Skunk Anansie‘s Skin is a primal performer: her penetrating gaze and viscious snarl make everyone in a room of 3,000 people feel individually targeted. And yet, as soon as a track is over, she can switch it off in the blink of an eye, addressing the crowd with a down-to-Earth sweetness that has them hanging on her every word. It’s very, very punk.
There’s a theory that the best music is made at times when the world is going to shit, and support act So Good are here to prove it. No one is taking the usual opportunity to head off to the bar or the loo; instrumentalists in pink ski masks, a duo of dancers, and frontwoman Sophie in an Adam Ant-esque pirate ensemble make for an inescapable presence. They stepped in as a last-minute opener when Grove pulled out due to injury, leaving only five days to prepare – but you’d never know it.
Their choreography is perfectly executed, and expert-level crowd work has everyone sticking their middle fingers up for a certain orange fascist. Self-described as “ignorant brat pop”, tracks like ‘I Rewrote the Fucking Bible’ and ‘If I Had A [Dick]’ fuse a punk ethos with addictive lyrics that know their way around the TikTok algorithm.
With the crowd sufficiently charged up, Skunk Anansie take to the stage. Skin is on her usual, fiery form; she barely stands still for more than a second throughout the two-hour set, side-lunging across the stage and hurling herself into the mosh pit for ‘Yes it’s Fucking Political’ and ‘Little Baby Swastika.’ But her vocals are never compromised. Skin is one of the most technically-skilled vocalists in alternative rock; 30 years on, she is still able to take on the wailing heights of ‘Weak’ and ‘Secretly’ without breaking a sweat.
“It’s not political; it’s basic fucking humanity,”
come the cries of Skin, who reminds us that at times like the present, it’s more important than ever for us all to uplift each other and band together as a community. Her speech is met with yells of affirmation and fists in the air. The words are deeply felt by everyone in the room.
It’s difficult not to give Skin all the attention, but the talent of her bandmates deserves recognition. Cassius effortlessly carves out the most complex basslines, and Mark works the drumkit with a subtle heaviness that cements Skunk Anansie well within the metal genre. Guitarist Ace’s moment to shine comes in the ‘Hedonism’ breakdown, which sees the crowd taking a break from moshing to groove along with the sweet rhythm.
Fans are just as gripped by tracks from the upcoming album, The Painful Truth, as they are by the classic hits. As-yet-unreleased ‘Lost and Found’ and ‘Animal’ go down a treat, and everyone knows the lyrics to ‘An Artist is an Artist‘ which dropped on streaming platforms just weeks ago. Skunk Anansie are not just a band, they’re a life-long commitment.
The Painful Truth is due to be released on 23 May (pre-order and pre-save here). Remaining UK tour tickets are available here.
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Follow So Good on spotify | apple music | instagram | tiktok | youtube