Originating from Sacramento, California in 2015, Destroy Boys is a punk-rock band whose energy is contagious, drawing in mosh pits of fans that want to release all their frustrations in the midst of the troubling events within society. As part of their US/UK tour, they performed in the O2 Institute in Birmingham on January 24th, letting local fans kick off the year to Alexia Roditis’ dynamic vocals.

Roditis began the show by assuming the crowd care-taker role, reminding that everyone is entitled to take breaks and start mosh pits only if they want to. Destroy Boys started the set with the fan-favourite ‘Crybaby’. A part of me wished that they left this moshable track till later in the show, since at the start the crowd was still warming up and it took a couple of tracks for everyone to begin dancing together. 

They then moved into ‘Drink’, a song from their previous album. Open Mouth, Open Heart, which I was personally very excited for. The presence of the band felt intimately close to the audience, and it felt like a moment shared between everyone experiencing the music. Another track that drew in a big moshpit was ‘Fences’. Perhaps it was Roditis’s foreword at the start of the gig that created the very safe environment, but even as people pushed around, jumping up and down to guitarist Violet Mayugba’s aggressive riffs, they still managed to look out for one another, picking up those who fell to the floor. 

One thing that’s certainly worth highlighting is their crowd interaction. In line with punk music’s reputation of political consciousness, Destroy Boys took breaks between the tracks as time to bring attention to global events. They repeated statements such as ‘Free Palestine’ and reiterating that freedom is not achieved until violence comes to a complete end. Mayugba brought attention to the recent inauguration of Donald Trump, putting it into simple terms: ‘He’s such a f*cking loser!’ Many chanted along, clearly embracing the message of using music as a platform for the discussion of social justice. 

Destroy Boys also touched on topics of gender and feminism, which felt reflexive of the themes featured in their latest album Funeral Soundtrack #4. In their interview with Rocksound, Roditis says ‘I’ve been non-binary and our fans know that, but I wanted to make a big thing about it’, and their screaming vocals and strong stage presence certainly put the spotlight on that message. 

As the band closed the gig, the crowd called for an encore, and Destroy Boys certainly came through. Concluding the show with Roditis’s solo of ‘Piedmont’ and the famous track ‘I Threw Glass at My Friend’s Eyes and Now I’m on Probation’, the raw energy from the stage filled up the venue with a strong sense of release. The gig established the band as outspoken and fun, bringing in enthusiasm from an audience of mixed ages but a shared love for contemporary punk.

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