LIVE REVIEW: AGROTOXICO, THE RESTARTS AND FEW THOUGHTS AT THE BLACK HEART, CAMDEN

I was very excited about seeing The Restarts tonight. I used to follow them in a previous life, but I’m pretty sure I hadn’t seen them for getting on for 18 years. I met up with guitarist Robin Licker at the bar, along with Mark, now of Reptile Dysfunction, and it was like meeting old mates I hadn’t seen for a week rather than the best part of two decades. I had missed this. I had really missed this.

First up were Few Thoughts, a four-piece from Kent who describe themselves as skate punk. Facing the daunting prospect of opening for the twin powerhouses of The Restarts and Agrotoxico, they steadfastly delivered a blend of fast but tuneful punk songs like Morbid (“the first song we put out”) and 2019, as well as Take Me Home and I Surrender, with their occasional ska breaks thrown into the mix.

I must have pissed the lighting man off at some point, because halfway through the set he switched all the lights to red. I really hate taking photos in red light. But let that not take anything away from Few Thoughts, who quite reasonably ignored my photographic distress and blasted their way through the rest of their set.

It turned out it was guitarist Keech’s last gig. I think he said he was 40. Honestly, he should carry on, they are really good.

With The Restarts and Agrotoxico taking it in turns to headline, it was The Restarts’ turn to go first this time. This was the moment I had been waiting for.

Known for their unapologetic stances on Palestine and homophobia, among many other very worthwhile causes, Robin arrived on stage wearing a keffiyeh, with a Palestine flag on one side of the stage and a Progress Pride flag on the other. They hammered straight into Panic from Uprising, and kept up the unrelenting pace throughout a set that included Outsider (yay!), Out & Proud, Uprising and BRCM, cleaning up whatever rubble was left standing by the end.

It was a total powerhouse set, the kind of performance that has become the signature of The Restarts over the years, interspersed with shout-outs for victims of genocide and bigotry. There was no messing about and no let-up. This was punk rock with something to say, delivered at full volume and maximum velocity.

I desperately tried taking some shots of the mosh pit without getting punched in the face, but I’m a lot older than I used to be and found myself concentrating more on staying afloat than getting jumped on. There is a point in life where you realise that photographing a mosh pit from inside the mosh pit is perhaps no longer the sensible career choice.

After 50 minutes, it was all over, and we could take a short breather before Agrotoxico came on to finish us off.

Agrotoxico hail from Brazil and claim to be one of the country’s foremost proponents of angry hardcore punk rock. After tonight I have no doubt of their credentials. They picked up pretty much exactly where The Restarts left off, punching what little life remained in us into a bloody pulp.

I had a look at their setlist, and although it was in Portuguese, I could make out Fim do Mundo and Lobotomia Geral. And, honestly, the end of the world was pretty much what most of their set felt like.

The mosh pit was cranked up another notch from The Restarts, possibly helped by the addition of members of The Restarts themselves joining in. I was really starting to feel my age by this point. It had been years since I’d seen a decent mosh pit.

I am sorry to say left just before the end, so I have no idea how the world actually ended. But at least I got out alive. It was an incredible night.