Photo Credit: Rob Tilbury (Chalk in Brighton on 11th June)
Ahead of Download Festival weekend, Don Broco headed out on a short run of warm-up shows with the first of these being a sold-out show at Southampton’s Engine Rooms.
Opening this run of shows was Glasgow rockers Dead Pony, as Basement Jaxx’s Where’s Your Head At? rang over the speakers, the quartet appeared on stage start into MK Nothing. This bass heavy track has become known for the mid-track fight sequence which vocalist Anna Shields has perfected. New track BOOM showcased Shields’ vocals before throwing the crowd back into the electronic, breakdown laden Freak Like Me. Feel-good RAINBOWS was spreading the love, reminding everyone to love themselves and really uplifted the moods of everyone around us in the venue. Closing off their set with a power duo of COBRA and MANA, it was a successful set in Southampton for Dead Pony as the crowd gave back all the energy the band were giving them. With new music around the corner from Dead Pony to follow-up their debut album IGNORE THIS, we can’t wait to see what’s to come in the rest of 2025 and beyond!
In the packed out venue, the anticipation was high for Don Broco’s set. With this being their first show of 2025 and their first since their phenomenal headline set at 2000trees Festival in 2024, we were all craving our Don Broco live fix and damn did we get it! Kicking off their set with Everybody, the crowd were chanting along to the recognisable introduction and that iconic cowbell from Matt Donnelly, perfection. Welcome back Don Broco!
Illuminating the venue for Pretty, Rob Damiani didn’t stay still whilst commanding the crowd and requesting, ‘our first moshpit back after a year, open up the pit with an old school mosh pit!’ and the crowd delivered. It was clear that being back on stage meant as much to the band as it did to the fans who’d waited patiently for them to return, ‘One town we always wanted to come back to is Southampton. We’ve had the best fucking times in Southampton’ as they shouted out the likes of local legends Bury Tomorrow, Burn The Fleet, Takedown Festival and the Joiners.
From start to end it feels like an arena worthy show in an intimate venue, it was electric as Tom Doyle and Si Delaney were bounding across the stage but never missing a beat. They might have been away a while, but you’d have never known from the slick performance. With Matt Donnelly taking to the mic for Come Out To LA, this was where the dual vocals of Donnelly and Damiani were shown off, it was like we’d gone back to the sweaty Joiners show in 2013.
With their story telling continuing, Uber we learnt is about their less than pleasant experience with a driver out in America. Taking the chance to call out the situation in Palestine and how we all need to call out things we know are wrong when we see them, it was a powerful reminder which we all need sometimes. Picking the pace back up with Manchester Super Reds No.1 Fan, the venue was lit up with red lasers and a rowdy chant from the crowd as Damiani spat the vocals to pack another punch during the fun, chaotic number.
Spotting a fan down the front who was celebrating their birthday, after a tuneful rendition of Happy Birthday, they joked, ‘what a classic song, how are we ever gonna beat that as a birthday song?’ about their Birthday Party track.
There were a number of standout moments in the set, the most notable being iconic Bruce Willis. Who doesn’t love screaming back, ‘Yippee Ki Yay Motherfucker!’ blending the melodic guitar lines and then the heavy drops with ease. Everyone was having the best time, whether you’re a long term Don Broco fan or there with a big fan, you just couldn’t resist getting involved.
Having been away for so long, we were hoping for a taster of some of the new music with the band explaining it hadn’t quite gone to plan. Having planned to launch the new Don Broco at Download festival, with the album not completed it meant an opportunity for some older tracks to make a return instead, including Superlove and You Wanna Know. Luckily for us, the band after their Download appearance will be heading into the studio to record the album we’re so impatiently waiting for, good things come to those who wait!
With four albums under their belt, admittedly it is going to be harder to cover everything the fans want however the slower, emotive moments came with Nerve as fans took to shoulders and the vibe totally shifted. It was a beautiful moment as Damiani vocals soared and gave everyone a chance to take in the magic of the night.
Instead of walking off, then back on the band proceeded into an encore of rowdy Fingernails which saw the quartet having so much fun onstage it seemed like they wanted to come and join the crowd. ‘We haven’t played live in a long time and this is the shit that makes it so worth while and that keeps us going, this is what it’s all about,’ explained Damiani before closing off the euphoric set with T-Shirt Song as the shirts were off and spinning around across the venue. Don Broco are back and it’s like they’ve never been away, walking off stage with smiles across their faces it really did speak a thousand words. We first saw the band live thirteen years ago and hopefully we can spend the next thirteen seeing them progress to even bigger heights!
Written By: Nicola Craig
