ARM’S LENGTH TAKEOVER SOUTHAMPTON WITH A VENUE UPGRADE AND MORE

⭐⭐⭐⭐(4/5)

ARM’S LENGTH AT ENGINE ROOMS, SOUTHAMPTON
PHOTOCREDIT: **CHARIS LYDIA BAGIOKI**

It is no secret that the grassroots touring scene is suffering - loss of income, venue downgrades, zero profit. But every cloud has a silver lining and Arm’s Length were the ones who brought on this meaningful shift: with a tour full of sold-out shows and venue upgrades, and a stacked support bill. The band is one of the few who managed to make a step into expansion into a larger room that still holds intimacy, and Engine Rooms allowed the emotional weight of the music to scale upward without losing definition.

Opening the night, literally before the doors had even fully opened, were Ben Quad. Emerging from the modern Midwest emo scene, the band’s ethos is rooted in disruption, tempo shifts and vocals that feel perpetually on the verge of collapse. Though I was not early enough to catch most of their set, the crowd was primed towards the end - not explosive, but definitely restless. The band that followed Ben Quad however showed Southampton how it’s done. Opening up the moshpits from the third song onwards, Shoreline were a perfect followup to Ben Quad to escalate the energy. Their background in European punk scenes meant that their songs were concise, direct, emotional and engineered to move bodies and bring chaos. The crowd’s response sharpened here, as the singalongs increased, and the whole room released their energy. Their setlist consisted of songs such as ‘Be Here’, ‘Painless’, ‘Sheboygan’ and ‘Blood God’, before the band asked the crowd to choose their ending piece. With a promise to come back and a few guitar picture-perfect jumps, Shoreline exited the stage with a bang.

The room had fully warmed up by the time Koyo came on stage. Their roots in the Long Island hardcore scene bring them an emphasis on collectivity - not just between band members - but between band and audience. Their set leaned heavily on crowd participation, and Southampton was now in a state where a response was immediate. The voices rose, the bodies surged forward and the barrier between Koyo and their fans completely broke down. Their songs were less raw and had a lot of melodies, which kept the crowd engaged, dancing and swinging, especially during ‘moriches’, ‘life’s a pill’, ‘you’re on the list’ and ‘anthem’. Finally, their set ended with the songs that got the largest reactions of the set ‘mile a minute’ and ‘ten digits away’. The band thanked their audience multiple times for the support, as the room now was fully prepared for the headliner.

When Arm’s Length fully emerged, the significance of the venue upgrade became clear. Their music lives on nuance: the lyrics are specific and powerful, the riffs are dynamic and the emotions run high. A smaller room would amplify intimacy, but a bigger one offered much more to the audience that seemed to have been there ready to deliver back to the band. Arm’s Length carved out a space in the scene by refusing melodrama in favour or precision, with enough loud moments to remind everyone why they are masters of their own little space. The crowd went wild during the set - constant jumping, crowdsurfing even during the slower songs, dancing all the way to the back and the singalongs that were louder than the band itself at moments. The setlist was also a feat for the fans of the band, with ‘Funny Face’ opening the chaotic set, through to ‘You ominously End’, ‘The Weight’, ‘Fatal Flaw’, ‘Garamond’ and ‘Halley’. There were moments when I genuinely felt like I was missing out for not being more prepared on singing along to the band, because the whole room was there to scream back and dance like there is no tomorrow. The songs flowed well into each other, with the band announcing that they had a lot more to play, and the set flew by. Ending on a high with ‘Morning Person’, ‘The World, and ‘Overture’, it was clear that the crowd was won over completely by the performance.

Lots of fun was had, 10/10 would recommend.