‘LET’S AV IT’ : BOB VYLAN DETONATES CHAOS AT BRIXTON ACADEMY
LIVE REVIEW | BOB VYLAN | LONDON BRIXTON ACADEMY 07/11/2024 by Robert McAlaney
The two Bobs – both the cutest band in punk rock and the most violent band in England.
Their performance at Electric Brixton on the 7th of November can be perfectly summarised
with three words, “Let’s av it!”
Bob Vylan is a punk rap band hailing from London and made up of singer/guitarist Bobby
Vylan and drummer Bobbie Vylan. The duo were formed in 2017 and their alternative style
that merges grime with punk rock quickly attributed to a cult following with love for the self
released albums Vylan (2017) and Dread (2019). In 2020 the band released their track ‘We
Live Here‘ which saw a colossal boost in Bob Vylan’s trajectory and it is still their most popular
song to date with a total of 4.5 million streams. 2022 gave way to the release of the heavily
appraised album Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life in the April, then by November the duo
were awarded with a MOBO for the first ever prize of Best Alternative Music Act. Bob Vylan are poets that spit the harsh realities of modern day Britain, they are beautifully chaotic and have perfected their take on punk rap -someone give them a blue peter badge or something!
Where were you on Thursday November 7th? If it wasn’t stood shoulder to shoulder in a
packed out Electric Brixton, feeling the anarchy brew before the soundcheck had even
begun, then it was a Thursday wasted. The show began like a trance; the stage was
engulfed in a thick purple haze of which Bob Vylan appeared like a rastafarian shaman – he
moved his body as if it were some sort of contemporary dance, a contortionist in a circus of
angst. Bobby had not spoken a word and Bobbie was yet to bang a drum, yet they had
already taken full control of the crowd. All of a sudden a stick was raised, a snare crashed
and Bob Vylan were unleashed, the hypnosis was broken and the crowd exploded into an
ocean of sprawling limbs and frenzied headbangs.
Bob Vylan are a band meant to be experienced live, during the entirety of the track ‘GYAG
(Get Yourself A Gun)’ there wasn’t one member of the audience whose feet didn’t leave the
ground, it felt as if heads were to reach the ceiling. The place went absolutely berserk for
‘Dream Big‘ and to tell the truth I was genuinely concerned for the stability of the venue’s
balcony. ‘He’s A Man‘ is an absolute belter of a tune and frontman Bobby spat every word
from the soul, I don’t even want to describe it further as I implore you to see it for yourself.
Bobby himself is incredibly charming and full to the brim of the exact kind of energy you’d
expect from the lead of a punk rap band – his dreads whip around the stage like a law unto
themselves, the audience both love and respect him. A sporadic cluster of hands clawed at
the very chance to touch Bobby as he launched himself into the belly of the beast AKA a
Bob Vylan mosh pit. Armed with a cricket bat, belting out profound lyric after lyric whilst
Bobbie’s drums punched you in the face (which you thanked him for), Bob Vylan’s room of
hooligans would have followed them to war.
If you could capture the gig’s atmosphere in a jar, the jar would explode. They’re brave,
they’re raw, they’re chaos, they’re Bob f**king Vylan.
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