Relentless Live - Old Billingsgate Market - October 19 2013 (Live Review)

With an audience of competition winners filled up with enough energy drink to make piss leak from their eyeballs, Relentless Live certainly had all the trappings of an interesting night. Headlined by Professor Green, Zane Lowe and Pure Love and staged at the venerable Old Billingsgate Market, there was also small chance of anyone complaining of it having a one-sided bill.

As the punters waited eagerly near The Grand Hall, crossing their legs and regretting drinking all of that free Relentless, an MC announced the opening of the curtain. Bodies piled in, with screams like the opening scenes of an apocalyptic thriller. Unfortunately, DJ Killer Tom failed to live up to said apocalyptic expectations. He was just a bloke standing behind the decks not really doing much, but the room, largely full of people pretending to be gangsters, didn’t really care.

Down in the filthy confines of The Vault Stage, an upsettingly small number of people were nodding their heads politely to the sounds of the Social Club. Their nasty take on Weezer's blueprint should have gone down a lot better than it did, with their frontman smiling ever so politely and describing everything as 'nice'.

By the end everyone was into it a bit more and, after a cheesy initiation into the Social Club that involved pledging allegiance, it was a shame that more people weren't there.

Radkey then set about wrecking The Vault Stage. Opening things up with the belligerent stomp of Out Here In My Head, the three brothers were on monstrous form. Their 'Walk Among Us'-era Misfits style of punk was a genuine breath of fresh air.

A new take on an old trick is exactly what’s needed, and that's exactly what Radkey do. Bassist Isaiah humbly thanked the crowd before launching into yet another barrage of gorgeously crafted punk tunes. This band is going to be massive.

Most bands would have to change their pants and cry on their Mums’ shoulders if they had to follow up Radkey’s set. However, most bands aren't Pure Love, and they coped just fine. Striding on stage with the confidence of a rhino in a boxing ring full of chihuahuas, vocalist Frank Carter was the man of the moment. Grinning under the shadow of his mangled ginger beard, he wasted no time in leading his band into the infectiously retro grooves of She (Makes The Devil Run Through Me).

Amid soon-to-be classics such as Bury My Bones and Beach Of Diamonds, two new tunes were aired. Hyenas and Hurricane are both as catchy as earlier material, but possess an even more guitar-heavy approach than the stuff from 'Anthems'. Be excited. Be very excited.

Guitarist Jim Carroll spent the majority of the set crowd surfing while churning out his solos, while Carter commanded the audience with absurd ease. Circle pits were ignited, people were hoisted aloft shoulders, the drum-kit was re-assembled in the middle of the crowd - just a standard gig for Pure Love, but an exhilarating revelation for all else involved.

Back up at The Grand Hall, Zane Lowe was doing a superb job of keeping the punters entertained, throwing out big fat chunks of dubstep for them to lap up. He's a genuinely great showman, keeping the drinks flowing and dropping a cheeky sample of Slayer's Raining Blood amid the electronic flurry. It's clear that Mr. Lowe knows what he's doing - he's the bloke responsible for exposing Radkey to terrified radio listeners.

Overall, it was a blast. This showcase brought together an amalgamation of talent from various musical spheres, rocking Old Billingsgate Market to its very core and rendering most of its toilets out of order in the process.

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