As we made our way to Bristol in plenty of time to make sure to catch Those Barstool Preachers we find out there is a curfew and by the time we rock up to the venue there is a queue almost back to the Severn bridge and then as we near the venue we hear the unmistakable tones of The Bar Stool Preachers strike up the chords to ‘Trickledown’ and to be fair we made it through bag check in quick time as the venue fills up with people being drawn to the main room to witness a band that is blowing up right now after signing a two-album contract and having recently played two huge sets at Rebellion before taking up their position on the Interrupters European dates the band are just about getting their second wind ready for the UK leg of the tour.

Tom is twisting and spinning across the stage as the band thump out a rather splendid set of older and new tunes enthused with their good news they soon find the empty room is now full and the people of Bristol are eating out of the palm of Mr. McFaul’s hand. They make the most of the short time they have on stage to entertain with a tight, short but oh so sweet ‘Chose My Friends Over You’ before knocking out ‘All The Broken Hearts’. By the time they were getting into their stride with the excellent ‘When The World Ends’ they could have been headlining such was the feedback they were getting from the appreciative crowd. Time was at an end and they only had time to give Bristol a cockney knees-up display as the anthemic sing-a-long of ‘Bar Stool Preacher’ played out to rapturous ovations. they came they saw and they bloody-well conquered – onwards and upwards next time they’ll be headlining venues like this.

Next up were The Skints from London Town. Not a band that features on my radar but I did catch their set last time the Interrupters played Cardiff just over the bridge they have the Ska chops and skank with the best of them with some added Space ska thrown in for good measure. Hell, they even throw in some flutey tones on ‘The Forest For The Trees’ (Rumours that Marcia was standing Tull style on a toadstool on the one leg was unfounded) they do look like they love it and play with a genuine smile on their faces, but again I don’t get it and the set washes over me – we can’t like everything and I appreciate them for what they do, I can see they do it really well and the drummer Jamie cuts the chops leaving the rest of the band to layer those Ska skanks and bass thumps well and they seem to be in their sweet spot as far as tonight’s audience goes, They give them a rousing ovation after every song, not so much punky-ska but I’d say experimental reggae ska for the most part its light and breezy.

Onto the main course and The sweat box that is the Marble Factory is now full to bursting and even the walls are perspiring – It’s insanely hot inside the venue as The headliners make their way onto the stage for a 90-minute set that is executed to a tee and tonight pretty much free from the patter of previous shows – tonight it was on with the show and as soon as one song finished it was pretty much into the next. Making up for the lost time due to covid the band sounded tight and like they were having the best of times. Running through their greatest anthems it was hit after anthem after hit and tonight The Interrupters were almost literally on fire. Barely pausing to breathe they sounded fantastic with added brass on stage tonight it was a welcome addition to their sound as they ran through their back catalogue including some of the new material off their number one album ‘ In The Wild’.

It was pretty much the same set they’ve been playing every night throughout Europe kicking off with ‘Take The Power Back’, into ‘Title Holder’ followed by the splendid ‘Judge Not’ where that trombone was put through its paces. It was relentless as ‘Raised By Wolves’ off the new record went down as well as ‘turntable’,’Arrested’ or ‘Got Eachother’ they were slaying the audience with the intensity and quality of their performance. Aimee and the twins criss-cross all night grinning from ear to ear and feeding off the positive vibes pouring out of the audience. this has to be one of the most positive touring circuses in a long time the PMA is level 11. the audience which is made up of children right up through punks, skins and everything in between The Interrupters have crossed many divides and are infecting city after city with their good time tunes.

We get told that having a ‘Friend Like Me’ is for everyone and I think they mean it, like genuinely mean it. ‘By My side’ was causing quite the party on the dance floor before it was time to run through some Cock Sparrer for their esteemed guest on the balcony before running through some snatches of Hellcat and Epitaph records legends ‘Keep Em Separated a bit of Rancid for good measure before settling on some Bad Religion ‘Sorrow’ for their cover of choice. I thought Covering Cock Sparrer was pretty good.

There was just enough time to wring out your clothes before heading into the encores with gusto ‘Gave You Everything’, ‘Family’ left them just enough time to squeeze in a rousing finale that was ‘Shes Kerosene’ and then we were done. Soaking wet yet beaming smiles all around, The Interrupters were fantastic and that was the best I’ve seen them. They’ve really hit their stride and are currently smashing it. If you’re feeling down catch a date on this tour or go see these bands it’ll sort out any dark clouds and fill your head with great music. Just what live music should be – excellent, can we do it again soon, please?

Author: Dom Daley