Review: Joe & The Shitboys, The Lanes – ‘This is punk in lipstick calling out homophobia, racism and misogyny’

When all the music ever made is right there at our fingertips, do you ever feel like you’ve stumbled across every possible music experience you can? Unless you’re already counted amongst their growing tribe of loyal fans, Joe and The Shitboys, the queer, vegan shitpunks from the tiny and ultra-conservative Faroe Islands, are proof that you definitely haven’t yet.

Since the release of their debut album The Reson For Hardcore Vibes in 2020, the news of the raw joy and energy of The Shitboys’ live sets has been spreading like wildfire. Joe and The Shitboys’ first Bristol appearance was at 2021’s Dot to Dot Festival where they completely blew the top deck of the Thekla apart.

They returned to Bristol on this week, albeit with a slightly altered lineup, bringing the Manspreadatour tour to The Lanes, supported by local punk band The Rothmans. And of course, having seen them once, I knew I had to be there for their second visit.

The Rothmans’ barrage of ear-bleeding punk did the warm-up job nicely; although their need to fill every single corner of their set with the loudest noise possible felt like overkill at times. The exception was the last two tracks when they took a step back and allowed the melodic bass and assured drums to shine.

The Shitboys’ set crashed into being with the anthemic Shitboys in the House, lead singer Joe giving every band a lesson in how to achieve peak audience participation, strutting through the crowd getting personal and giving sweaty hugs, thrusting the mic into our faces so we can join in too.

The crowd were loving every second of the band’s performance, photo: Vonalina Cake

It takes a while, but by the end, the audience is on board with his sharp, laconic, and unapologetically camp energy. This isn’t your usual punk gig, this is punk in lipstick calling out homophobic, racist and misogynistic behaviour, delivered with a snarl, a shrug and a cheeky glint in the eye. It is no place for looking cool or serious, and as soon as the audience gets behind this the atmosphere lifts and a beautiful moment is born.

It is hard to pick out highlights.  If you had me up against a wall I’d probably say their (thankfully) unrecognisable cover of Wonderwall and their anthem for all the ‘woke snowflakes’ of the world Pull The Trigger win out. Every track is short and punchy, doing what it needs and then swiftly exiting to make room for the next slice of tongue-in-cheek, beautifully crafted raw noise.

Joe announces towards the end of the set they’ve already played a total of thirty-two songs, and I think everyone would be up for at least thirty-two more. But all good things must come to an end.

With a crashing encore, and another round of sweaty hugs, Joe and the Shitboys are done, no doubt having added more honorary shitheads to the growing army they are currently gathering from every venue or field they crash through.

Main photo: Vonalina Cake

Read more: Review: Dakhabrkha, The Lanes

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