RAT BOY delivers thrilling performance at his sold out show at Electric Brixton in London.

Just another gig – I thought. Just another ordinary Friday night. Yeah, not a chance.

I had been to a lot of gigs so I thought I had seen a lot. Wrong again.

A while back, on Friday 6th to be precise, Brixton was set up on fire and filled up with teenage scums.

When I arrived at Electric Brixton, the venue had been almost fully packed with restless fans. The average age roughly 15 years old I believe, squeezed in the front and slightly bored parents with that what-am-I-doing-here face waiting in the back of the room. Definitely, not a busy night for the bar staff.

Rat Boy, aka Jordan Cardy, is well known for his raucous behaviour with his shows being even more mental than his personality. As I said earlier, I thought I’d seen it all. I will not make any hasty assumptions ever again.

Emerging on stage to the howling sound of sirens and wearing satire masks Rat Boy‘s gang kick off with the latest single Move. And it doesn’t take long for the crowd to scream as loud as their lungs allow. Opening track and I’ve already managed to count a few bodies flying over, one fainting girl and pretty nice beginnings of a proper mosh pit.

Moreover, we’re only on the opening track here and the band are told to stop playing. Apparently, the crowd action has been too crazy for the security what resulted in showing some red cards. Another take then.

Starting again does not make it any less crazy, obviously. Between next tracks Splendid, Turnaround and Fire Alarm the unsettled Essex local moves from one side of the stage to another, running to its edge, tossing caricature cardboard cut-out [of a public figure I assume, but we’re not getting involved into politics] over to the audience and throwing himself on the floor. If I’m to mention just a few. Use your imagination.

The honesty of his lyrics and narrative style of his songs, political awareness as for such a young age and captivating charm of an early Jamie-T, all that find a susceptible ground to evolve on current music scene and its demographics.

The setlist is full of new material, Stick Up, Carry On and Get Over It get to be played but it’s evident the crowd goes mental during better known tracks such as Left for Dead and Wastman. At this point, I have moved on to the balcony and let me tell you – the view is outstanding. A few moshers doing their thing on both sides of the venue with the biggest one in the middle, jumping around, getting on each other’s shoulders. Not to forget, a few successful and a few unsuccessful stage invasions. Brilliant.

Finishing off with songs Sing On and Fake ID, Rat Boy makes a stand proving his craziness will not stop any time soon.

After throwing his shoes at the audience, the young artist prepares for a big jump and then he’s gone. Crowd surfing at its best. Being devoured by the crowd and disappearing in the screams for at least ten minutes, he safely emerges back on the surface. With a help of his fellow band members and the crew Rat Boy is being dragged back on the stage and after giving the last wave, he vanishes while the sirens fill up the room once again.

And all those screams will echo for a long, long time..

Photo: Kasia Osowiecka