It’s the Thursday after Bedlam Breakout, and we’re not quite ready to finish the party yet. Okay, South London midweek isn’t exactly the most rockin’ setting there is, but with three of the hottest young bands in the psychobilly-adjacent sphere in the UK sharing a stage for the evening? We’re not about to turn that down.

Every time we see Deathcaps, they play faster and louder than the time before, a Psychobilly whirlpool that sucks you into their world. ‘Barbara Lee’ seemingly flashes by at double speed , and how they aren’t spent by the ferocity of their set at Bedlam Breakout the previous Saturday is a mystery. ‘Vomitorium’ pushes the limits of the sound system and society’s standards before ‘Freakwave’ ushers in a rare melodic moment from frontman Stu: it’s catchy, addictive and oh so dirty. ‘Wolfman Growl’ hits the sweet middle point between trashy anti/pop, punchy psycho and greasy independent fist waving breakdown before we’re swept into horror comedy ‘Cheese Attack’. It’s all lurid B-Movie fun but beneath the exterior lurks a really solid Psychobilly band.

It’s the first date of Red Hot Riot’s album launch tour, so naturally their new release ‘Devil’s Curse’ takes centre stage. ‘Up Jumped The Devil’ already has  instant classic status with its skipping and jumping Neo beat but with a retro rockin’ heart. The title track bursts with outlaw energy and a building bridge like a tumbleweed back to the band’s beginnings; a song evolving with just as much power as Red Hot Riot themselves. A tightly wound live take on ‘Tiger Stripes’ bounces into the speeding powerhouse of ‘Bite Of The Cherry’, and new drummer Gwydion Thomas proves to be the missing ingredient to Red Hot Riot’s powerful Rock n Roll. They’re always a delight live, and their new record boosts their already mighty setlist to new heights.

The Ziphead never fail to please, and tonight’s no exception. We’ve got an instant energy high from ‘Call Of The Wild’ before ‘How Do You Like Me Now’ sparks an instant connection that crashes into ‘Incestuous’, filling our depleted midweek cups via Ray Waters’ quick fire vocals, ska drops and all that bass boom. ‘Rampage’ calls for full speed ahead into a set packed with an underground, vital energy, and ‘Everybody Knows’ rolls with charm into their cover of ‘Lonely Teardrops’. Of course, tonight’s only a taster of what we can expect from their anniversary show in November (see below!) but, let’s face it, every single Zipheads set is an absolute please. As Waters strolls through the crowd for his closing solo, we’re reminded that its the quality of fans that matters, not the number. Tonight might be a little quieter than we hoped, but as we dash for the last train home, we know we can rest safe in the knowledge that we experienced a night of amazing music from three of the hottest bands in the UK, right on our doorstep.

Kate Allvey