Friday night is the first time Destroy Boys performs in The Netherlands, even though the band has existed for about eight years already. It’s a bit of a weird night because usually, concerts start at about 8 PM, but tonight’s start time is 10 PM, which honestly makes for the perfect Friday night activity.
The Dutch alternative scene is a bit small, at least compared to the crowds the UK might gather. It shows in the type of venues bands like tonight’s act occupy. The Paradiso Bovenzaal is not even very easily found, if it wasn’t for some of the crowd members leading the way, I wouldn’t have found it as fast as I did. This is to say, even though The Netherlands doesn’t have a big scene, they do take up space, hidden from plain view, just like the venue today.
Destroy Boys starts the gig with an announcement: it’s HOT in the room, so everyone needs to go get water in the back if they feel like they need it because they didn’t want to see anyone faint tonight. As soon as they started, you felt the floor of the small room actually move, making the temperature rise with each jump as well.
For having such a small space, it’s filled up quite well: the show tonight also sold out as the first of the bands’ tour in Europe. After a couple of songs, lead singer Alexia Roditis jokes she’s ‘sweating like a pig’, and the crowd feels exactly the same. During one of the many mosh pits of the day, a lot of pieces of clothing magically left the audience as well, in an attempt to feel less sweaty. Anything to combat the heat radiating from the floor.
Next to talking about how ridiculously hot it is, they also touch upon some more serious topics. Guitarist Violet Mayugba talks openly about being used by an older man before multiple songs, and it’s apparent the band uses their music as an outlet for their experiences- both in the industry and out Alexia speaks about governing bodies not working for the people, and start an anti-fascist chant before starting the song For What. All throughout the night, a lot of the evening is focused on women, having a mostly female fanbase as well, but there’s a welcoming and loving environment everyone should feel good in.
Bands like these will make the difference in getting the alternative scene to a healthier place, and hopefully, it will grow with the bands to occupy more space (both figuratively and literally with air conditioning please), no longer hidden in the shadows. Check out the pictures below!
