LIVE FROM THE PIT: Winona Fighter and Young Fatigue

Breakout punk trio Winona Fighter have finally made their way across the pond after the release of their debut album ‘My Apologies to the Chef’ in February of this year. Their sold out show at The Black Heart is their first ever London show and being a headline show it truly was special.

Winona Fighter started their music journey in Nashville in 2022 with the release of their first EP ‘Father Figure’ capturing the ears of punk listeners around the world. The ‘Yes Chef’ Tour has been in high demand with extra shows being added left and right, it's no wonder their name is popping up more and more in discussions of the best up and coming punk bands!

The Black Heart was teeming with battle jackets and black boots as the kick off time approached, everyone making their way up the stairs to the venue where ‘Young Fatigue’ were about to start warming up the stage.

The young British punk trio burst onto the stage with an abundance of energy, ready to show the crowd that may have never heard of them what they're made of. The band have been consistently releasing singles since 2020 but exclaimed they were very surprised to receive an email from the likes of Winona Fighter, not even believing at first that they'd be asked to open for them.

Young Fatigue did not fail at getting the crowd moving and warmed up with banging tunes and great banter with the crowd. They made everyone comfortable while giving them chances to bang their head and clap or even sing along. Lead singer Ash Dixon was truly impressive, vocals reminiscent of an early 2000s british punk band and stage presence that is certainly undeniable. This trio is definitely worth the time of any punk fan and we hope to see them again for more raging shows.

The room filled out with people shoulder to shoulder from the very front to the very back of the venue. Winona Fighter gallivanted onto the stage receiving overwhelming cheers as they erupted into their first song ‘You Look Like a Drunk Phoebe Bridgers’. The crowd immediately started moving, forming mosh pits despite the lack of space to do so, these punks found a way.

The band paraded one song into another keeping the ball rolling and the energy high before finally pausing for a moment. Lead singer Coco took a moment to introduce themselves and told the crowd they would be singing their entire new album at this gig, receiving huge applause from the fans, before kicking straight back into song. Despite only being a few songs in, the crowd were loud enough to sing some of the lines for Coco as she took a moment to exclaim how crazy the crowd was.

One fan heckled that he wanted to start a circle pit on just the third song of the set “Who's gonna start a circle pit with him then!” the band encouraged and sure enough the crowd made it happen. Winona Fighter went on to play bangers like ‘ATTENTION’ and ‘JUMPERCABLES’ as the room bounced so hard you could feel the floor moving beneath your feet.

The trio had brilliant banter with the crowd talking about football, or soccer as they call it, about how they are allowed to say the word ‘cunt’ on stage which was immediately followed by chanting of said word and even talking about where some of the crowd where from, some from as far as Atlanta and Chicago. As if the crowd wasn't hyped up enough, Winona Fighter decided to play a blazing cover of ‘Song 2’ by Blur getting even the bartenders singing and jumping along.

As they drew to the last act of the show Coco told them they would not be leaving to stage to “go and stand in a tiny room” before performing an encore, so these last 5 songs in fact were the last 5 songs. Which of course led to more banter with the crowd, it’s hard not to smile seeing how the band interacted with the fans.

Coco took a moment to tell the fans how they should chase their dreams, as scary as that can be to make the first leap to just do it, this was clearly received by the fans as they sang the next song with every piece of their soul. It's rare to see an audience that is so connected with the lyrics they're singing, you could tell every person in the room felt the words.

As the band started to close Coco got slightly emotional before playing their last song ‘HAMMS IN A GLASS’ the crowd encouraged Coco as she held back her tears and closed off the gig with the biggest mosh pits and loudest cheers of the night. She ended the set by surfing on the crowd, despite the low ceiling, from the front to the very back of the venue and then back again, hi fiving fans all along the way.

It's impossible to deny the impact these guys are having and the waves they are making in the punk scene. Winona Fighter are continuing their tour back in the US with over 20 shows and are also scheduled for many festivals through the rest of the year, stopping off this weekend for the almighty Slam Dunk festival.

Words: Amy Smyth

Photos: Anna Goley