It’s a sad fact in our little corner of the music industry, you’re allowed to earn legendary status but you’re never allowed to eat at the banquet table. By all accounts Jawbreaker are every bit as deserving as their East Bay contemporaries Green Day in the punk rock hall of fame, but Fortuna’s rudder steered each into very different waters. Jawbreaker lived by the sword in their DIY ethos, and perhaps to their detriment, because whilst Billie Joe and Co cashed out and suffered the consequences early on, Jawbreaker’s turn in the spotlight dragged out a far greater wake.

Their absence has been felt.

With absence comes rust, and it would be unfair to dismiss the air of intrigue that lingered amongst the crowd in Kentish Town Forum, eagerly awaiting a band we all wanted to see a lot sooner. Looking around the crowd, I’m met with a great number of attendees in my own age bracket and I was just 6 years old when 24 Hour Revenge Therapy was released. It was the record that kicked off the entire genre (emo) that dominated my formative years. Could the old guard replicate the energy of their former selves? And, to make matters worse, they had enlisted the services of an energetic group of youths to support them.

You would have to forgive Beach Slang for their set tonight, it was their singer and guitarist James Alex’s birthday and it seems the band insisted he enjoyed himself tonight. What resulted was an honest reflection of the man. He’s good spirited and amusing, but still has a killer one liner locked and loaded when the opportunity arises. “When we start playing my hair looks like a member of The Bee Gees, but by the end of this song it looks like Johnny Thunders,” he reels off cuff, at first.

But when the song breaks down a few bars in he puts the quote back on the leash and parades it to the crowd once more, much to their amusement. At the end of the song he tells the audience “If Jack White and Harry Potter had a child it would look like me” and he’s not wrong.

Just before ending their set with a cover of The Pixies’ timeless classic Where Is My Mind? they took a minute to pull a friend on stage for a quick rendition of Ginuwine’s one hit Pony.  

Despite the occasion, Beach Slang entertained greatly. Kentish Town Forum is never easy on support acts and they handled themselves admirably. But with a short turn around until the next date in Manchester my heart goes out to all who have to endure that hangover.

And so on to the main event. Spirits around Kentish Town had been high all day, the little pubs surrounding the venue were littered with the telltale marks of punks brought up through the era of hard tail skateboards and Chuck Taylor high tops. Men no more than skin and bones adorned with Bouncing Souls, Snuff, and Bad Religion shirts huddle around ashtrays laughing and embracing each other.

Just outside the door I see a girl in a tartan miniskirt and Doc Martens kneel down and pick up a flyer for another show as the house and stage lights drop and the crowd raise their collective voice beckoning Jawbreaker to the stage.

The cheering, and jeering, rises as do the stage lights, revealing the giant white letters of the name JAWBREAKER dominating the dark backdrop. The image is almost foreboding.  

After a few waves to the wings and a nod to the sound desk the band dove straight into Save Your Generation and all around me voices chanted the words “If you could save yourself, you could save us all”. It’s a fitting introduction in London’s current climate of unrest socially, environmentally, and economically.

Soon after this, singer Blake Schwarzenbach informs the crowd that “it’s really good not being at the metal festival in Belgium” (Groezrock) In his signature sarcastic and somewhat droll tone, swiftly followed by another greatest hit The Boat Dreams From The Hill.  

After a short pause the band played Chemistry from the ’95 record Dear You. I find it refreshing that the band have stuck to their guns all this time and still play songs from that album despite the impact the record had on their fans. It goes to show that the music will weather storms that politics simply cannot.  

Next up, West Bay Invitational, another track from 24 Hour Revenge Therapy.  The record turned 25 earlier this year and as expected the set is heavily stacked with songs from it.  

Right after that come Chesterfield King from the band’s second album Bivouac, and Sluttering (May 4th). The seasoned Jawbreaker fan will notice a pattern forming, and should know why that is. Jawbreaker’s first big studio album Dear You is well known for Blake Schwarzenbach’s change in vocal style.

Shortly before the recording Blake was forced to undergo surgery on his throat, and afterwards had to adapt in order to continue. The rest of Jawbreaker’s catalogue employs a more raucous vocal sound, and the band appeared to be strategically placing tracks from Dear You to help ease the strain on Blake’s voice. A wise move.

Up until now the band have been somewhat rigid but the introduction of Condition Oakland, another prominent track in the band’s back catalogue, kicks new life into bass player Chris Bauermeister. Now feeling out the stage with true confidence, Blake leads the audience through the first verse “I rode down to the tracks thinking they might sing to me, but they just stared back broken, trainless and black as night”.  

Ache, Jet Black, Parabola, and Accident Prone followed. By now the crowd were feeling their age. Surprisingly, the band had no intention of slowing down, launching into a cover of Thorns Of Life’s ‘Black Art’, before rounding out a long set with another firm fan favourite Shield Your Eyes.

Jawbreaker have been known to refuse to play an encore before. Mostly notably, one fan reported a thousand-strong crowd chanting the band’s name only to find Blake outside by the tour bus smoking a Chesterfield and smirking. I’d have to say that’s pretty punk in my mind, but then again who’s punk and what’s the score?

Despite the band’s history you’d be hard pressed to play your first show in London after 25 years and not play Boxcar, Jinx Removing, and Kiss The Bottle. And so that’s exactly what they did, and in that exact order.

It’s fair to say that the boys have retained their youthful hunger for the stage. That’s evident in the length of their set. They don’t short-change their fans, and they really seem to enjoy what they’re doing. The time apart clearly offered all an opportunity to reflect and return with something new – wisdom, perhaps.

Here’s hoping they return soon and say “Hello, and it’s goodbye again.”

Review of Jawbreaker at Kentish Town Forum on 27th April 2019 by Thom Bentley. Photography by Rachel Lipsitz.

Jawbreaker’s documentary plays in a selection of cinemas this month and is on sale on DVD from the band at shows.

Last night London’s New Cross Inn was privy to a masterclass in Punk Rock dealt out by several of the UKs most interesting prospects, headed up by Swedish punk legends No Fun At All.

No Fun At All’s legacy is apparent on both sides of the pond, in Europe the likes of Satanic Surfers, Antillectual, and Venerea all owe thanks to NFAA for the foundations they created in both melodic punk and skatepunk.  And in America, a whole generation of punk bands show signs of influence in their high tempo and melodic punk; whilst the likes of Belvedere and Mute display the blistering, borderline metallic, guitar riffs that NFAA popularised so well on their ’95 debut No Straight Angles.

First on stage were London and Brighton skatepunks Fastfade whose charismatic energy and playful stage antics captured the crowd from the onset. The banner behind them reading No Fun At All seemed quite the juxtaposition when considering the crowds reaction.  Their slick blend of Skatepunk and pop-punk is reminiscent of Captain Everything, Dear Landlord, and early Green Day.  Keep an eye out for these in future.

After a short turn around The Burnt Tapes took the crowd by surprise with conscious, anthemic, punk in the vein of Signals Widwest, Arms Aloft, and Timeshares.  Melodic guitars and punchy lyrics lured the crowd into singalongs.  They rounded out their set with the rousing Things Get Weird; and as their amps fell silent echoes of the lyrics hung in the cold December air.

Quite frankly, the room wasn’t ready for Spoilers despite everything that came before their entrance. They’ve had a brilliant year which their singer and guitarist Dan acknowledged mid set.  They have the confidence of a band that know exactly where they’re going.  Think Flatliners guitars meets the lyrical styling of Consumed; this is one of the UKs finest punk rock exports of recent years, on par with Murderburgers.  They even managed to get in a fast paced cover of Slade’s Merry Christmas Everybody.

 DARKO, where do I start?   DARKO supporting NFAA may come as some surprise to the casual attendee, but as previously noted NFAA’s sound has influenced generations of punk.  Truly, few bands belong on this tour, DARKO belong in that small community that couldn’t be more perfect.  The influence of the headliners is apparent in the driven, blistering riffs and purposeful lyricism.  But the way they utilise punk as the foundation for greater exploration into the realms of technical guitar and drums is thrilling. They commanded the room from start to finish with real emotive energy.

Think the clinical accuracy of A Wilhelm Scream or Jet Market.  It almost seemed too easy for them.  A supreme talent, that whipped the room into a frenzy several times throughout their set and imprinted themselves in the memory of everyone in the room, and possibly a few passers-by on Clifton Rise.

Tonight a band, 20 years my senior, reminded me how out of shape I am.  From start to finish No Fun At All not only commanded the entire room, they were relentless.  The New Cross Inn would do well to christen that stage the No Fun At All stage, and in name it wouldn’t represent the show we saw tonight.  A constant stream of crowd surfers accompanied by gang vocals from an expectant crowd proved, without a doubt, that the pioneers are still the masters.  Churning out fan favourite after fan favourite with a seemingly endless set list, NFAA crushed this room.  All of the tracks you would expect plus a few new ones from the 2018 release GRIT.

Opening the show with Believers, then heading straight into new song No Fun Intended.  Strong And Smart and Wow And I Say Wowback to back mid-set sent the pit sideways spilling a few drinks in the process.

Rounding off their set with Out Of Bounds the sweat-soaked feral pit-dwellers yearned for more delightful chaos, and after calls for an encore NFAA obliged.  Six more songs ensued until their brilliantly crafted set had to end with Master Celebrator.

By the end members of the crowd were stood on tables trying to get a better view of the carnage, several members of the crowd had hurriedly invaded the stage to join the band in gang vocals.  When the lights came up, and the cold creeped in from the open doorway a thin veil of mist ascended from the heads and shoulders of the sweaty crowd. Until next time.

No Fun At All’s tour continues in The Hague tonight, and Osnabrück tomorrow.  They play a handful of dates in Germany in late spring.

Live review by Thom Bentley and photography Pauline Di Silvestro of No Fun At All at New Cross Inn, London on 19th December.