Seeing Kneecap Live is Parful

Ever since I secured a ticket for Kneecap back in July, I had been tossing and turning in my sleep, having nightmarish visions of DJ Provai landing on me as he stage dived and being crushed in the inevitable mosh pit. But, to my delight, I was not crushed nor landed on when I went to see the Irish hip-hop trio.

Obviously, Kneecap have been under the spotlight a lot this past year, from Glastonbury gate to Mo Chara’s charges (which thankfully, have since been dropped). But I cannot applaud the group more for being the lead example that musicians should be for both their peers and audiences. Kneecap are fearless. They stand their ground. And to be quite frank, they simply do not give a shit. Some would argue that their voicing of particular opinions is just an act, but trust me, once you see them on that stage for nearly two hours, it’s so clear how much they truly value standing up for their beliefs and protesting against the injustices currently occurring in the world. And they are incredible at using their platform (being both their social media and their stage) to do all of this. Throughout their spectacular performance, they took time to address some of the political issues the world is facing right now, both engaging and educating their audience throughout the night, as well as entertaining them.

To join them on this tour was Miss Kaninna: a proud Aboriginal Tasmanian rapper, and she was the perfect fit to support Kneecap. She, just like the guys, used that stage to inform us all of some of the political issues that have arisen in Australia. I don’t know about anyone else who was in the crowd that night, but I’ll hold my hands up and admit that I’m not particularly educated on the state of Australia and Tasmania, so to have an individual use her stage to tell us of all this was really eye-opening.

I found Miss Kaninna to be such an empowering and inspirational performer for everyone, but particularly women. My favourite song that she performed was ‘Dawg In Me,’ which was about protesting and fighting for your beliefs as a woman. It was very enlightening to know that despite her being a famous rapper, she also still has trouble standing up for what’s right, just like the rest of us. But like she says, and like we all have, “I got that dawg in me.”

She also revealed to us that she was the first Aboriginal woman to be nominated for a debut single at the ARIA Music Awards with her song ‘Blak Britney’! I hadn’t heard of Miss Kaninna before this show, but now I hope I keep hearing more and more of her. She’s an incredible artist, with such a strong stage presence. I am praying that the fact she lives the other side of the world won’t stop her from coming back to the UK soon!

When we got into the hall after doors opened, the room wasn’t that full. I was in a huge dilemma of where to stand. The middle was, of course, off limits- I’ve just recovered from sciatica, I don’t want to slip another disc from a mosh pit! I also didn’t want to stand at the front, for fear of being crushed against the barrier. But at the same time, I really did want to see Mo Chara, Moglai Bap, and DJ Provai up close… I ended up at the front, on the side, so I could still enjoy from the front, but not suffer the wrath of the pit.

Just after 9, the lights went down and Kneecap’s 3CAG began to play: what I would argue to be the best song for them to come out to. It’s climax certainly got the crowd ready for them, and once they stepped out, I was immediately deafened by the screams of 3,000 people around me. And then they kickstarted straight into ‘ITS BEEN AGES.’

Luckily, the guys treated us and started with some of their calmer songs (well, as calm as it gets for Kneecap songs, anyway). But once we reached ‘Your Sniffer Dogs Are Shite,’ I knew it was time for me to lock in. To be honest, though, the crowd really wasn’t as rowdy as I thought it was going to be. Obviously, it’s different seeing videos of crowds at massive outdoor gigs and then being in a much smaller audience in a contained room, but I still thought it was going to be insane. Don’t get me wrong, they were still mental, as I discovered later on, but it wasn’t even half as bad as I thought.

As a huge Orbital fan, I, of course, love ‘Sayonara,’ so I did get my rave on a little bit. And that’s what I love about Kneecap’s catalogue! They have some songs that are purely rap, some that are classed more as hip-hop, they have some tracks where they can combine their lyrics with the sound of electronic, techno, and drum and bass, and even collaborate with huge indie artists like the lead singer of Fontaines DC! There is seriously a song out there for everyone from Kneecap.

The highlight for me, however, was hearing ‘Parful’ live: my favourite Kneecap song. It has that reminiscent 90s rave sound that I cannot get enough of. It was just DJ Provai on stage for this one, and he was standing on the barrier, singing with everyone. I was very jealous that I wasn’t in the front centre of the crowd…

I’ve never been to a rap gig before, so I had no idea what to expect, but coming out of it, there’s some aspects where I much prefer them to concerts where you see just a band. With a group, each member has their own spot on the stage: drummer at the back, guitarists on the side, singer front and centre, and it can all be a bit static. But with Kneecap, the three of them were so interactive with the audience. Each side of the crowd, including mine, had all three members come up to them, waving, talking, and even taking phones to film themselves on stage! It’s so rare you have that kind of experience with a band.

Kneecap ended with ‘THE RECAP,’ one of their heavier songs, with a raging drum and bass beat. The guys were chanting, “open up the pit, open up the pit,” and I turned to my friend. She, a mosh and crowd surfing expert, asked me if I wanted to get in there… and of course I had to say yes, as I saw Provai work his way through the crowd to the middle of the room. I’m so grateful that I went in in the end, because I have never experienced something as insane as that in my entire life! To be shoved around for three minutes, screaming and jumping, with THE DJ Provai crowd surfing right above your head was just so surreal. And I’d do it again in a heartbeat!

I’m going to predict that Kneecap’s next tour might hit some arenas. I’m already aware that the Academy was one of the smaller venues that they played on the tour, but surely they have to upgrade to arenas next! Over the past few years, they’ve clearly grown huge, so it’s definitely a possibility. Let’s just hope I can learn Gaelic by the time they tour again…