Good things come to those who wait, as the old advert slogan goes, and we’ve been waiting a decade to hear The Zipheads’ Z2: Rampage played in full with all of that Zipheads energy and magic that we love about their live shows. Tonight, they’ve taken over London’s iconic 100 Club for their mighty celebration of their second album, and we’re in for a hell of a party. They’re supported by Jay Vee & The Cardinal Sins, the same garage punk trio who were there 10 years ago for the album launch show. The occasion is made even more special as it’s their bassist Mike‘s last show with the band.
There’s always a danger with retrospective shows that following an album as a setlist can become predictable, but not so tonight. From the moment the instrumental clouds start brewing signalling Surfquake, we know we’re in for a special night from the very dapper Zipheads. Furious choruses and jazz interludes punctuate Rampage’s blinding speed, glitching into their full throttle take on The Damned’s Neat Neat Neat. Last Man On Earth, “the big hit, the one that made us the band we are,” as frontman Ray Waters proclaims, is gloriously hyper-real, like a rock’n’roll comic book panel flickering past your eyes, and Welcome To The Real World is crammed with struts and solos, the song illuminated with a homecoming glow.
The Zipheads @ The 100 Club, London - 2026.11.07 © Pauline Di Silvestro
Of course we love the big numbers, but tonight is a chance to appreciate the lesser-heard tracks in the Zipheads’ repertoire that even their longest standing fans may not have heard live before. Only Yourself To Blame rocks with a harsher edge and a primitive tone on the bass groove, and a bonus long solo with room to let their ambitions for the song breathe, and Damned is tense and daring live with a playful unrelenting pace. It’s Patron Saint though that really comes into its own tonight: Ray Waters taps in to his inner raging troubadour, Dick Dynamite’s bass a furious gallop, and our fists up moment on the breakdown just adds so much to this folk blues firebrand of a song that twists and morphs as it rumbles along. Then we’ve got Orca To Majorca (One Day): a bolt of passionate, genuine Rock n Roll, hopeful and resolute in its escapism, and Get Ready, a perfect tumbling finale with a classic rock edge that makes for a vibrant and triumphant finish.By the end of tonight, we feel like we know The Zipheads better than ever, but also that we’ve only cracked the surface of their sound.
Our encore feels like a better summary of the evening than a prose paragraph can manage to convey. Past and present collide on How Do You Like Me Now?, the threads of the last years tied together on a song that’s always a welcome visitor in a Zipheads setlist. It bursts with carnival quirks like a blooming celebration as Ray Waters solos his way through a guitar victory lap amongst the crowd before switching to the quick-fire joy that is Dinosaur Rock. Yes, we are absolutely full of the joy of celebration as we rejoin the real word on Oxford Street, but it’s more than that. There’s a sensation that we experienced a unique moment in The Zipheads’ story, gratitude for being along for the ride, but also the feeling that there will be so many more celebrations to come in the future for the band. As Waters put it, “We’re not the biggest band in the world, but we sure feel like the luckiest band in the world,” but maybe we’re the lucky ones who got to watch The Zipheads celebrate Z2: Rampage tonight.
A review of The Zipheads at 100 Club on 7th November 2026. Words by Kate Allvey, photography by Pauline Di Silvestro
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