Drug Church Incite Monday Night Mayhem at Manchester Gorilla [Photos]

It is a Monday night in Manchester, not the ideal time for a gig, but if any band would drag us screaming and kicking into the new week, then New York post-hardcore punk Drug Church are that band. Packed into the confines of Gorilla, Manchester was ready to be shaken out of their new working week slumber, and Drug Church made sure they did just that.

Opening up the night were Liquid Mike, who were trekking over from Michigan for their first-ever UK tour. With six albums under their belt, it feels strange that this tour is their first-ever visit to the UK, but the American rock band, led by frontman Mike Maple and backing vocalist Monica Nelson, their entertaining indie-rock leaves a positive impression on the room, setting up a good start to the evening.

Next up are Downward, who arrive from Oklahoma armed with a flight case full of grittier alternative rock songs. Not quite as accessible as Liquid Mike, Downward bring with them a much darker, more foreboding soundtrack to the evening and certainly leave this room with something to think about as we head towards the much-anticipated arrival of the headliners.

It almost feels like a switch has gone off in the crowd as Drug Church frontman Patrick Kindlon takes to the stage and instructs the audience on what to do next. From that moment, it’s almost as if everyone has forgotten that it is a Monday night and we are supposed to be suffering the last remnants of a weekend hangover. In fact, judging by the way bodies fly around the floor, it feels like the weekend was just a precursor to the chaos that ensued here in front of Drug Church.

“Million Miles of Fun” ignited the carnage which, for the next eighteen songs, was almost non-stop. Crowd surfers, mic grabs, limbs, the stage and the mayhem in front of it was a mass of bodies, with Kindlon overseeing the carnage. A continuous voice of encouragement, Kindlon whips the crowd up over and over again, proving to be the perfect host for the evening. His bandmates crash through the likes of “Demolition Man” before “Myopic” and “Weed Pin” drag this sweat-soaked crowd over the finish line after this wild Monday night in Manchester.

Our photographer Katie Probert Photography brought back photos from the gig, which you can check out here, along with the Drug Church setlist:

Drug Church Setlist:

1. Million Miles of Fun
2. Fun’s Over
3. World Impact
4. Grubby
5. Slide 2 Me
6. Bliss Out
7. Hey Listen
8. Demolition Man
9. Unlicensed Hall Monitor
10. The Bitters
11. Work-Shy
12. Unlicensed Guidance Counselor
13. Avoidarama
14. But Does it Work?
15. Pynch
16. Tillary
17. Myopic
18. Weed Pin