Ez Luscombe
Hailing from Bristol and formed in 2019, Trashed are a three-piece pop-punk outfit clearly inspired by icons of the scene such as Green Day, Busted and Blink-182, especially on singles such as “Decay” and “Memories”. Despite obvious technical difficulties during their twenty-five minute set, they remained professional, and their high-energy performance was certainly memorable. Although the audience was sparse; they made a great impression with their catchy tunes, and are clearly seasoned musicians who have experience with touring and penning accessible, yet exciting two-minute bangers. If you are at all familiar with the Bristol punk scene, Trashed are definitely ones to watch, and their latest single “Drip Fed” is a clear highlight from their discography.
A lot of Save Face fans are probably already familiar with The Nightmares due to the extensive number of shows they have both played alongside Creeper in 2023 and 2024. Formed in 2019 in Newport, The Nightmares are a more gothic-rock inspired band than previous support act Trashed, who hail The Cure as one of their biggest influences and have a trademark of black clothes, leather jackets and sunglasses when performing live. The energy in their set was electric, opening with synthy rock banger “Murder Season” (unfortunately without Creeper frontman Will Gould), playing multiple songs from atmospheric sophomore album Fire in Heaven, and ending their set with lead single “Something in the Dark” that many crowd-goers were bopping their heads to and dancing as if they were hearing the Sisters of Mercy at a goth night, The Nightmares definitely set the tone for the night before Save Face took to the stage.
Having released sophomore album Another Kill For The Highlight Reel in 2021, jumpsuit-clad New Jersey emos Save Face have been touring extensively both in the US, and in the UK alongside greats of the scene such as The Wonder Years and Midtown and have amassed a cult following which was explicitly clear within the crowd. During their final UK show on the tour, multiple people were wearing their trademark red jumpsuits and skeleton gloves in solidarity, and one girl in the front even wore a hand-knitted jumper with the logo imprinted in red. Fandom culture is still very much alive, and it’s admirable to see people showing up and putting the effort in to support smaller artists.
Opening their set with theatrical, piano-driven and Black Parade inspired album-opener “The Funeral You’ve Been Asking For” the entire bands stage presence was unmatched, with lead singer Tyler Povanda making the most of the tiny Exchange stage by flailing himself across it at multiple points during their hour-long set and engaging with the crowd whenever possible, Save Face always keep it memorable whilst touring which is one of the many reasons why they have a cult following among alternative rock fans. Save Face also provided the crowd with a more fast-paced cover of AFI single Girl’s Not Grey whilst still staying true to the original, and the crowd loved it. Despite no more than 200 people being in the crowd, multiple people were singing along, jumping and head-banging-truly a memorable and standout moment from their set.
Midway through, Save Face also took the time to dedicate mid-tempo album track “A.M Gothic” to LGBT youth and anyone who has sadly lost their lives due to hate crimes and targeted violence. In a time when the UK is becoming an increasingly more hostile place for transgender individuals, it’s so important to have spaces where people can escape to and feel safe in, and many individuals find this escape within music or other forms of media.
For their encore, they performed singles “Bury Me (Tonight)” and “One More Kill For The Highlight Reel” and despite their clear jet lag and exhaustion from the seven previous UK shows over the past week, their energy was still enthusiastic, and they put on a hell of a show by showcasing fifteen of their most acclaimed songs.
Overall, Save Face provide audiences with raucous live shows that create well-needed community in uncertain times, and their music clearly speaks to people who have ever felt as though they don’t belong.