Live Review: F.O.D. / For I Am / Upstream Colour/ Aerial Salad / Clayface – The Eagle Inn, Salford, UK, 16th February 2018

Just beyond the shadow of the monolithic landmarks of Strangeways Prison and the Manchester Arena, and just across the Manchester border, lies a small industrial estate that contains two of Manchester’s hidden jewels, the legendary Blueprint Studios and tonight’s venue, The Eagle Inn, a pub and small event space that completes a holy of trinity of Manchester’s grass roots live venues along with Gullivers and The Castle Hotel. Tonight The Eagle Inn is playing host to an impressive five band line up courtesy of the grass roots outfit Anarchistic Undertones that comprises the Belgian duo of F.O.D. and For I Am, who are complimented by an impressive trio of local acts in the shape of Upstream Colour, Aerial Salad and Clayface.

Against all the odds we manage to arrive early and find our way through the chaos of Manchester’s one way system and arrive in the nick of time to catch Clayface, who are opening tonight’s show in the small, but perfectly formed, venue space in The Eagle Inn. Clayface deliver a breakneck set of energetic guttural melodic off kilter hardcore that spans their back catalogue, including their recent Don’t Hold Your Breath EP and some impressive new unreleased, and still untitled, material, that marks the perfect start to an evening that does more for European relations than any politician could ever hope to.

The size of the venue means that the atmosphere is perfect and the show  is packed for the arrival of Aerial Salad, who are touring in support of their impressive debut full length, Roach. The fresh faced trio announce themselves with “we’re Aerial Salad and we’re from Manchester, sound” and they launch into the hard edged pop punk, and as good as their debut album is Aerial Salad are a different and more energetic prospect live, think of a raw Green Day on speed and you’re about there, and I would have happily travelled across the border to see a band that are widely recognised as one of the brightest prospects from Manchester’s DIY punk scene.

For I Am are a Belgian quintet who I’ve not previously encountered, the result of them being that largest band on tonight’s bill means this their vocalist, Hanne Terweduwe, can’t fit on the stage at The Eagle Inn so she’s happy to stand in the pit with the crowd or precariously balance on the stairs leading up to the stage whilst the band are squeezed into the stage hammering out an impressive frantic pop punk blast. For I Am are old school pop punk, in the sense that they are fast paced, melodic, infectious and brimming over with energy. The vocals to me appear to be coming from nowhere as I can’t see their diminutive vocalist due to the enthusiastic crowd in front of me, but the strength of her voice ensures you know she’s there.

For I Am throw a cover of NOFX‘s Leave It Alone into the set, that sees the pit respond exactly as you’d expect, elements of hardcore creep into their set as they build to the frantic end to an all too short set that has left me wanting to see a lot more from this Belgian quintet. If you like your pop punk served up frantic and melodic then For I Am are a band you really need to check out, and for me they are the best new band I’ve encountered in a fair while and afterwards they happily mingle with crowd and are the most polite band I’ve ever met, their vocalist Hanne even checked on the welfare of our photographer, Dean Unsworth, and his camera as he had been severely buffeted by the enthusiastic mosh pit.

Finally tonight’s headliners F.O.D. take the stage, the vintage Belgian punk outfit are somewhat surprisingly on their first headline tour of the UK and as they kick off it’s clear that their last album, the excellent Harvest, has not captured just how good they are live. Bassist Bo Morris Of For I Am is pulling double duty tonight as he’s taking the place of Pierre Janssens for this brief foray into the U.K., but you would have no idea as he slots in without missing a beat after only a few weeks to learn F.O.D.‘s set. Early into the set a man in a bear suit slams into the mosh pit and bounces around for their entire set and stagediving erupts mid set, that due to the size of the venue sees their momentum carry them to the back of the venue.

The good natured feel of tonight’s show is underpinned as one punter loses his wallet and it make its way back to him via the band, FOD‘s intense melodic pop punk with its dual vocals, that give an uniquely European flavour to their American influenced material, carries elements of Bad Religion, Green Day and Lagwagon in their sound. Their songs are packed with infectious riffs, wooahs, singalong courses and for the final number their co vocalist joins the delirious pit, which still contains a presumably very sweaty cartoon bear, and their set only ends when the venues curfew is imposed. As with every band tonight their set is all too brief and I hope that F.O.D. return to our shores again, as nights like this are few and far between

Tonight’s five band event was also a precursor for the Manchester Punk Festival that is due to take place the 19th and 21st April across a number of venues in Manchester, UK’s City Centre, and will see over half of tonight’s line up joined by the likes of Propagandhi, Iron Chic, Culture Shock, The Copyrights, Wonk Unit, The Restarts, Svetlanas, Antillectual, Mobina Galore and The Stupids, and if this is a taster of what’s to come from the four day extravaganza of all things punk that takes over Manchester City centre every April, then it is looking like an unmissable event. In particular tonight local act Aerial Salad and the two Belgian visitors, For I Am and F.O.D., stood out with perfect sets that, along with the intimate setting of the compact venue within The Eagle Inn, made this a memorable Friday night.

F.O.D.‘s website is here and The Punk Site Review of Harvest is here