Live Review: Shame, Electric Bristol, 17/11/25
Fresh indie punk outfit Shame delivers a mind melting display of musical prowess in what is slowly becoming one of the best venues in Bristol.
This past Monday the pride of Luton descended upon Bristol for a sold-out show at the consistently brilliant Electric. This venue has been home to some excellent up-and-comers and an equal number of legends giving it one last crack over the previous few years, and if they had a performance hall of fame both bands on this bill belong nailed to it. I’ve been very excited to see how the effects and synth-heavy indie punk sound of Shames' newest album would fare as a live soundscape and thankfully my expectations were balled up and kicked skywards. The sheer command that not only frontman Charlie Steen but the entire band had over the audience was hypnotic and there was no escape from it, both Shame and Bleech 9:3 are undoubtedly acts that carry a demeanour of stardom, both standing out to me as future festival headliners and turning points for the current music scene.
An electrifying energy filled the room as we all awaited the support act. Being relatively lowkey and only having 2 songs readily available on Spotify, the tangibility of a 30-minute set seemed out of reach to me but by the time they were on stage, I wanted to claw at the barrier in the hopes they would stay on all night. Bleech 9:3 have an extremely brash and effervescent instrumental style, mixed with nightmarish lulls in the noise often used by lead singer Baz to taunt the crowd in a manner that Stephen King would struggle to concoct. This almost dramatised stage presence made the grit and tenacity of Fontaines D. C’s somehow cooler younger cousin abundantly clear.
Despite battling various technical difficulties, each of which had absolutely zero effect on performance, the band managed to show up again and again for every single song, keeping that tantalising pressure rising throughout the whole set. Alongside the sheer skill involved in their instrumentation, everything about this band is professional. From the dazzling light show to the wizard behind the sound desk, their show had all the makings of a headliner and more than enough charisma to back that. After a frustrating half hour for the band, this culminated in the ol’ reliable stage exit of hitting things with your instrument, ending in a headbutt to the microphone that would leave even Danny Dyer jealous. Baz, Sam, Luke and James, were outstanding and I will be watching their budding career like a hawk from now on.
After a viciously engaging opener, which before Shame came on, I was sure would be impossible to follow up, I was proved wrong in every way. The band walked out into a cacophony of cheers and wasted no time in blowing the roof off the place with 3 songs from their recent album. Kicking off the show with the gothic and picturesque “Axis of Evil”, they translated all the electronic effects into scathing guitar parts that melted together perfectly to not only replicate the feel of the studio track but massively amplify it. The sheer imposing character of this band isn't comprehensible until you've seen them, be it ballad or belter the energy never falters, it's beautifully exhausting and magnificent to watch. Seeing the band break into a slower and well-pitched chorus for “Axis of Evil” only to turn to the crowd and watch people bounce within an inch of their lives brought me nothing but elation. This energy was perpetual and did not touch the brake pedal even for a second, as Charlie Steen conducted the movement of the crowd with a microphone in one hand and the room in the other through songs like “Nothing Better” and “Cowards”. The early portion of the setlist also sprinkled in some of their biggest classics from earlier albums like fan favourite “Concrete” and “Fingers of Steel”. All of which were met with one demand. More.
The middle of the set mainly proved one thing, this being that the new album is a clear evolution for this band. Having seen them once before, I was hooked but didn't find myself diving headfirst into the back catalogue, however, this time round that has completely flipped on its head and I have not been able to get them off of the aux, hoping to one day be in a pit as vicarious as this was again. As the band stormed through their set with undeniable star power, each member of the band came alive more and more with every song. The easy standout for me was bassist Josh Finnerty, while your average bassist will stand their playing the notes looking as if this is the last place they want to be Josh was imbued with the spirit of a cocker spaniel with ADHD, and he definitely did not have his medication. His consistent world record attempt of laps of the Electric Bristol stage was nothing short of spectacular and only fanned the flames of chaos towards the pit bouncing front and centre. This was also a standout performance for drummer Charlie Forbes, who took cookie-cutter rhythm parts, dialled them up to eleven for tracks like “After party” and never left the pocket. No one in the band left the pocket, even for a second. It’s hard to pick a standout track for guitarists Eddie Green and Sean Coyle-Smith as they were exemplary throughout, their key differences and notation created a beautiful viscosity between them and really added to the depth of their soundscape, helping them move away from synths and keep everything more in the moment.
The closing parts of the show included tracks like “Adderall” and “Born in Luton” that only further exemplified the grasp that they had over the crowd as even when the songs slowed and the lights dimmed, the energy multiplied and kept the room spinning in unison. Shane closed out their otherworldly set on the title track of the new album “Cutthroat” and my word, did it go off. The pressure that they had let build throughout the previous tracks all came spilling out in an overboiled collaboration of archaic pace and artistic expression. The Bristol crowd clawed onto the energy exerted by Shame and quintupled it, exploding into a stop motion flow of sweat and action as the strobe lights beat them over and over again through the blistering chorus. Following a stage dive from front man Charlie, he was kept afloat for the final chorus before returning safely to his saddle on top of the monitor and ordering both the crowd and the band into musical fury.
This set tops off a great year for the band and should be used as a statement piece in years to come as to why they belong amongst the biggest names in the industry. Now with over a decade of experience under their belts, it’s time to take this rodeo to the big stage and show the world what Shame is all about; chaos, friendships, and verbose musical talent.
Words by Josh Pook
