We arrived at this show, that is part of this years Resolution Festival just after support act Sick On The Bus had finished playing. Subhumans had also arrived late and so had a very short soundcheck before starting to play, this was due to the fact the band had spent the day at the funeral of Julian Newby, who was a member of The Stupid Humans who were one of the bands whose members eventually became the Subhumans at the start of the 80's. This show obviously became a tribute to Julian who went on to be a member of Organized Chaos and Crime Wave Inc as well as being an author of books on the music business.
The bands set began as they meant to go on, in a blur of speed infused guitars as most of the 100 club sang along to Apathy's iconic Work Rest Play Die mantra, after which Dick Lucas told us about the bands day at Julian's funeral before they played three songs Julian wrote that Subhumans recorded, the first of which Internal Riot seemed even angrier than normal. New Age had so much fury in Trotsky's drumming as it flew past us, the third of these tunes my notes make no sense, but it had just as much energy and vitriol to get everyone going.
As usual Dick told us we should be happy with how we look while introducing Too Fat Too Thin just don't let yourself be bullied into buying into the beauty racket. Dick was singing about Communications and how our world is being destroyed by social media that he implored us to use less. Dick then dedicated Businessmen to Elon Musk while making it clear how much he dislikes Elon's behaviour, this was impassioned and had a huge mosh pit going mental to it. 99% was also for Elon although Dick pointed out that Elon is the 1% of the 1% and that we all need to unite to prove he has no real power.
No had fury and spite as Phil slashed and mangled at his bass like he was beating it into submission. Terrorist In Waiting is a salutary warning that not only can anyone become a Terrorist, but also that anyone can be designated a terrorist by governments and corporations just for opposing them. Dick was stalking the stage like a maniac throughout Evolution like he had realized we seem to be going backwards from the utopia he hoped would be here by now.
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Wasted Breath encapsulated the feelings of hopelessness of those fighting against big mega corporations and faceless authorities currently, with Bruce's guitar getting even more splenetic than usual. Point Of View is something the Subhumans aren't afraid to share with anyone who wants to hear, the 100 Club moshed like every last word counted. Society got one of the biggest pits of the night as it always does.
The message in Minority seems even more pertinent, while the car crash of the 2020's gets worse by the year, they closed the set by making it totally plain and clear that Everyone's The Same and at some point this reviewer will learn the name of the song.
They didn't really leave the stage before being encouraged to play some more the encore started with a brilliant version of Till The Pigs Come Round oh to be at an old school party like that once more.
Subvert had the entire audience shouting along to this crucial anthem for the need to be subversive. As if to prove they aren't always pessimists they played Plus Side that tries to find a way to connect us all to working for a better future.
They then closed with Religious Wars that looks at the insanity of fighting over which god is best, especially when you agree he’s the same god this set was fast furious and loads of fun thankfully Subhumans are still trying to persuade us all to be better and nicer to each other.
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