Setlist:

• 1. Will Logic
• 2. Let Me Be Normal
• 3. Pressure Cooker (Dazy cover)
• 4. My Friends Are Having a Hard Time
• 5. Think Less
• 6. Return Policy
• 7. Don't Pick Up the Phone
• 8. Disposable Plastic Trash
• 9. Seizure of Assets
• 10. Never Fucked Up Once
• 11. Life In Decline
• 12. Stuck in a Spin
• 13. Fell on My Head
• 14. See You Around
• 15. My Friends Are Having A Hard Time (repeated)
• 16. All Roads Lead to the Gun
• 17. Dislocate Me
• 18. Kept Talkin'
• 19. Ain't No Flowers
• 20. Big Disappointment
• 21. Very High
• 22. Do It Faster

Photos by: Karina Selvig