The Grace in Islington, London, is already filling up before the doors have even opened, bursts of colour amidst the black attire and a smile on everyone’s face. It might be a sea of punks and post-punks, but it’s also a Be N!ce show and joyful fun is a staple part of their performance, especially when it’s the last date of their UK headline tour for EP It’s Getting Harder. Before they head out for their European dates, we had to have one more mosh with them. It’s the nice thing to do!
Be N!ce had already made their presence known. You’ll always find them cheering their support acts from the crowd, with bassist Emily Harris central to the mosh pit, but they’d barely made it onto the stage before the crowd roared for them on the final night of their UK tour. With drummer Alex McIntosh giving a cheeky wave behind his kit, Brett Lee strumming the first notes of opener ‘Green Burial’, and Emily skipping across the stage to hype everyone up further, lead vocalist Pol Mills ambled out to the front ready to deliver bone-cutting callouts, derision at the state of our politics, and genuine “what the fuck did I just hear” anecdotes of weirdos in their DMs. Fan favourite ‘Oopsie’ had the crowd dancing along as Pol hopped next to the mic stand, while the call and response in ‘Bedtime’ had fans yelling from the back of the room.
The quartet soldiered on, Pol apologising for a sudden feedback squeal to fond laughter, through ‘O.B.A.’, ‘I Know Girls’ and ‘Be Nice To Me’, a track that fans have been insisting should stay on their setlist. Pol swapped over with Emily for ‘Dyslexic Hell’, who screamed the words and counted down to a middle finger as the crowd grew into a frenzy. As Pol returned Emily’s bass to her, they announced that this wasn’t just their final date but also Emily’s birthday, meaning we had more to celebrate and more energy to bring. Latest single ‘For The Attention Of…’ had the most visceral reaction from the crowd, not just due to its catchy beat and intricate guitar and bass riffs, but because it’s unbelievably lifted from real emails Pol received from men who think “I might be twice your age, please love me” is a surefire way to win someone’s heart. It’s really fucking not.
Dedicating ‘Blow’ to their brother in the crowd, Pol led the crowd in a dance that carried on into ‘Guess I’ll Die’, ‘I Feel Alive’, and ‘Witch Hunt’. The band took a moment to thank everyone for coming out and supporting them throughout the tour, sharing a relieved laugh that their last date was in London, where they all live, and Emily joking “I’m only down the road!”. A well-earned rest would come soon after the floor-shaker ‘Cambridge’, which saw the crowd part for Pol as they prowled up and down before signalling to everyone to lose composure. Waves and a grateful heart sign from Alex were cut short as the crowd pleaded for one more song, with the band offering it out to the crowd to choose. While there were many cries for ‘Get A Job’, sadly it wasn’t something the band had practised recently and they were intent on the audience leaving on a high note. Switching instead to a repeat of ‘Buddy’, this was the final chance for everyone to give it their all, and they did so with aplomb, to the absolute delight and gratitude of Be N!ce.
Earlier in the evening, Brighton trio Daffodildos kicked things off, vibrant both in colour and in their performance. Frontperson Emily Flea went off on ‘Park Bench Creep’ and ‘Never Enough’, the sardonic lyrics calling out weirdos and haters who really need to stay at home more.
Introducing ‘Transphobic Trevor’ as “this is about a transphobe…and his name was Trevor,” to a mix of cheers, boos (at Trevor), and chuckles, Flea gave great focus to playing guitar while bassist Captain Jax swayed their instrument around, staring out into the crowd as they added yells on ‘Get In The Bin’ and ‘What’s Your Excuse?’. Anni Von Flange locked in on drums, glancing up to give an appreciative smile to the crowd as they chanted back the hard-hitting lyrics about all the things that should matter in today’s world, forming a mosh pit for ‘Rebel Ian’ that saw half of Be N!ce throw themselves about. There was a stoicism to how Daffodildos played that they couldn’t keep up, their faces breaking into smiles as the final cheer rang out.