Live Review: Dead Pony & Supports – Key Club, Leeds

Tonight, we are treated to an all-Glaswegian bill as Dead Pony brings hometown friends Gallus and Soapbox to a sold-out Key Club in Leeds. The excitement amongst their fans is palpable, and within seconds of the doors opening, the front of the stage is stuffed with bodies. It’s bitterly cold tonight, but we get the feeling this place will heat up considerably.

Soapbox from Glasgow are up first with a very authentic line in raw punk rock that reminds me a lot of early eighties proper UK punk, complete with Oi Oi Oi chants and songs about having, “fuck all money” They tell us they like Leeds but hate our one-way system, us too mate, then they launch into, “a song about buses,” called ‘Private Public Transport’. This is music for bovver boots and jerking your body, too. I’m glad there’s a new generation doing this. It’s very heartening. They sign off in the most Glaswegian way ever on a song called, ‘Yer Da’. Wicked!

Fellow Scots Gallus follow up with a more modern take on punk, with lots of pogo-friendly bounce displayed on tracks like opener’s ‘Eye To Eye’ and ‘Cool To Drive’ sounding closer to the likes of Kid Kapichi and really great fun. Singer Barry Dolan gets up close and personal with the crowd and also apologises to the “wee girl in the crowd” for his colourful language, it’s very sweet but make no mistake on the song it’s pure punk rock fury coming down the microphone, especially on rabble-rousers like ‘It Bit Bullshit’. Sometimes, they sound almost reminiscent of Gallows, especially on the newer tracks like ‘Depressed Beyond Tablets’. ‘What Do I Know’ from last year’s outstanding ‘We Don’t Like The People We’ve Become’ album sounds truly anthemic, and I’m sure scores of new fans are gained here tonight.

Dead Pony enters to Basement Jaxx ‘Where’s Your Head At?’ And air raid sirens segue into the recent album title track ‘Ignore This’ as they tear into their brand of high energy pop punk-tinged metal. Singer Anna Shields has the audience in the palm of her hand with a colourful assault of bubblegum hooks and pitch-perfect tone and delivery. Dead Pony are an entertaining band to watch, and they certainly bring a raucous party to this sold-out venue on this Glaswegian triple threat. ‘About Us’ is a sing-along bounce that is introduced as bringing it down but doesn’t play as such. A surprise blast of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was an off-the-cuff surprise at the instance of the crowd after guitarist Blair Crichton dared to play the opening riff between songs before they launched into ‘I Might Die’.

This is a band that understands the art of the hook, and every single track is a potential earworm. The little girl (Abigail) who was apologised to by Gallus gets to come up and dance with the band on stage for ‘Bad Girlfriend’ in a genuinely wholesome moment as we think this child works out what they want to be when they grow up. The heartfelt introduction to ‘Rainbows’ is felt as Anna dedicates it to the sold-out Key Club and says nights like this are changing their lives as we speak, she really means it too, and she’s speaking the truth, we wouldn’t be surprised if Dead Pony went supernova in 2025.

A full-blown pit erupts for fan favourite ‘Zero’; whether you’re a casual listener or a hardcore fan, you can’t deny that they’re killing it tonight. An incendiary ‘Everything Burns’ shows true metal heft and surprise gutturals! The metallic edge stays for ‘Cobra’, and it would appear Dead Pony is not letting off at all. With a surprise cover of ‘Break Stuff’ and guest spots from Barry from Gallus and Tom from Soapbox channelling their best Fred Dursts, this sounds way more potent in a Glaswegian accent! As the band signs off with a recent album highlight, the full power charge of ‘MANA’, the temperature inside the Key Club has gone tropical, this is fiercely at odds with the January weather outside. Tonight, though, we’re all on holiday!

Review & Photography By George Miller – https://www.facebook.com/oneflamemedia

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Soapbox

Gallus

Dead Pony