Review

TITLE: The Bronx

VENUE: The CockpitREVIEW: Mikey Baird

A JEKYLL and Hyde of a band – LA’s The Bronx can come in one of two guises.

On one hand you have the hardcore punk, rock ‘n’ rollers known simply as The Bronx, and on the other you have the traditional Mexican styles of Mariachi El Bronx.

The two are very different yet both equally successful.

Tonight we are treated to the former, currently out in support of their fourth album, which like their earlier three is simply called, ‘The Bronx’.

The Cockpit is rammed to capacity, a crowd eager to see what will unfold with a band rated as one of the best live acts in the world and a band who likes to blur the lines between artist and audience.

They do not fail to deliver.

Charismatic frontman Matt McCaughthran greets the crowd with a smile that stays on his face throughout the next 60 minutes, whether he is on stage or in the crowd, where he spends a good majority of the gig.

Unleashing with new track ‘The Unholy Hand’, already treated as an instant classic by the baying mob, it is just relentless.

Wave upon wave of stage divers launch into the bodies crashing into each other on the floor and everywhere you look it is wall to wall smiles.

It is always a pleasure to see a band enjoying themselves and you can tell just watching The Bronx play that they love what they do, mean every note of music played and that they thrive on nights like this.

Each song separated by a little tale told by McCaughthran, which feels like it is being told to you by your closest friend before they release another three minutes of pure aggression.

At one point a guy climbs the lighting rig and throws himself into the pit only seconds later to be bundled out by security through a side door, but this is a Bronx gig and the rules are there are no rules.

Within seconds the smiling frontman is on top of the crowd opening the door and pulling the ejected man back in.

In his own words – ‘The stage is yours, the floor is ours, do whatever the hell you want’.

Hitting track after track off all four of their albums, every word to every track being screamed back at the band, this feels less like a gig and more like a celebration of having a good time.

The Bronx have proved once again why they are seen as such an essential band.

Awesome!