When the editor of Kerrang! Magazine states on Twitter that he would travel to Chernobyl to watch two particular bands, it pricks your ears up. As I don’t possess a radiation suit, luckily for me there was no need to travel that far as The Menzingers and Lemuria came to The Haunt on a sweaty Sunday night. With both bands earning rave reviews from sets at the 2000trees Festival over the weekend, expectations were high.

First up were Lemuria, a New York band who have been impressing audiences around the world since their 2007 debut Get Better. They have been celebrating that landmark recently by playing that album in full, and did the same tonight. It's great to see a support act with that confidence and opportunity to do so, and what a move it proved to be as the songs sound as fresh now as they ever did. There are real shades of Pixies, with their famed ‘loud-quiet’ approach throughout, as well as the shared vocals of guitarist Sheena Ozzella and drummer Alex Kerns. There is a melodic power to their sound, and with Max Gregor’s bass guitar sending deep and dangerous rumbles around The Haunt, the crowd were pogoing throughout almost as much as he was. Lemuria had obviously brought their own fanbase along, and there was as much frenzied moshing and singing from the crowd as in many headline sets. ‘Length Away’ was impeccable, with a tightness that you would expect from a band that have been on the road this long. Following with a thrashy medley of ‘Dog’, ‘Dogs’ and ‘Get Some Sleep’, Lemuria had the crowd on a high well before the main act. The moshpit was already becoming a ‘do or die’ area, and Kerns’ relentless drums kept the momentum up right until the end of a storming set.

By the time The Menzingers arrived on stage, the venue was totally rammed. The Haunt is a perfect venue for this type of show – sweaty, cramped, unrestricted by over-zealous front of house security guards. By the time they had got halfway through opener ‘Your Wild Years’, there had already been several stage-divers and crowdsurfers. They are renowned for generating crazy scenes at their gigs, and this was exactly what we were getting. Singing: “Where are we gonna go now that our 20s are over?” on ‘Tellin’ Lies’, they pack the same emotional punch as the likes of The Gaslight Anthem, while also delivering a dynamic and ferocious punk sound. Vocalists Greg Barnett and Tom May interchanged throughout the set, grinning at the stage divers each time they made a successful landing. Being at the front of this crowd was something else, almost like a rollercoaster ride in that I didn’t dare to see what madness was happening behind me as there was a constant stream of crowdsurfers flying over my head. Everything you could ever want from a Sunday night. As Barnett told the crowd that “this is our first time in Brighton, it sure as hell won’t be our last”, the feeling was reciprocated and a round of drinks was bought for the band by one of the audience.

The pace of The Menzingers’ live show is relentless, with only minimum talking between each song before the next breathless anthem was released. Throughout, bassist Eric Keen remained aloof, though staring occasionally at the balcony as if looking for safe ground should the madness get too much and a rapid escape be necessary. It’s hard to pick highlights from such a solid set but, for me, ‘Thick as Thieves’ and of course ‘Bad Catholics’ were immense and managed to work the crowd into even more of a frenzy if that was possible. The setlist understandably concentrated on this year’s After The Party, but there was a real spread amongst a strong back catalogue, including fan favourite ‘The Shakes’. By the time they finished the main set with ‘Lookers’, The Haunt had been treated to an incredible show by a band at the absolute peak of their powers. Like precious few other bands, they have the ability to sing about life in bars and towns that the majority of the crowd will never know or see but do it in such a universal way that everyone is right there with them. This show was a real treat, and all who were present will be keeping them to their word and hoping it’s not the last time that they show Brighton what they can do.

Jamie MacMillan

Website: themenzingers.com/
Facebook: facebook.com/themenzingers/
Twitter: twitter.com/themenzingers