Gig Review: Protomartyr at Rescue Rooms

Strange time of year, this, for indoor gigs. With the majority of bands understandably making hay while the sun shines at festivals from Kendal Calling to Kuala Lumpur - it tends to be slim pickings for gig goers looking for some traditional sweatbox action in August. Enter Detroit post-punk behemoths, Protomartyr.

Meaning the first martyr for a cause, this Michigan quintet have been kicking about since 2010 and arrive in Nottingham to promote their sixth offering, Formal Growth In The Desert, as part of a small UK tour.

Coolly dressed in a smart black suit and a dark, floral print shirt, Joe Casey understated insouciance is strangely mesmerising - it’s difficult not to leap to similarities with countryman and fellow anti-establishment noisik Frank Black in appearance and demeanour.

Casually working his way through bottles of Camden Hells and pints of beer throughout, the 46-year-old fronts a whip-tight quartet behind him. Drummer Alex Leonard is a powerhouse propelling Protomartyr’s gothic punk tones across wave after wave of Greg Ahee’s darkly melodic guitar licks.

From propulsive opener Make Way to the staccato majesty of Polocrilex Kid and The Joy Division-esque Pontiac 87 (well, you can’t hail from Motor City and not christen a song after a classic muscle car!), it’s a relentless assault on the senses with little let up. 

(Small) talk is clearly cheap for Casey too, with little interaction as there is work (and drinking) to be done - the five-piece don’t mess about and it makes for exhilarating stuff. By the time The Devil In His Youth is aired from 2015’s The Agent Intellect during the encore, a well-attended Rescue Rooms is a sweaty mass of nodding heads, while the superfans at the front get to work in the mosh pit. As midsummer evenings go, it was certainly an august one in every sense of the word.

Protomartyr performed at Rescue Rooms on 10 August 2023

@protomartyrband