The queue was long; stretching down the streets of Camden, as eager fans awaited the final chance to see letlive. during this round of farewell shows. This was a highly anticipated show after the chaos of Thursday night and 2000 Trees sets a few days earlier.
They provided the crowd with a surprisingly short set list, but still gave high energy for 90 minutes in a sweaty underground venue. They treated the crowd to a total of 14 songs; 11 main set and 3 encore. As soon as ‘Le Prologue’ kicked in up until the finisher, ‘Day 54’, everyone in that room let go of all their stresses and worries. The energy was at a constant 100 throughout. There is no exaggeration to say that there was a queue of crowd surfers for most songs. The security really had their work cut out for them on that Sunday night.
The only song which allowed a little bit of downtime was ‘Muther’. Jason surprised the crowd with Jessie Powell from Dream State to sing this one alongside him. She joined him on stage to sing ‘Muther’ 12 years prior and was invited back to celebrate her birthday. It was a special treat to see Jessie up on stage bringing some Welsh rock to the English capital. Since replacing CJ in Dream State, all I’ve seen is Jessie thrive and to be invited by Jason himself, was such an iconic moment to witness.
The show was high emotion and a lot of fun, but not as chaotic as assumed. My only guess is that during the last London show and 2000 Trees, the security asked him to calm it down a bit. He was throwing himself off the balcony at Thursday’s show in the same venue. It did feel a lot more intimate this time, however. Jason came into the crowd and got down on the floor with a circle of fans to create a beat using foot stamps only – at that moment, everything was calm as we watched for Jason’s lead.
Ending the show, Jason swung his microphone high up across the lighting bars and wrapped it around his neck as a noose. It really hit home that this was it; the UK leg of the farewell tour was over. Will we see letlive. tour again? Watching Jason on stage, it very much seemed like a possibility, but only time will tell.
Teased by the band in the run-up as a covers set, unpeople’s first appearance of the weekend kicks off with Beastie Boys‘ ‘(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)’ followed immediately by ‘Hash Pipe’ by Weezer. It isn’t quite a covers set, as they play a few of their own, including two unreleased tracks. The quartet beam throughout as the packed out Forest Sessions stage bears witness to one of British rock’s best new bands firmly in their element, whether they’re peeling off their own material or covers given the unpeople treatment. This is wonderfully intimate, and makes the promise of their main stage appearance even more enticing. – WM
Norwegian party starters Blood Command are no strangers to firing up a crowd, and after that unpeople set, their job is already easier. They don’t coast, though, diving straight into a stack of bangers and frequently the raucous crowd. Clad almost entirely in Adidas, with vocalist Nikki Brumen donning a sequinned red dress under a jacket she loses early on, the band cut a striking image. The new songs – presumably from an unannounced album – slot in easily alongside older material with their irrepressible energy and bounce. Nikki’s in the crowd by their third song, surfing through the trees while security look on bewildered at the unfolding chaos. In other words, it’s classic Blood Command and a bloody good time. – WM
Punk isn’t dead, not while Meryl Streek exists. They erupt onstage like a Molotov lobbed at the 10 o’clock news, spitting venom over looped headlines and bleak political commentary. Dressed in a baker boy cap and an overcoat of rage, eerie white contacts slice through the crowd like knives. Streek stalks the stage like an apex predator, all raw fury and no compromise. By the end, the eyes make sense, hypnotic and feral. Streek isn’t punk’s future. They are punk’s ferocious now. – CL
Supporting rising stars DZ Deathrays and rabid oddballs Battlesnake can’t be an easy task but Melbourne duo Mannequin Death Squad take it confidently in their stride with their swaggering mix of chunky riffs and memorable hooks. The duo of Elly Vex and Dan Cohn have already spent a decade honing their craft, dropping their sophomore LP Wise And Dangerous back in April.
Armed with just a guitar, a handful of pedals, a drum kit and a pair of mics, Mannequin Death Squad tear through half an hour of fiery, pop-tinged punk rock with Elly taking the lead for the first few songs before the duo swapped places, allowing Dan to fly around the stage, strapped to his guitar like a plastic army man duct taped to a bottle rocket. It’s rare enough to find one frontperson with as much ferocious punk energy as Elly or Dan, Mannequin Death Squad launches two massive personalities onto the stage at high speed and gives them the freedom to create something brilliant together.
David Maxim Micic delivered a rare moment of calm in the middle of RADAR’s sonic warfare. Their mostly instrumental set was built on intricate guitar work, ambient textures, and precise dynamics. Small bursts of melodic vocals floated through the set, bringing pure, unbridled melancholy without pulling focus. There was no chaos and no crowd killing, just heads nodding and eyes closed. For half an hour, the warehouse felt weightless. It was immersive, moving, and quietly unforgettable.
High Regard didn’t waste any time trying to win anyone over. They hit the Sneak Energy Stage running from the get-go, all whiplash riffs and mile-wide choruses, and the room lit up like someone flipped a switch. They brought us pop-punk reimagined; slick, self-aware, and just heavy enough to keep your elbows up in the pit. The melodies were sharp. The energy? Ridiculous. Every chorus sounded like it belonged on a summer playlist and a festival stage at the same time. In a line-up full of breakdowns, High Regard kept it fast, fun, and gloriously loud.
Since 2023’s A Garden of Dead Flowers, Death Goals have been a constant presence in the weirder side of London’s hardcore scene. Being the more hardcore of the two acts this night (Couch Slut are not the band for windmill kicks) is always a harder sell, but with the set list leaning on some of the noisier & doomier tracks from debut The Horrible And The Miserable, such as ‘Shrike’ and ‘Misery’, Death Goals fit like a glove. As the set went on, faster tracks like ‘Last Night I Had A Dream About Death’ were interspersed with calls of trans rights and Free Palestine. With the set opening with an upcoming new song, their mixture of chaos and beat down doesn’t seem to be changing.
Newcomers to the festival, Break Fifty stepped in to open the Sneak Energy Stage with confidence, performing like they’d been queued for that slot the whole time. Self-described as nu-core, the band delivered a blistering 30-minute set that fused the bounce and attitude of nu-metal with the aggression of metalcore and the rawness of hardcore. It was a high-energy statement of intent; tight, chaotic, and unapologetically heavy. If anyone missed it, they missed a real highlight of the day.
VMBRA well and truly brought the prog to Radar. Originally scheduled to open the Sneak Energy Stage, these fast-rising standouts were bumped up to the Kerrang! Stage opener with just a few hours’ notice; a serious step-up, and one they handled like seasoned pros. Their set was tight, atmospheric, and packed with precision, proving without a doubt that they deserved that bigger spotlight. If anyone still had VMBRA on their “one to watch” list, they’ve surely graduated beyond that now.
What’s your trade? For Pintglass, it’s bringing equal parts filthy riffs and unfiltered fun to every stage they storm, and their set at Radar Festival was no exception. Packed to the brim with hardcore swagger, beatdowns, and tongue-in-cheek banter, their performance was a riot from start to finish. Geezer core is truly becoming a force to be reckoned with, and Pintglass are proudly leading the charge with pints raised and middle fingers high.
