LIVE FROM THE PIT: Cowboy Hunters, Beefcake and Orchid

Scottish punk duo COWBOY HUNTERS returned to London to play another headline show just for the London fans! The duo have been playing many shows all over the UK but rarely visit the city centre of London and the chaos that invaded the venue was calamitous. MEGAN and DESMOND have been releasing music since 2022 and have already had the success of playing numerous headline shows each year, opening for other artists and even getting radio play via BBC introducing. After attending this show it is easy to see why, despite how nonsensical you might find their music, and how freeing and fun their live shows truly are. 

The first artist on the stage was ORCHID, her music is not particularly alternative but if you have had any new age pop in your playlists she really could be for you. With club beats and incredible energy on stage she filled the venue with just herself and a mic, despite feeling slightly under the weather. Her tracks both released and unreleased turned the venue into a club with everyone bopping their heads and swinging their hips. Her energy was infectious as she joked with the crowd. Even though it might not be the same genre of music that a lot of them came to see, everyone in the crowd quickly grew to love her. If she keeps going the way she is you can be sure to see her name around more!

Next to take the stage was a band that clearly already have a cult following, BEEFCAKE have their own Japanese inspired style of fashion that was reflected like a mirror in the front row as fans swerved their way to the front just for their set. Unfortunately BEEFCAKES drummer had to miss the set due to illness that had already spread to lead vocalist DORA, but they put on a show anyway with a "reimagined" set just for the fans that had come to see them. 

DORA has an incredible delicate yet powerful voice as they mastered the whole set pretty much acapella. Although it is hard to grasp what an artist can really sound like from a stripped back set they performed a cover of ETHEL CAINES - A House in Nebraska which can give you an idea of their sound without having their full set up. Fans all over the room were singing the words to their songs and really seemed to show out with a lot of the crowd having seen them before. It is clear to see the band are set to do big things having already gathered such a big dedicated fanbase. 

As the BEEFCAKE fans made their way to the back for the rest of the show the COWBOY HUNTERS fans swarmed forwards, packing in tightly and leaving no space on the floor. The band walked on stage to huge cheers before pressing play on a folk music remix backing track and getting in the crowd to have a dance. This incredibly unique technique to get the crowd hyped worked a treat as they started a mosh pit before the set even got started! After their little dance they got onto their spaces on stage and started to play the bangers that the fans were waiting for. 

If you have not seen COWBOY HUNTERS before you might not know of their instrument switching party tricks but it really is impressive. DESMOND started on the drums and MEGAN on the bass guitar. They both rocked the stage playing their songs Money for Drugs and Mating Calls, joking with each other and the crowd the whole time. Rather than keeping a serious and clean polished set the duo remain completely true to themselves, giving a really rustic performance, it is almost like the crowd are just some mates watching the band rehearse in a garage. 

As for the music from beginning to end it was raw Scottish Punk, filled with slang, political references and absolutely nonsensical lines like "Gemma, I hope you move to France". The crowd seemed to know a lot of the lyrics themselves and if they did not, it was easy for them to catch on. They moshed for every single track with not a moment of stillness from the floor, beers split and no one giving two shits about personal space, a proper punk gig. Half way through the gig the band played another track from their soundboard and got into the crowd to start a mosh pit. They then did something unexpected and might have even gone unnoticed by some of the crowd for a moment. When they left the crowd to continue moshing they switched instruments, DESMOND taking the bass and MEGAN sitting at the drums.

Changing instruments during a show might not be that crazy of a gimmick but switching instruments completely takes a level of skill that you would not really expect from a duo playing a two-hundred cap show underneath Oxford Circus. The transition was seamless and the two jumped right back into playing their own songs with more tracks like Gemma and Perfect (Exceeder). The majority of the songs MEGAN and DESMOND jumped back and forth between eachother with a combination of rapping and screaming.They made it seem like it was easy but keeping their level of performance that high throughout the set must be intense and absolutely exhausting. Sweat dripped from their brows but they did not take a moment's break... apart from their beer break of course "Beer break, sing some lift music in your head or something" MEGAN joked giving the crowd a giggle. 

As they finished playing their last song the crowd screamed for an encore, the energy in the room still bouncing off the walls and reflecting off the stage. Giving into their fans the band once again played their dance track and got into the crowd to have a dance. They then climbed back onto the stage, giving the fans what they wanted, building the anticipation and riling up the crowd. Before essentially rick rolling them with the Cha Cha Slide sending the venue into hysteric laughter. They duo once again got onto the venue floor to, you guessed it, dance to the Cha Cha Slide with the crowd, which everyone seemed to love. A fantastic joke putting a smile on everyone's faces, the band have clearly cultured a fan base with a sense of humour just as flavoursome as their own. But with that ending the band cut off the fun with the line "how low can you go" and DESMOND shouting "getting off the floor your idiots" before the both of them giving a wave goodnight and walking off the stage for the night.

The band left the whole venue laughing and joking with each other, afterwards you could see people exchanging socials having made friends at the gig and finding those with a similar music taste and sense of humour to their own. It is clear to see although perhaps unserious, these guys were made for the stage. We expect them to make even bigger waves throughout the UK punk scene and maybe even further, look out for the name COWBOY HUNTERS at your local venues if you want a fun, punk filled night.  

Words and photos: Amy Smyth