Injury Reserve return to Leeds with intense, artsy performance of mayhem at Belgrave
The last time I saw Injury Reserve in Leeds was 2019, at Headrow House (with Jockstrap supporting). It was a fun, intimate gig but also very artsy, flashy and hectic. Groggs was still with us in 2019, before tragically passing away less than a year later.
We didn’t know what to expect going in this time, expecting a much darker, moodier setlist, given their experimental opus By the Time I Get to Phoenix, and the passing of Groggs. The opening act, Body Meat, provided a pretty unexpectedly heavy set of glitch pop and electronic music, setting the scene for the mayhem we were yet to witness.
It must be incredibly difficult touring whilst mourning Groggs’ death, so it was expected that he wasn’t really mentioned much per se, as it may still be too hard to talk about, but they let his verses play out as people silently listened to the words from the MC we lost far too soon. I got to speak to Groggs after the show in 2019 and told him how much his verse on Keep On Slippin’ meant to me, and he was very grateful.
By the Time I Get to Phoenix was mostly finished before Groggs’ passing. In a statement they said…
“Once the tracklist came together and we started to make sense of it, one of the last phone conversations we had with Groggs was over his love for the repurposing of Isaac Haye’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” to title the album. Shortly thereafter we were struck with his loss and of course everything was put on hold, but eventually, we regathered and felt most comfortable finishing this album we had made as it still resonated fully (in some respects even taking on what felt like haunting pre-echoes) and above all else stayed true to his constant insistence while recording to simply “make some weird shit.”
Continuing…
“All this said obviously this album is dedicated to Jordan Alexander Groggs, aka Stepa J. Groggs with one p better get it right. Typing here feels small in the space of your real physical absence but you, your voice and your words continue to echo around us all thru these recordings and so many others and everything else. Thank you for your time, we love and miss you, of course of course.
As the show opened with the incredible album opener Outside, and then following with Superman, it was clear we were getting a much darker show. With hypnotic, blinding lights, distortion, and nothing but noise transitioning between tracks, it was abrasive, at times uncomfortable, but necessary. Mosh pits opened for the more rageful tracks, like Footwork In A Forest Fire, as one man forced opened the circle like he was parting the seas, but the crowd of devoted fans were all looking out for each other, helping out people that fell down amid the chaos (including myself). SS San Francisco was a particular highlight, with its mysterious growling bass and wacky ZeelooperZ feature. Knees was a particularly hard listen, as was Top Picks For You, as Ritchie grieves a loved one’s loss, which is even more painful to hear after Groggs’ passing. They pretty much played the album front to back, and I was honestly expecting it to end there, in tribute to Groggs – his last contributions to Injury Reserve, and their last album as a trio.
When the albums outro Bye Storm played, I thought they may bow out, considering that, although the album was only 41 minutes, it felt more like an hour with its lengthy transitions between each song which could be experimental IDM cuts in their own right. Thinking it was the end of the gig, they performed what was more like madness in a sensory deprivation room full of hundreds rather than a concert – which sounds like a very contradictory statement, but I don’t know how else to describe it. It felt like performance art, the DJ masterfully created an almost theatrical experience. You could never fully see Ritchie’s face, lights constantly flashing around him and creating a silhouette for the whole 90 minutes.
Whilst Floss may still be my favourite of their records due to the sheer amount of essential Injury Reserve tracks, By the Time I Get to Phoenix is by far their most poignant, accomplished, and courageous LP. Luckily, as Bye Storm came to a close, and it seemed like a curtain’s close moment, we were instead unsettlingly transitioned into their self-titled LP’s What a Year It’s Been, which features some of their best production and some of Groggs’ most touching words, all played out as the crowd fell silent once again to reflect on his passing.
We were then treated to TTKTV as the crowd erupted into cheers. Following on from there, there was some outrageously heavy breakbeat/breakcore transition into All This Money, which was an absolutely insane moment of the night – and everyone knew what was coming next as those renowned keys from Oh Shit!!! began to be tinkered with by the DJ. Mosh pits formed and people were battered to screams of “OH SHIT”, as they sped up the track to increase the pandemonium. They closed the set with one of their hardest tracks, Jailbreak The Tesla, which was equally crazy, and almost the perfect ending to the night…
Until Ritchie, like the last time I saw them perform (but this time it was completely unnecessary), went on a rant against the crowd who had just gone crazy for them for an hour and a half. Ritchie spoke about people talking during opening acts, which is a big problem at gigs, it’s disrespectful for the artist putting their all into their performance, but when we were watching Body Meat it was so loud and abrasive it was hard for anyone to talk. We were right near the front too; you couldn’t hear anyone talking. It seems like, whilst a very talented rapper, Ritchie’s temper is often tampered with quite easily, whether he’s ranting or smacking people’s phones away, he’s came off this way when I’ve met him, he’s appeared often blunt and rude in interviews, and I’m not sure if it’s intentional, but there is a crowd of hundreds screaming your own lyrics back at you, don’t end the night with your ego getting in the way.
Jailbreak The Tesla, was such a high, and there was unrivalled energy throughout the night, but Ritchie’s words did bring the mood down, and those were his parting words, whilst he was thankful for the fans that didn’t talk throughout their set, it felt like the wrong place, wrong time to say it – an Instagram story afterwards? Maybe, but your parting words after one of your most acclaimed tracks? No. Dismissing the crowd that paid money for you, who were all clearly, very big Injury Reserve fans (unlike recent instances with Steve Lacy and Kid Cudi), seemed disrespectful to me. It was a very cinematic performance, so there was no crowd interaction until the very end – and they weren’t the kindest of words, when first hand from the audience, I know that the audience was not being disrespectful – maybe it’s happened at previous gigs, but not at Belgrave. Whilst Ritchie is clearly appreciative enough to meet fans afterwards and thank them, he does have a tendency to rub people the wrong way.
Despite this, I wish there was room for a few more classics like Yo, S On Ya Chest, Girl With The Gold Wrist, Boom (X3), See You Sweat, Jawbreaker, and Three Man Weave, but this is a minor complaint for a mostly fantastic gig, my eyes can still see the stage lights when I blink, it was pure anarchy, but an unforgettable night.
Find Injury Reserve tickets here.
