The Ferret in Preston is a venue very close to my heart, as I’ve played there a few times in various bands over the years. However, I hadn’t been to Preston for quite some time and obviously didn’t know what The Ferret was actually like since the last time I had been there (about a decade ago). When I walked in, the place was exactly how I had remembered it being, only now the vibes were even better. The stage had been moved to the opposite end of the room, with a really eye-catching neon “The Ferret” sign adorning the back wall of the stage, as well as some moody red lighting which receded the room’s dominating darkness.
The first act of the night was Fuck Money – a band I knew by name but hadn’t actually had chance to check them out before seeing the show. Four guys walked onto the stage, with the band’s frontman – a towering, intimidating figure (he’s actually a really nice guy) sporting a striking mouth grill, suited out in a black boiler suit with their logo and some black face paint. Immediately, the band grabbed the audience with their ferocious blend of hardcore, punk, and noise rock. The musicianship was excellent, with bassist Jeremy Humphries in particular really catching my eye with his blistering down stroke technique, but as a whole the band were supremely tight and the songs were concise and engaging to listen to and watch. TaSzlin kept the energy up by coming off the stage frequently to interact with the audience, and overall, I have to say I walked away from their performance very impressed. I can see why Fuck Money are billed with Deaf Club, as they bring a very nice counter balance to Deaf Club’s hardcore punk/grind sound, which as I said earlier, is a much more traditional punk sound everyone seemed to enjoy.
With the crowd firmly warmed up, Deaf Club set up their equipment then immediately proceeded to unleash hell, with the sound guy trying to sort things out during the early stages of the set, which I thought was quite amusing as it highlights the band’s punk ethos by not giving a fuck about how it sounds. Testament to the band and The Ferret sound team however, it still sounded incredible. Justin Pearson is a natural-born frontman, with an alluring presence when he’s on stage. He comports this chilled calm swagger, whilst exerting a fierce energy in between all of it. For people unaccustomed to this type of music, it will probably come off as “just noise”, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Like Fuck Money, the musicianship in Deaf Club is exceptional – presenting moments during the set where I would inadvertently say “fuck off” out loud. The drums were pummelling, the bass was technical but exhumed this cool punk attitude, and the guitar parts were really interesting to watch. At just 30 minutes, this set was over before you could even process it, but I had a bloody awesome time trying to catch up to what they were doing.
Overall, both of these bands crushed it. Their focus on crowd participation as well as delivering powerful, energetic music in 30 minutes really highlights the talent in these bands. If you’re a fan of this type of music or you’re just looking for a really chaotic evening, definitely catch them on one of their remaining shows from this European tour – it won’t disappoint.
