A Beautiful Noise Disaster: Militarie Gun Tear Through Manchester’s Gorilla
- ANDI CALLEN
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Gorilla, Manchester – 13th July 2026
WORDS HARRY K / IMAGES ANDI CALLEN
A Beautiful Noise Attack in the Heart of the City
Some gigs feel like entertainment. Others feel like a necessary release valve. Militarie Gun’s night at Gorilla in Manchester was the latter — 55 minutes of noise, adrenaline and controlled chaos that left the room looking like it had survived something rather than simply attended something.
Walking into Gorilla, there was already that familiar underground feeling hanging in the air. The kind of atmosphere where everyone knows they are about to witness something loud, unpredictable and slightly dangerous. No giant production, no polished rock-star nonsense — just a packed room, a low ceiling, and a band ready to throw itself into the fire.
And that is exactly what Militarie Gun did.
The Los Angeles band have always existed somewhere between hardcore’s fury and alternative rock’s melody. They carry the aggression of punk’s old guard but refuse to be boxed in by it. Their songs hit hard, but there is always a hook hiding underneath the distortion, a moment of vulnerability buried beneath the noise.
Live, that balance becomes even more powerful.
From the opening blast of “Fill Me With Paint”, the room was instantly locked in. The band moved with the intensity of a hardcore outfit, but the songs had enough shape and melody to pull everyone along. There was no wasted movement, no pointless posing — just a group of musicians completely consumed by the moment.
The set was a perfect snapshot of where Militarie Gun are right now. Tracks from Life Under the Gun sat comfortably alongside newer material from God Save The Gun, showing a band expanding their sound without losing the urgency that got them here.
The Manchester crowd was treated to a relentless run including “Maybe I’ll Burn My Life Down,” “Think Less,” “Do It Faster,” “Very High,” “Will Logic,” “My Friends Are Having a Hard Time,” “God Owes Me Money,” “Throw Me Away,” “Never Fucked Up Once,” “Big Disappointment,” “Wake Up and Smile,” “Thought You Were Waving,” “Kick,” “B A D I D E A” and more.
Frontman Ian Shelton has the kind of presence that cannot be manufactured. He doesn’t look like someone performing anger — he looks like someone trying to wrestle it into something meaningful. Every song feels like it matters. Every shout from the stage feels like it is aimed directly at the people in front of him.
There was humour, frustration, intensity and a strange sense of togetherness running through the whole night. That is the magic of great punk shows: hundreds of people briefly forgetting everything outside the venue and becoming one loud, sweaty organism.
One of the highlights was the way the band refused to slow down. “Do It Faster” hit like a punch to the chest, while “Kick” sent the room into complete meltdown. The fact that both tracks appeared again in the set only seemed to underline the point — when something works, sometimes you just have to let it happen again.
The encore energy wasn’t about nostalgia or looking backwards. Militarie Gun are not a band trying to recreate punk’s past. They are taking its spirit — the frustration, the honesty, the refusal to stay quiet — and dragging it into the present.
By the time the final notes disappeared, Gorilla felt less like a venue and more like a pressure cooker that had finally been opened. People walked out into the Manchester night with ringing ears, tired legs and the feeling that they had been part of something real.
Militarie Gun didn’t just play a show.
They started a riot of feeling.
SETLIST
Fill Me With Paint
Maybe I’ll Burn My Life Down
Think Less
Pressure Cooker (Dazy cover)
Do It Faster
Very High
Will Logic
My Friends Are Having a Hard Time
God Owes Me Money
Throw Me Away
Ain’t No Flowers
Disposable Plastic Trash
Never Fucked Up Once
World’s Always Burning
Big Disappointment
Wake Up and Smile
Thought You Were Waving
Kick
Kick (reprise)
B A D I D E A
Do It Faster (reprise)
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