25/02/2014 | Radkey – Rock City, Nottingham

Following the thrashing stoner theatrics of support acts Lyger and Turbogeist, three prodigy brothers from Missouri seize the stage for an evening of intensive troublemaking. Radkey combine a deep love for and homages to classic punk – the formative power of Ramones and early Misfits is evident even without being named as a key influence by the band themselves – with a non-stop all-out hyperactive garage rock, peppered with endearing Americanisms (one song, particularly dripping with angsty fury, was allegedly about “chilling out in a baseball hat”).

Their short set is fuller with energy and genuine edge then some bands’ entire careers; the force with which they pack their punch doesn’t come at the cost of a lack of finesse, however, as evidenced by the brilliance of riffs on their EP’s title track Cat & Mouse and (Not Okay). In between relentlessly tearing at his guitar, Isaiah Radke would occasionally gasp out with charming humbleness how “totally stoked” the trio were to be having their first headline tour.

As they tore through their songs at breakneck speed, I couldn’t help but realize it’s been a while since I witnessed so much heart, sweat and viscera be put into a show. All the more because of this it was a shame that the Rock City crowd was so ridiculously sparse, and I felt deep sympathy for the band trying to get the stubbornly stiff audience to rock (especially given the gloriously catchy nature of choruses in Out Here In My Head and Pretty Things, which were crying out for a sing along).