KNEECAP @ THE DEPO, BRISTOL | 04/07/2025

Rising from the ashes of two cancelled shows in Plymouth, The Eden Sessions and Plymouth Pavillion, the Depo has taken up the mantle to host the lads from Derry, Belfast for three sold-out nights.

The night kicks off with the quintet, Bricknasty, from Ballymun, Ireland.Headed up by a face- covered frontman, known as Fatboy, the group rips through a set of soulful guitar-driven hip-hop, reminiscent of a softer Steve-vai. 

An energetic start to a night that was surely about to get a whole lot sweatier.

The lights go dark and the cheers bounce off the ceiling, and a statement appears on the video screen about the atrocities of the IDF, finally ending with the words “Free Palestine”. The bass kicks into the melodic intro of 3CAG (an Irish slang for MDMA)  as the trio of Mo Chara, Móglaí bap and DJ Provai emerge on the stage.

The group and crowd explode in unison to the opening track “It’s Been Ages” a combined English & Gaelic bass driven beat.Their set is accompanied by tongue in cheek visuals poking fun at themselves, Irish republicans and of course the British. The next song “Amach Anocht” , a song about their days of drug use and selling, whips the crowd into a frenzy, while the following song, the mellower “Fenian Cunts”, gets the crowd singing the chorus in unison.

It’s clear the lads have a few choice words to say about recent antics from the BBC censoring their Glastonbury set, a certain prime minister, and their cancelled Plymouth gigs, which gets the crowd chanting a familiar 3 words which also echoed out on the Pilton farm.For the next hour the 700 cap venue is moving from front to back, with the floor flexing from the weight of the crowd bouncing. The trio rip through an intense set with Mo Chara drawing energy from the crowd after an apparent “intense 4 days in Glastonbury” take that as you will.

The set rounds off with the trio’s two biggest hits “Get your Brits Out” and “H.O.O.D” before finally laying the smackdown with their latest single “The Recap” a violent Drum n Bass driven track that sees DJ Provai dive into the crowd with other crowd members following in unison.

The track ends with the same two words that started the night, “Free Palestine”, a perfect top and tail to a politically driven show that shows the world how bands such as Kneecap are so important right now.