Dan Hillier
Bless tonight’s promoter; it must have been hard booking an opener. Not out of a lack of choice though; every post-rock, math-rock and left-field act in the city and beyond must have tried getting on tonight’s bill. No, the hard part of booking tonight’s support must not have been finding any act, but rather finding the right act. After all, who can support a band as idiosyncratic as Toe? Well, it seems HAAL can.
Filling more or less the entire breadth of the Prospect Building’s lengthy stage with an array of synths, noise tables, amplifiers and a single 10” CRT TV that’s trying its damn best in this 1350-capacity warehouse of a room, the local noiseniks are as mercurial as they are hypnotic. Peddling a sound that straddles the faded, thin line between noise rock and the more abtruse stylings of post punk, whilst HAAL are unnerving as a live entity, they certainly are entrancing, especially with their sound resonating a sense of industrialist unease that manages to remain concentrated in a room this large. It’s a fantastic, modernist dirge of creeping tension and unease, one that manages to retain the grey, ashen tones of this ex-weapons factory of a venue, but one that still pounds and thumps along to a driving beat that’s dirty as it is instantly engaging.
As HAAL’s atmosphere of unease dissipates, an air of both anticipation and subtle curiosity replaces it. Tonight marks Toe’s first show in the UK in over a decade, and whilst the post and math rock world moves more glacially than scenes belonging to other genres, a question still remains regarding just what a Toe show entails in the year 2026. After all, they were renowned for performing with the intensity of a hardcore band all those years back. Some must be wondering if time has tempered such energy. But whilst Knocked Loose or Terror this is not, Toe have clearly not let time wither their vitality.
Performing as close to one another as possible within an onstage conclave that’s been assembled by the band pulling their gear into a tight semicircle, Toe manages to make this set feel remarkably intimate – quite the feat given the cold vastness of this room. From this confab of their own design, the Japanese unit flutter through their set with tight focus that’s contrasted by energy that’s loose and improvisational. Not that such a feat is surprising mind you. Toe have long been one of those few, borderline mythical bands in the post rock world that have countered the notion of the genre being stoic. And tonight, as they fly through the likes of ‘Loneliness Will Shine’, ‘Chiaroscuro’ and ‘Kodoku no Hatsumei’, it’s imposable not feel connected with band via their infectious energy and their clear love of their work.
As the band progresses through their set, touching upon material from both their landmark records and more niche extended plays, it’s easy to see why this band is held with such renown as a live entity. Yes, the band are not thrashing and thralling like the ignorant bruisers aforementioned, but even after all this time, both they and everyone before them are collectively and very much physically lost in the mercurial sound that is their work. It’s a wonderful connection that ultimately makes this show go from just another post / math rock gig in an industrial building to something more tangibly intimate and special.
It’s this connection that allows the more dare-say danceable aspects of their work to resonate more, one that allows the inherent emotion behind their work to be felt more. And as one looks around this room, it’s easy to see why this rare show has attracted so many people from different musical demographics. The crowd for this show isn’t just composed of the usual ArcTanGent types (though these are obliviously present), but instead is filled with people belonging to different scenes and circles removed from the usual post / math realm. As these people of all ages and musical persuasions dance to the likes of ‘Esoteric’ and as some even shed open tears to ‘F_A_R’ and closer ‘Goodbye’, tonight doesn’t just mark a rare UK show from a niche Japanese band, but a reminder of just how special Toe is as a band when removed from genre tags. Let’s just hope it isn’t another decade before we’re reminded just how special this band is live again.