Scarlxrd - O2 Academy, Birmingham 28.09.2018

I get to the gig nice and early, as I always do when collecting a photo pass to ensure there's no problems, and I can't help but notice how many fans are dressed for the night, everywhere you look someone is wearing Scarlxrd's signature surgeon mask or is donning jean chains as the Trap star often does. Support tonight comes from DJ 'Amazonica' and Scarlxrds own resident DJ 'Jacky P'.

The doors are at 6 tonight, which is unusually early seeing as the first act isn't on until 7.40. First up was DJ 'Amazonica', an Alt DJ from London, she delivers quite a diverse set, from Hip Hop classics such as 'Simon Says' by Pharahe Monch and 'Fix Up Look Sharp' by Dizzee Rascal to Marilyn Mansons 'The Beatiful People'. Although Scarlxrd has elements of Metal in his music I was still surprised to see just how well the heavier songs in Amazonicas set went down, songs like Slipknots 'Duality' and System of a Down's 'Chop Suey' cause absolute chaos.

Another surprise for me on the night is that there is no break between the artists sets, something I've never seen before, not sure if this is normal at this kind of show but I guess it helps keep the momentum going. As Amazonica leaves the stage on comes 'Jacky P', Scarlxrds very own DJ, who has a set of his own to warm the crowd up with. Jacky P' continues where Amazonica left off, with his set also heavily consisting of popular trap songs such as Lil Uze Vert's 'XO TOUR Llif3' and Lil Peep's 'Save That Shit' combined with Rock classics such as ACDC's 'Highway To Hell'.

The whole room erupts with a huge roar as Scarlxrd bursts on to the stage, as there is no break between sets it was hard to predict when I could go into the photo pit, so as soon as Scarlxrd made his entrance I dived in straightaway. It's hot in that photo pit - in fact I think the O2 Academy 2 has a reputation for getting ridiculously sweaty, but that doesn't stop Scarlxrd delivering each and every song at 100mph, headbanging as fast as you've ever seen. Jacky P is also very interactive with the crowd, getting on top of the barrier a couple of times and seems to be absolutely loving it.

The crowd lap up every song that Scarlxrd throws at them, 'BXILING PXINT' & 'Heart Attack' being two that went especially harder. We were also treated to a first live performance of 'BEZERK' that was released the same day of the show. At one point a fan yells 'PLAY HOW THEY JUDGE' to which Scarlxrd replies "How They What?" then proceeds to play the whole song. As the show comes towards the end Scarlxrd seems reluctant to leave the stage - "How long have we got left?" he asks before they play snippets of tracks to take them up to the 10pm curfew time. As I leave the absolute death-trap that is the Birmingham O2 Academy 2 (seriously, invest in some air conditioning guys!) one fan sums up the sweat fest perfectly "I feel like I've been swimming in my clothes man!"

Having been a fan of Marius for some time, it's amazing to see just how far Scarlxrd has taken him, and in such a short time as well. Expect to see the name Scarlxrd popping up more and more, with bigger venues also a certainty.

Scarlxrd - https://www.facebook.com/scarlxrd/

Jacky P

Amazonica - https://www.facebook.com/TheAmazonica/

Photos & Review - Sam Robinson Photography