Rockfreaks.net

author MAK date 13/10/23

UK skacore favourites Random Hand have been celebrating twenty years together as a band by hosting a series of events called Handfest. The first being in Leeds, followed up by Huddersfield. Impressively the Leeds event sold out immediately, something that doesn’t happen very often to events at this level. Perfectly timed for the release weekend of Random Hand's new self-titled album, we travel to London for the third instalment, where acts would alternate between The Dome and its slightly smaller next-door neighbour The Boston Arms. In a similar setup to the Leeds event, fifteen bands in total with only five-minute gaps between sets as the stages alternated very swiftly to maximise set times.

Kings Alias opened up the whole shebang as a replacement for Traits, who couldn’t make it due to the train strikes. The trio provided the semi-full Dome room with a mixture of skate punk, post-hardcore and dub-inspired ska, in a way that is reminiscent of Farse. The crowd gradually grew as the set progressed, but it was a bit too early for any real enthusiasm. The guitarist's string broke for the final track, so the set ended with a chilled-out bassy dub track, fronted by rapping vocals. It was nice and well-rounded to kick things off. [5]

Till I’m Bones followed up very swiftly over at the Boston Arms stage, a much smaller venue in comparison, but enough to give each band a decent-sized crowd. Till I’m Bones warmed us up further with their brand of somewhat moody ska punk, littered with grit and angst. Frontman Jak threw himself around the stage with his incredibly long dreadlocks flailing everywhere as the band around him provided a mixture of bangworthy crunchy hooks and danceable upstroke rhythms, topped off by bouncy brass melodies. This set felt more vibrant, especially with the bubbly sounding “I Don’t Want To Party With You”, laden with a rather infectious dual vocal chorus hook. The likes of “Snakes” had a few people towards the front banging their heads and bopping along to its harder-hitting appeal and pulsing sax melodies. A nice set early on to ease us into the day. [7]

Back up at The Dome, ska-punk supergroup Roshambo was well underway into their set by the time I got up there. Flaunting punishing deep headbanging riffs and a monstrous horn section to lay the foundations while Jake Martin and Tom Blag combined with a mixture of melodious singing, and punky shouts. The pair also showcased their hip-hop-inspired lyrical stylings with occasional rapping segments. In fact, one of the more stand-out tracks in the set was the more dubby hip-hop-based track in “No Apologies”, allowing Tom to spit verses, while Jake came in during the chorus to unleash some angst. This was up there as one of the heavier performances of the event, Roshambo inspired some of the early pits for the likes of “Listen Up” and huge crowd shout-outs for “Stand Your Ground”. Amusingly, midway through the set, Andy B’s Bass was noticeably louder to the point you could hear every note of his intricate basslines, with some audience members watching him play in complete awe. Only the third band in and The Dome already started to look impressively full too. Roshambo closed things off strongly with “Until We’re Dead”, an energetic number that combines a bit of everything, from the rapping verses to a catchy as hell singalong chorus to captivating brass hooks, it was a big way to end the set. [8]

Apologies to Hell’s Ditch and Mr Shiraz, being a long day I took this hour for a food break meaning I missed these acts. I would however greatly recommend The Spaghetti House across the street from the venue for their Italian food. I did make it back in time for ska metallers Redeemon at the intimate Boston Arms stage. Redeemon were in fine form in delivering ear-shattering waves of thrashy hooks topped off by delightful horn melodies, creating an atmosphere built for mosh pits and skanking. We were treated to tracks mostly from 2022’s self-titled EP, featuring the groove monster in “Finest Mistakes” and the epically brasstastic “Anaphylactic”. These triggered the Handfest crowd to get wild, the drinks had sunk in and fans were happy to lose their shit, finally. It was beautiful to see, however, what caught my attention more was the newer tracks, one of them with more of a skankable flavour to it much like an earlier Beat The Red Light vibe. We got an early taste of new material and it sounded incredibly promising. Wonderful set of heavy ska vibes. [7]

I’ll be honest, my knowledge of Crazy Arm isn’t the best, a very popular folk band that for the most part has skipped my radar. I only managed to catch a handful of songs, in which we were treated to a blend of Celtic punk laced with a bit of melodic gruff punk. It was a set loaded with big energy, captivating vocal hooks and husky croons placed on top of wonderful musical interludes of frantic drumming and tantalizing guitarwork. The sizable crowd over at the Dome stage ate it all up, reacting positively, dancing about, singing along and cheering between songs. It was just a nice set as a taster for the Devon outfit. [6]

Back down at The Boston Arms, Tree House Fire I feel were the first band to completely pack the room out. It certainly felt like there was little room to manoeuvre. It was a sweat box and the reggae dub crew turned the heat up even further with an uplifting dance atmosphere. Reggae-rapped vocals, bouncy upstroke rhythms and dub key melodies were the right combination to get the room moving. Highlights of the set came from the likes of “He Who Shouts The loudest” and “Mr Aggressor” as what seemed like crowd favourites, the latter gave encouragement for crowd participation for fans to sing the chorus words. Tree House Fire did pull out another older hit and personal favourite, a pure danceable reggae anthem in “Dutty Girl”, Sam Rothon’s switch between rapping vocals to soulful croons along with incredibly chilled-out upstroke hooks to back him up. This set was like a well-placed breather before more frantic sets to follow. [7]

One of those more energetic sets was The JB Conspiracy back up at the Dome venue. I left Tree House Fire early to get a decent slot and to beat the rush. It was getting to the part of the day that as soon as one set finished, the walk between stages got very busy, so if you definitely wanted to get a good spot, you needed to leave the previous set early. Arguably featuring the best brass section in the ska and punk scene, JB Conspiracy delivered a set loaded with fan favourites, all of them littered with pure knee-lifting adrenaline, the iconic “The Escape” with the enchanting horn line” or “Drop Your Anchor”, a song designed for pure singalongs and crowd chants, something the Handfest crowd was all too happy to join in for. A couple of surprise songs in the setlists were actually tracks from the early album “This Machine”, one of them not being the popular album opener, but the aptly named “Adrenalin” which has all the energy to entice chaotic skank pits galore. Along with I think that was “Nothing You Can Do”, a track I’m not actually sure I’ve heard them play live before. JB also threw in a new track to tease material for us, apparently to fulfil a New Year's promise that we would hear some new songs in 2023. This was nothing short of delightful, high octane and uplifting ska-punk anthems, big energy and top-notch musicianship, you couldn’t ask for more. [8]

Back down in the Boston Arms, Darko on the other hand was a huge atmosphere shift in comparison, the Surrey outfit was primed to give us an aural assault of aggression that can be somewhere between technical skate punk and math-inspired hardcore. It was an eruption of beautifully chaotic musicianship that could make anyone question their own technical prowess. Darko decided to play their most recent EP, “Sparkle” in full, Kicking off strongly with the 8-minute epic “The Ladder”, a track that combines that musical genius with wonderful heaviness, it oozed tantalizing drum patterns and mesmerizing guitar melodies, all the while Tom West's impressive vocal capacity to pull off high cleans and gruff harsh vocal to top things off nicely. It was a nice surprise to see Lesley O’Brien from Midwich Cuckoos add guest vocals to the track. It was a big tone-setter for the set that fluttered effortlessly between enchanting melodic segments and furious riffy butality, "AUX" for one gave a chance for Tom showcase his vocal range to his absolute best. Beautiful cleans and almost Judas Priest-like highs, counteracting by a newer track that featured monstrous roars reminiscent of his Almeida days. Overall this set quenched the thirst for watching technical mastery while appealing to those who like something a little heavier. [8]

Popes of Chillitown are fresh off releasing their hotly anticipated album, “Take A Picture”, so It was no surprise that this was going to be a set load with new hits. Right off the bat, we had the leading single “Crashmat” to get the party started, the drum and bass/dub-inspired ska track packed full of the usual Popes energy. The Six-piece, to no shock either, raised the roof in The Dome venue, delivering nothing short of pit starting banger, one after the other. You had no time for a breather, you were dancing, end of. Popes pulled out their usual favourites, “Opoom”, “Wisdom Teeth” and “Vamos A La Luna”, the circle pits opened, fans flew off the stage and the all-around tenacity was hitting a high for the day. It was good to see the new singles go down well, with the extra riffy “Short Straw” getting those heads banging wonderfully. This seemed like a simple day in the office for Popes, proving they are one of the most exciting bands to watch live as they deliver an abundance of entertaining dubby ska punk, big horn hooks and distinctive rapping vocals. [9]

Popes of Chillitown left Call Me Malcolm with a difficult set to follow, but there was little doubt that the third-wave ska favourites could pull off something special. Much like for Tree House Fire earlier in the day, the Boston Arms venue was filled to the brim, to the point I think people turned back when they realised they couldn’t get into the room. The trend of bringing out nothing but fan favourites continued in Malcolm’s set, kicking off strongly with “Wake Up, The Monster Said”, those popular crunchy riffs and pulsing hooks just ease us all in for a set that is crammed full of big singalong choruses. There was very little room to move, but somehow mid-set, the band invited brass players from Redeemon, JB Conspiracy and Popes of Chillitown to join them for the iconic horn line in “Restore Factory Settings”. A gigantic horn section was in the middle of the crowd, yet it was still outshone by a whole room of people singing the horn line. Five years from its release, it feels like it might be the most popular horn melody for any fan of UK ska punk to sing. In fine Malcolm form, the set finishes off with “All My Nameless Friends”, the UK DIY ska-punk anthem to give fans a chance for a big wall of death/cuddles and more huge singalongs for everyone to lose their voices to. Malcolm was a well-oiled machine, doing what they do best, solid performance. [8]

After a continuous seven-band stint with very little break in between, it felt like the right time to take another breather. I managed to catch a small amount of Lightyear at their comedy-ska best, The Dome was packed and going crazy to the likes of “Blindside”, “A Pack of Dogs” and “Nuff Cuts”, all flaunting perky horn melodies equally buoyant singalong segments.

I took this time to also reflect on what Handfest was. Much like the Leeds equivalent, this was the bringing together of UK ska fans from all across the country and further, there were some recognisable Belgian faces in the crowd, including members of Prize Dink Camp and The El Topo All-Stars. It’s a community event, where you will see faces that you would also see at plenty of similar events like Manchester Punk Festival, Level Up, Slam Dunk, Wonkfest, Boomtown, Pie Race, Fishstock and more. It becomes more than just an all-dayer music event, it’s then a full-on social and it showcases the closeness of this ska and punk scene. Handfest, much like the other named fests will remain a strong contender as a fan favourite for years to come.

It was time for the men of the hour, Random Hand fresh from the release of their new album burst onto the stage with the album’s opening track “The Cycle”. Having been a key single in the build-up to this tour and the album release, fans instantly erupted into a skanking frenzy to Robin’s pulsing trombone hook, then moshed to the riffier segments. The new hits flowed, including the punchy skate punk and hardcore blend in “Dead Weight” and the pure dance favourite in “Devil With A Microphone”, both incredibly diverse tracks to highlight Random hands range in create in pit starters and outright fun tracks to shake a leg to. On top of the new material random hand played what felt like a greatest hits set. "Tales Of Intervention" had deafening singalongs, while "Not A Number" was a skanking frenzy. We were treated to early skacore favourites in "Play Some Ska" and "Scum Triumphant" to entice what seemed like an endless flurry of crowd surfing. One of the funniest things to witness all day was during “Pack It Up”, a track that caters for all of our skanking and moshing needs, but you couldn’t help but notice a drum bag being dragged on stage. Slowly you witness someone emerge, one limb at a time, bass player Joe Tilston doing his best to concentrate on playing, but couldn’t help but crack up as the silly antics literally unfolded next to him. The newer track “I Think I’m Losing My Fucking Mind” sat perfectly in the set as a hard rock banger featuring a theatrical choir-like segment. The lights are dropped, creating an eerie atmosphere before Random Hand kicks back in with some of the hardest riffs they have ever produced. The skacore favourites finished their set with an even bigger bang, the iconic "Anger Management" unleashed an epic 700-person strong crowd singing along to the a capella segment, a moment to give you goosebumps. Robin then jumps onto the crowd to bounce on top of them as the music plays out. A career highlight set without a doubt. [10]

Handfest was a wonderful, maybe somewhat exhausting day with so much going on. A continous conveyor belt of bands, and all of you mates for the ultimate ska -punk friendsfest all dayer. We've been assured by Tilston himself that there is another Handfest to come and we can't wait.

You can also check out MAK's interview with Random Hand, which took place the day before this event here.