After two years of the pandemic and largely socially distanced gigs, the scenes here feel surreal. Every inch of the sold-out, ram-packed venue hosts a heaving body. Hair is flailed and heads are banged. A succession of fans – many of them upside down, chunky footwear in the air – crowdsurf towards the stage, where they are helped down by security. Some people manage to actually get on the stage itself, launching themselves skyward back into the heaving throng.
The jubilant atmosphere is partly informed by this week’s abandonment of Covid restrictions – only the venue’s powerful new ventilation system suggests anything has changed since 2020 – but also reflects how the Baltimore, Maryland band have become arguably the current hardcore punk scene’s most exciting band. Turnstile certainly stepped up a level with last year’s eclectic third album, Glow On, which combines hardcore with elements of soul, psychedelia and at least one Latin-funk breakdown.
