Live Review: Life of Agony & Second Function – Club Academy, Manchester

Life of Agony | website | facebook | twitter |

Support: Second Function | website

Club Academy, Manchester | March 19, 2016

It had been a long time since the UK had seen Life of Agony. Seven years on from their Damnation appearance and over a decade since their last full UK tour. Because of this, and their recent reunion with original vocalist Mina Caputo in her first stint with the band since gender reassignment, and because of this reunion, that there was a lot of interest on these three dates.

Support for these shows came in the form of Swiss alternative rockers Second Function, a strange choice as they were a bit of an unknown and many people didn’t seem too impressed in the lead up to the show. A small crowd had turned up early so it was a quiet start to the evening, but the band didn’t let this hold them back and instead, they went out to impress and gain a whole new audience. Giving their all onstage, offering a free copy of their EP to anyone who had liked the band on Facebook, and generally having a great time. They may have walked onstage largely unknown, but they definitely left with a few more friends.

Second Function

The excitement was building as the venue filled up. As soon as the band walked onstage and opened with ‘River Runs Red’, the small venue erupted into a swarm of bodies and crowd surfers, and the pits opened up. The band tore through an almost flawless set list (the main flaw being 14 songs not being enough for tonight’s crowd) that showed why the band are held in such high regard. Mina was blown away by the energy and love shown to the band, most of the set was spent right on the very front edge of the stage or along the security barrier. She spent what little time between the songs thanking the crowd for being so supportive and kind to her and the band. The début album featured heavily, much to the delight of the crowd. ‘This Time’ and ‘Method of Groove’ both getting a great response. ‘Weeds’ was a highlight for me (it being one of my all-time favourite tracks), but it was ‘Through and Through’ that got the crowd chanting along with the “I’m Empty” line, which brought big smiles to each of the band members.

Life of Agony

Far too soon, the show was over, a great 65 minute show and great to see a band reconnecting with their fans so closely and enjoying every minute (at one point mid song Mina ran off stage to hug someone in the front row). It would have been nice to have a longer set list, but in all honesty, they could have played two sets tonight and we still would have wanted more. Despite the band’s trials over the years and splits and reunions, the band seemed really tight together tonight, and loving it more than ever. With an album due at some point this year, the interest caused by this short tour can only bode well. A massively important band to the development of NYHC and may other scenes since the early 90’s, it’s great to have them back, and time for them to get the respect that they deserve.