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Review: Upchuck, Thekla – ‘The crowd grows more feral with every searing riff’
Atlanta’s punk rock firebrands Upchuck brought the rage and anarchy to a Bristol crowd that the band, in a recent interview, has previously singled out for their particular rowdiness (yay us!!)
It’s the second date in a four-show UK tour before they hit the continent for a handful of festivals.
And it’s their second visit to the UK since the release, in October 2025, of their third record I’m Nice Now, following the band’s signing to Domino Records.
The band said they thought Bristol was one of the rowdier crowds but this time the audience needed abit of encouragement
Despite the punk quintet’s previous experience of riotous Bristol audiences, Monday’s gathered mass needed a little coaxing by the band’s explosive frontwoman, Kaila “KT” Thompson, to get into high gear.
As the group launch into Plastic, a standout track from I’m Nice Now with its vitriolic lyrics rebuking corrupt authority flanked by a killer rusty razor riff, KT vaults offstage and charges into the heart of the crowd to whip the pit into a riotous frenzy which then continues unabated for the remainder of the gig.
Thompson is a commanding and animated presence as the figurehead of the band, switching between a calm stalking of the stage and paroxysms of air-punching with gleeful, then psychotic stares into the crowd as she growls her politically charged lyrics.
Kaila Thompson is a powerful and imposing stage presence
Completing the lineup are guitarists Alex ‘Hoff’ Hoffman and Mikey Durham, bassist Ausar Ward, and drummer Chris Salado.
Upchuck, meaning ‘to vomit’ in American-English slang, rip through their set with breakneck speed, vomiting the crowd into a blender of savage bandsaw riffs, thumping percussion and caustic lyricism.
Approaching the middle of the set, Salado abandons the drums and takes on vocal duties for a couple of songs while ‘Hoff’ sits behind the drum kit.
The switch allows the band to showcase their cultural diversity through their music, rather than just their physical presence on stage.
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For example Perdido, from the band’s 2022 release Sense Yourself, utilises cumbia rhythms with Salado roaring the Spanish lyrics while fiercely thumping around the stage.
His shift as frontman is more chaotic and venomous compared to Thompson’s imposing and powerful stage presence.
Not long after Thompson reclaims her spot front of stage the turbulent energy recedes, momentarily, as the band performs New Case, another track from their latest record.
It’s a softer, rhythmic track with a sauntering, funky bassline, though still blended with flashes of punkness when the raw, garage rock guitars intermittently tear through.
The punk-rock band from Atlanta deal in rebellion and social justice
During the main set closer Upchuck Thompson, again, hurls herself amongst the crowd and recites almost the whole song huddled with an elated group of uproarious fans.
Among Upchuck’s discography, the eponymous track is considered an epic as it is one of the few songs in their setlist that exceeds three minutes.
Thompson’s vocals soar over the trudging metal riffs which gradually escalate in speed and aggression, mirroring the tension and intensity of the song’s theme of police brutality.
When the band return to the stage to play out a two-song encore they look like they could easily continue for another hour at this frenetic pace.
Throughout the night the raw, rebellious energy never diminishes, while the crowd grows more feral with every searing riff that cuts through the sweaty pit of bodies and every lyric spat out in rabid indignation at society’s ills.
All photos: Daniel Adshead
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