Punk will never die when there are bands like The Murder Capital keeping it alive and breathing.

Those in attendance at the Electric Ballroom on Friday night were in for a rollercoaster of emotions from the Dublin five-piece, The Murder Capital. Dressed in crisp, albeit flowing shirts, and cropped pants, there was an unofficial uniform in play.

The night started heavy with the boys taking the stage to open with tune More Is Less. Lead singer James  McGovern seemed to revel at screaming “More More More” at the crowd, and the crowd enjoyed screaming it back just as much.

There was no other way to describe the stage presence of lead James, other than swagger. He used all the space on the stage available to him during most of the set, and even enjoyed a smoke break between tracks. The crowd was nothing less than eating out of the palm of his hand.

The energy dipped slightly when the boys transitioned into Slowdance I and Slowdance II, played back to back. While a total hush fell over the room when the opening lines of On Twisted Ground made their way over the speakers. The energy in the room buzzed despite a pin drop being able to be heard. There were even those select few fans in the very front row who had shed a couple of tears. One front row fan also reached out to pass across a handwritten letter following the track, with James reading and clutching the note, and sharing a poignant moment with said fan. It is a rare skill to be able to illicit such emotion from fans, live show or not.

Things just escalated from there, with the drum heavy opening of Green & Blue indicating that the slowest elements of the night had concluded. Followed by Love, Love, Love, it was a set full of stepping stone tracks before peaking during the final two tracks Don’t Cling To Life and Feeling Fades. And peak they did. There was crowd surfing from both attendees and James alike. Punters were pulled over the front barrier by security endlessly. It did nothing to slow the band, and encouraged if anything.

One of the most important elements from the show were the fans. They came in all ages and genders, but belted out the lyrics to the songs all the same. If there is any key takeaway from a The Murder Capital show, is that you will be amongst your own kind, whatever that might be.

Photos: Lauren Clarke