Are you up for the craic!? Kneecap brought the energy tonight in a sweaty ball of strobe lights and fervent mosh pits. It was grand. The West-Belfast trio welcomed us into the carnage…
KNEECAP
With word spreading far and wide about their high-octane live shows and language blending chants, nearly every single ticket had been snapped up for tonight’s gig. On a Tuesday, no less!
The room was packed and ready long in advance for Gemma Dunleavy, who arrives sporting some vibrant multi-coloured hair and is backed up by a harpist. Her 00s R&B-inspired tunes rumble over the drum and bass, climaxing into the most poignant song of the night: Stop The Lights. Dedicated to Terence Wheelock – a 20-year-old Dublin native who tragically died in September 2005 while in police custody – the crowd is stunned into a shocked, reflective silence by Dunleavy’s spoken word poetry and pictures of Terence on screen. A powerful moment in Rock City.
“Are you ready for a mad one Nott’am?!” Cries Mo Chara in his thick Belfast accent, the crowd immediately transforming into a tsunami of energy that simply doesn’t stop between the intervals of each song. Constant movement is our motif for the night, as we’re straight into It’s Been Ages and Amach Anocht. “It looks cosy in there!”
“Most people don’t speak this language where we’re from – the fact we can come over to Nott’am and play to this many people is nuts!”
Our screens are taken full advantage of with provocatively cheeky animated videos, encompassing the room within this trip of pure adrenaline. Sick In The Head – which made history by being the first Irish-language song to be performed on Tonight With Jimmy Fallon – continues the wild scenes of mosh pits. Having now expanded to pretty much the entire floor, it’s hard to find a single person not moving.
Your Sniffer Dogs Are S***e has us screaming along to the chorus, but you can not deny the sheer belting word-for word to Better Way To Live. It’s proved to be extremely popular since its release (perhaps more so for it’s collaboration with Fontaines DC front man Grian Chatten) but its use of socially conscious lyrics blended with humour, and harsh reality delivered via absurdity, is relatable. Kneecap use their platform to highlight the plights of those living their lives in post-Troubles Northern Ireland and Belfast in particular, mostly using a language which wasn’t even officially recognized until late last year by the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act. It’s clear to see that Rock City embraced the group as the culturally significant outfit that they are.
“I don’t know who’s in charge of the moshing but they’re doing a good f***ing job so far!”
We are unapologetically, dutifully wild for hits such as Fine Art and C.E.A.R.T.A, of which the later witnesses a number of fans climbing onto their mates’ shoulders. That alone creates an amazing visual in the audience, which is then only made better as green, white and orange confetti starts to fall from the ceiling. As it covers the crowd in a rainfall of paper, the Kneecap trio stand arm in arm on stage, taking in the moment.
The group took to their microphones after this one to use their platform to raise awareness of the horrors that are being experienced in the middle east. Móglaí Bap then explained how he is running 10 kilometres every day of their tour to raise money for food parcels in Gaza. It rightfully gets a huge round of applause, with a now shirtless Bap then jumping into the crowd and entering the eye of the storm ahead of their final song. He immediately gets swallowed up as H.O.O.D and the crowd pounce on the beat drop. It’s utter carnage, with Bap crowd surfing back to the stage as the trio close out their set to a huge ovation.
KNEECAP PERFORMED WEDNESDAY 19TH NOVEMBER
WORDS: TALIA ROBINSON
ROCK CITY NOTTINGHAM
We’re not only Nottingham’s favourite venue and nightclub – we’re the UK’s best live venue with a rich history of performers that have played here. Sláinte Kneecap for putting on a crackin’ performance!
Also while you’re at it, why not check out our gig guide and see if any other of your favourite artists like Kneecap are playing soon! We also have our club nights on a Thursday (Tuned), Friday (Get Lucky) and Saturday (Rebel Rebel) so check those out too!
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