STONE - The Garage Review: A night of community, equality and bottled-up chaos
Poised to release their hotly-anticipated debut album, STONE headlined one of London’s most-loved grassroots music venues, The Garage.
★★★★★★★★☆☆
Credit: Give It A Spin 📸
Hailing (mostly) from Liverpool, STONE formed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The genre-defying outfit is made up of Fin Power (vocals/guitar), Sarah Surrage (bass), Elliot Gill (lead guitar) and Alex Smiths (drums). A fusion of eclectic music influences, cultural songwriting and chaotic live performances have skyrocketed the punk-rockers to stardom. They share an affinity with the likes of Blur, The Clash, Sex Pistols and The Streets.
Dropping a head-thrashing EP at the tail-end of 2023, punkadonk2, the Scouse quartet was ready to hit the road to celebrate. Unsurprisingly selling out some of their biggest headlines to date across Leeds, Glasgow, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Brussels and Amsterdam. Except that excitement halted. Postponing the tour to polish the finishing touches of their hotly-anticipated debut album.
If anything the pause only heightened the buzz circulating the group. Strutting onto the stage to Breathe by The Prodigy and casting their eyes onto the packed-out room of ravenous fans, before jumping into I Let Go. A sea of 600 losing their sh*t. A spirit that would remain throughout the show, STONE being the ringleader of carnage.
What became obvious was it didn’t matter what song was playing, people went nuts. Not only for the music but the atmosphere and community. Whether it’s singing about a Motorola (Moto) or screaming the socially-charged Am I Even A Man, everyone fixated on the band’s every move. And that is eye-opening to what’s unfolding for the young four-piece.
Left Right Forward and Waste encouraged Fin to embrace the crowd’s infectious energy, diving into the pit for moshing, crowd-surfing, and swimming. You’d think he was some sort of King, but here, in this room, everyone feels equal. And that’s what STONE has projected since day one.
Equally, keeping people on their toes is something the Liverpudlians know how to do. They thrive on it. Previewing three new tracks; My Thoughts Go was a blend of synth alt-rock, Queen took their sound to a new place, and the other channeled rage found in late 80’s hip-hop (N.W.A). The former was co-performed by Shortstraw, a fiery upcoming star in their own right.
“Love and community is what we’re all about and look where we f**king are” Fin announces, before taking it back to where it all started for their finale. Leave It Out, is an angry post-punk tune that encapsulates everything that set the band in motion. Hard to believe it’s four years old. The room turned into a huge party, each person unleashing their inner (bottled-up) chaos. Every word screamed back louder each time.
You could see a glimmer in their eyes, dreaming of bigger crowds and venues. In return, there were smiles across the whole room. That’s where the community begins, but doesn’t end.
:: Round-Up ::
This headline show was greater than one night. It brought people together from all backgrounds to sing, dance, and lose themselves. It captured where the band is and offered a flicker of much bigger things - which are by no means out of reach, as their debut looms.
Community feels at the heart of everything, cementing STONE as the underground for the lost youth.
See full setlist on Setlist.fm. Were you at the show? Check out our Insta and TikTok for videos, or share your own with us.
Waste (Watch Live)
Left Right Forward (Watch Live)
Am I Even A Man (Watch Live)
I Gotta Feeling (Watch Live)
Rating: 8/10
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