Marble Factory Bristol, 25th October 2024
Visceral, high-energy, politics-driven punk rap packs a punch: Bob Vylan is not to be undermined. The 2 Bobs’ pre-Halloween show at Bristol’s Marble Factory was another stark reminder of their undeniable presence within the scene and why they are just so good at live music. Giant clown faces stared ominously down at the crowd, an element of the show’s following Halloween event but is strangely fitting to the vibe.
The setlist was packed with hard-hitting anthems, but starting with ‘Reign’ stands out. Bob Vylan’s Bobby Vylan spoke words which echoed and vibrated through the crowd. Electric atmosphere is a term that feels incredibly overused in music content, but there was genuinely an undeniable sense of energy within the room. When ‘Dream Big’ came around, Bobby became one with the crowd, the hands of fans reaching high to hold him up above.
Drummer Bobbie Vylan added an almost feverish layer to the show, with drumming that might seem erratic to the untrained eye but was undeniably precise, with every beat landing like a calculated punch. Each slap of the drum felt perfectly in sync with the chaos, and his performance was a reminder that there’s true art in disarray.
Between songs, the band openly spoke about the power of transformation. Their reminders that change is always within reach resonated with the crowd, leaving us all with a meaningful takeaway from the show. Deliverance of a call to action reinforced their status as agents of change within the modern-day punk scene.
As someone who came into this show pretty blind, having listened to very little of their discography and never been to one of their shows, Bob Vylan’s Bristol headliner was an experience which left me sweaty and battered, but with a new perspective on how I position myself within society and thinking about how I can use my voice for better change. And I can’t have been the only one feeling that way. Don’t listen to the critics – punk certainly isn’t dead.
Words and photos: Daisy Kent, no use without permission.
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