LIVE FROM THE PIT: ITHACA AND WALLOWING, LONDON

They Fear Us. Not only the title of Ithaca’s exquisite second album, but also a mission

statement, ‘They’ being those who are opposed to the wonderful revolution of queerness,

acceptance, diversity, support and love that Ithaca are a huge part of. The band put on a show on Saturday the 25th of November in London at The Dome, playing through the album in its entirety for the first (and possibly only) time ever.

It was a small bill, having just the headline band and then Wallowing, who were opening the

show - in stunning fashion might I add! Playing a forty minute set that started at 20:00, the band seemed genuinely bowled over at the brilliant turn out of fans who came to see them play through a phenomenal set of sludgy doom and grindcore. The unique look of alien beekeepers creates an amazing onstage presence, and the aesthetic of their electronic board covered with pedals, LEDs, switches and more makes the whole set feel even more chaotic and exciting.

They started heavily and carried that on through every second onstage, each moment of music causing the atmosphere to become that much more caustic. Upon finishing, the audience erupted into a chorus of cheering and clapping that was more than deserved - Wallowing are on tour with Conan in February and March, make it down for a brilliant show.

Of course, no matter how good the support act, we knew that Ithaca would show up and cause absolute pandemonium. Playing They Fear Us in full, joined by some extra musicians to make the evening even more special, the set started with ‘In The Way’ and immediately a circle pit formed that stayed open for the duration bar a couple small exceptions for when the crowd was in tears. The band's singer Djamila Boden Azzouz alternately howled as if possessed and sang like a siren above a soundtrack of squealing guitars, stinky riffs, thick basslines and wonderful drumming. Bassist Dom Moss ran about the stage, during the title track he must’ve covered more ground than anyone else in the entire venue whilst simultaneously laying down some absolutely filthy sounds, and gurning like a professional.

Song number six ‘Number Five’ was a personal highlight, with moshing galore and heaviness abound; guitar lines from Sam Chetan-Welsh and Will Street bringing about some seriously hectic pits.

After having a stunningly heavy set of tracks shoved down our throats (all willingly), it was time for the more emotive part of the album to begin, with a tear jerking speech from Sam about trauma and healing, particularly being defined by the quote ‘your trauma does not define you’. This led into their song ‘Fluorescent’, which had equal parts of the crowd sobbing or elbowing each other. Going from that into ‘You Should Have Gone Back’ had the crowd slowing down in the pit, and then it was time for an announcement. Djamila asked two friends of the band, Liam and Lindsay, to join the band onstage. Through misty eyes the audience looked on as Liam proposed to Lindsay, and every single person cheered as he got down on one knee and asked her to marry him, with the volume swelling as she said ‘of course I will’. Then, as guest vocalist Yansé Cooper came onto the stage for ‘Hold, Be Held’, it seemed like there was only one course of action for anyone in the room and it was to cry. This final song of the main set was a beautiful moment and will stay with every single person who was in attendance for years to come, as the keyboard, oboe and trumpet being added to the sound of Ithaca’s main band boosted the already immense power of the song.

The band took a collective bow and walked offstage for a moment, allowing everyone to take a moment and breathe. The additional musicians then took their leave, and we were treated to one last song in the form of first album banger ‘Impulse Crush’ to finish the evening. With that, the London five piece left the stage for the final time, leaving nothing but sweat on the stage, and hundreds of awed audience members standing stunned. The November cold felt that little bit easier to deal with after one of the very best shows of the year.

Words: Jake Longhurst

Cover Photo: Jake Arthur