Vive Le Rock Magazine’s series of live shows brings some of the most exciting names from across the punk scene together to celebrate its past, present and future. At London’s legendary 100 Club, that meant a particularly potent triple bill, headlined by anarcho-punk veterans Instigators, who returned to the venue for the first time in 40 years, following opening sets from rising Bath four-piece Quick Romance and Brazilian-British hardcore punks Fantazmaz. It proved a compelling journey through punk’s evolution, from Quick Romance’s youthful energy and Fantazmaz’s uncompromising fury to Instigators’ four decades of politically charged anger.
Instigators @ 100 Club
Quick Romance Blast Away The Cobwebs
Opening the evening are the super-hardworking young Bath four-piece Quick Romance, who waste no time in blasting away the cobwebs with the exhilarating rush of Oxymoronic. Hayden James’ heavy guitar riffing provides the foundation as vocalist Matilda Scotland immediately begins to dance and preen across the stage. Her vocal style recalls a perfect collision between Poly Styrene and Pauline Murray, although her vocals are initially a little too low in the mix.
Self-Destroyed is speedy, adrenalised punk, its sharp lyrics driven by Gabe Bonner’s bass, which provides plenty of rhythmic momentum while also stepping forward with some impressive lead lines that mesh neatly with Hayden’s guitar. By the time they reach Angry Young Man, the band have really found their stride. Matilda tears into the song with manic energy, at one point hiding beneath her hat as she prowls the stage.
Their first single, Brian Jones Hair, follows — a brilliant song about their apparent obsession with the Rolling Stones guitarist — before Gabe launches into a crisp drum salvo that introduces Zero Tic. The B-side is riotously energetic, with the band throwing themselves into the song at full speed.
Teen City gives Hayden plenty of opportunity to showcase his electric guitar playing, while the band’s brief technical interruption provides an unexpected opportunity for a little entertainment. Hayden fills the gap with a chorus or two of Ivor Biggun’s I’m A Wanker, before normal service is resumed with Talk Punk, a song that neatly sets out exactly where Quick Romance are coming from.
Next up is their forthcoming single, Brand New Jeans. Matilda introduces it with a grin and the song immediately proves to be one of the set’s catchiest moments, complete with another cool guitar solo.
They close with the super-nifty Sing Boy, which goes down particularly well with the 100 Club crowd. As they leave the stage, there is an immediate clamour for more, a clear indication that Quick Romance have made an impression.
Fantazmaz Turn Up The Heat
If Quick Romance have blown away the cobwebs, Brazilian-British hardcore punks Fantazmaz arrive to rip the roof off. Thamila Von Zenthofer launches into Violator like a Tasmanian Devil, whirling and kicking her way across the stage while screaming the lyrics over Raf Oliver’s harsh hardcore riffage. The intensity barely lets up during You Owe Me A Fortune, driven by Jamie Oliver’s super-speedy drumming and Thamila’s relentless movement.
Distortion seems to seep from every pore of Raf’s guitar, while Jon Priestley’s brutal bass punches through with enough force to be felt in the chest. Dead In The Way is appropriately destructive, with Thamila stalking the stage like a human tornado, flattening everything in her path, bouncing high above the stage and narrowly missing the venue’s low roof!
Does God Know Misery is a fitting question, and Fantazmaz answer it with a blistering blast of rage. It is impossible not to feel the anger pouring from the stage as every note carries a sense of pain and anguish.
Better In My Head offers a brutal examination of why some things are better left unsaid, no matter how much they continue to gnaw away at you. Thamila takes the time to properly introduce Zeke, before unleashing a particularly splenetic performance filled with barely contained fury.
She switches to Portuguese for Racionais, delivering the vocals with just as much venom, before the band introduce TN’s and immediately explode into action as though dynamiting the 100 Club from within.
They leave us with the apocalyptically angry Corporate, making their position abundantly clear. Fantazmaz are furious, uncompromising and entirely anti-corporate — and their performance leaves little doubt that they have plenty more rage to unleash.
Instigators Prove The Anger Is Still Burning
Then it is time for the evening’s veterans. Eighties anarcho-punk legends Instigators walk onto the stage and launch straight into Dead Or Alive, sounding remarkably tight and taut. Frontman Andy Turner stares down the audience while barking out the lyrics, immediately establishing the confrontational atmosphere that has long been central to the band’s sound. Blind Eye follows, Simon Mooney’s guitar cutting through with pin-sharp precision and perfectly capturing the song’s bitter anarcho-punk spirit.
Dark And Lonely is driven forward by Gary Jackson’s bass, while Andy appears more animated than during some of the other Instigators shows I’ve seen since their reformation. Watch & Wait brings a suitably dark edge to Dan Le-Billon’s propulsive drumming, while Hedonism takes an idea not usually associated with such dark and brutal hardcore and turns it into another relentless assault.
Andy introduces the next song as something new — I think he says The Door, although exactly where that door leads remains unclear. Wherever it goes, it certainly sounds suitably hard-edged. Computerage, however, is a reminder of just how far ahead of its time Instigators could be. Its themes feel painfully relevant today, with Andy making clear just how bleak life can become when we are living in the Computerage.
Rules is delivered with the sort of attitude that suggests Instigators have never been particularly interested in following them, while Blood Is On Your Hands directs its bile towards the government before crashing into Free, whose message that none of us are truly free anymore feels increasingly pertinent.
Old Is Sad is another song whose meaning inevitably changes with time. Andy is now considerably older than he was when it was first written, adding another layer of poignancy to the performance. He then decides it is time to Dine Upon The Dead, becoming increasingly demonstrative as the song unfolds. Simon’s guitar drives home the point with another furious performance.
There is something particularly fitting about Instigators returning to the 100 Club. It has been 40 years since they last played the venue, when they opened for Urban Dogs in 1986. The evening therefore feels like another chapter in a long-running story as they launch into Full Circle.
They remain Tricked & Abused in the middle of a melodic sonic maelstrom that shows no signs of letting up. Cry Freedom follows, a command that feels more relevant with every passing year as freedoms appear increasingly fragile. Suicide Investigation Team is always a highlight, with the brutal synchronicity between Simon and Gary’s playing making the song particularly powerful live. Intolerhater makes its position clear in its title alone, turning its disgust towards those who spread hatred while arguing implicitly for a better world.
Sadly, Situation Desperate remains every bit as relevant as ever, its title feeling less like a description of the past and more like a warning about the present. Ignorance Is Bliss prompts the uncomfortable thought that perhaps ignorance really would be easier than confronting everything happening in the world around us. There is no easy escape, however, as Instigators close with The Fix — one final blast of rage, frustration and pain directed at a world that, in many respects, seems to have become considerably worse since the band’s original heyday. It is a powerful conclusion to an equally powerful set.
Across three very different generations of punk, this Vive Le Rock bill demonstrates just how broad and healthy the scene remains. Quick Romance represent an exciting new generation finding its voice, Fantazmaz bring the raw fury of modern hardcore, while Instigators prove that four decades of experience have done nothing to diminish the anger that fuelled them in the first place. At London’s legendary 100 Club, the past, present and future of punk don’t simply coexist — they collide.
Live review of Quick Romance, Fantazmaz and Instigators @ 100 Club , London by Simon Phillips on 21st August 2026. Photography by Adrian Hextall.
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