LIVE FROM THE PIT: Higher Power, Test Of Patience and Dissent

Newcastle hardcore showed out for Higher Power in an evening filled with punchy performances and controlled chaos. From the inaugural set of geordie quintet Dissent to the learned stage presence of Higher Power the energy seeped through the walls of The Grove.

The evening opened with Dissent, a by-the-book hardcore outfit native to Newcastle who had no trouble inspiring violence in The Grove; the spin kicks had pints spilled within minutes while the windmills and cartwheels were so large most of the room's capacity made room for them. Surprise to The Grove when their frontman admitted that this was their first ever live set - armed with 4 songs and a commanding stage presence they warmed the room up with ease and reeked of potential. 

The follow up was Test of Patience, a Glaswegian outfit happy to use the 4 hour drive across the border to convince The Grove to get closer to the stage. Their brand of hardcore was deep and swinging groves with some hard rock melodies mixed in that lended itself to a dance two step as well as a kicking one. Most captivating though was their frontwoman: her vocals were a cut above with a gravelly undertone to her deep scream, while her presence was cheeky and active be it crouching on the stage or the touch of doing a cover and letting The Grove grab the mic and join in. Test of Patience stood out from the Higher Power supports, proving their frontwoman’s points of starting a band with your friends and the fruits of it. 

Set number three belonged to Existence, coming all the way from Sweden to the now full Grove and hitting some more military feeling metal; not personally a favourite but definitely a fan favourite as the windmills started turning. A sweet quirk of Existence was one of their guitarists playing like he was in a pop punk band, spinning with his guitar and jumping on beat as if he was desperate to leave his town. Despite this, their presence was minimal, sticking to the music apart from thanking the other bands performing and, of course, free Palestine. 

 Higher Power’s forty minute set was balanced between the pensive hardcore of their earlier projects and the hardcore emo that makes up their newest album There’s Love In This World If You Want It. The newer tracks came more in the beginning - with the caveat from frontman Jimmy Wizard that they appreciate that everyone loves the oldies - but the pensive melodies carried through the room to gentle headbangs and dancing couples as the notes of ‘All the Range’ lifted through the walls. 

The majority of the evening was spent in the pensive hardcore mentioned before; the 6 calls to “fill this space” halfway met by the filling of the pit when ‘Shedding Skin’ and ‘Young Escapade’, but mainly not adhered to to make sure there was space for them. As for Higher Power they brought their own energy with ‘Shedding Skin’ having bassist Ethan Wilkinson shaking what mother gave him to the line of gig goes before him while ‘Low Season’ saw the crowd pool in front of Wizard to sing along into the microphone. 

Their crowd work was silly, including an odd bit about intentionally putting your shirt in your jeans pocket and asking the crowd to get silly before explaining that the next track (‘Better’) was about struggling with addiction. For his final yap Wizard mused about being a band for 10 years, asking the crowd if anyone happened to be under 10 (they weren’t) before closing with Absolute Bloom; a breath out for The Grove before heading home at a reasonable 10:15 for a weekday. 

Higher Power Newcastle was a love letter to the North East hardcore scene and a beautiful example of the scene when it works: local independent venues hosting independent promotion giving local talent the opportunity to play among the seasoned who have turned the genre into their careers. The crowd was energised and welcoming, moshers who fell were picked up, and the warmth felt once the show was over was enough to ignore the sticky cider that stretched up to the armpit.

Words: Julia Brunton