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The Piece Hall’s penultimate show of its summer series was also arguably the most hotly anticipated of the lot, with Baltimore hardcore band Turnstile playing their only UK headline show of the year at the historic cloth hall. As it turned out, it was also the best show of the summer by a country mile.
London-based hardcore punks Dynamite kicked things off with a bang, delivering a set of short, sharp, fist-to-the-face tunes, with a revolving cast of guest vocalists appearing throughout. Their sound was brutal: stabbing drums, furious vocals and some exquisite Kerry King-esque guitar work underpinning it all.
It was the perfect shock-to-the-system start to the night, culminating in frontman Alex diving headfirst into the audience – and losing his hat somewhere in the chaos.
As the lights went down for the headliners, the feeling that something special was about to happen was palpable. But before Turnstile appeared, there was time to pay homage to the Queen of Country, with Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers’ Islands in the Stream booming over the PA to everyone’s delight. The sight and sound of a courtyard full of hardcore punk fans singing along was a thing of beauty, and somehow set the tone perfectly. For all the chaos that was about to unfold, there was a real feeling of love in the air.
Brendan Yates told the crowd the band had been waiting a long time for this show – and they weren’t alone. Fans had travelled from far and wide to be there, and when the band finally launched into BIRDS, all that pent-up anticipation exploded at once.
From there, the show had everything: crushing riffs, circle pits, huge singalongs, hugs and moments of complete euphoria. Like Turnstile’s music itself, it worked on so many different levels. It wasn’t quite a religious experience, but it certainly felt like a spiritual one.
The combination of euphoric anthems and the unique, one-off nature of the night sparked moments of pure joy throughout the courtyard. Cameras picked out faces in the crowd and beamed them onto the giant screen behind the band, turning individual moments of release into something shared by thousands.
An epic cover of The Stone Roses’ I Wanna Be Adored was a special moment among many, but in truth it seems almost pointless trying to pick highlights from a show that rarely dipped below extraordinary. The Piece Hall can’t have witnessed many crowds like this one, with huge sections of the courtyard bouncing furiously as one throughout the night.
Closing as near to a perfect set as you’re ever likely to see were the glorious NEVER ENOUGH and T.L.C. (TURNSTILE LOVE CONNECTION) – two songs that seemed to sum up the entire night.
Because ultimately, that’s what this show was about: connection. The shared moments, the release, the chaos, the hugs and the sheer joy of being there together. For one night, Turnstile turned The Piece Hall into the biggest hardcore club in the country – and everyone inside it felt like they were part of the same thing.
There have been some incredible nights in this courtyard over the years, but this one felt different.
This one will go down in Piece Hall history.