LIVE: Ho99o9 - Manchester Soup Kitchen, 09.12.15

During the Summer of 2015 I had the pleasure of meeting the band known as Ho99o9. They were relaxed, laid back and not demanding in the slightest. They laid back in their trailer with a smoke and a can of beer talking about life in Los Angeles. Their two band members, theOGM and Eaddy, were cool in discussing about the awards they had previously won. They essentially batted away the prestige of winning both Rolling Stones’ “10 New Artists You Need to Know” in 2014 and The Guardian’s “New Band of the Week”. Then they took to the stage Remember that cool, calm and collective personality I described earlier? Well that was completely thrown out the window.

So here we are, four months later, and Ho99o9 are lighting up Manchester. I can’t draw comparison between Ho99o9 in person and their stage presence; They are just two completely separate entities. They run around the stage, blasting out their lyrics with such harshness and velocity. TheOGM often performs front rolls around the stage whilst Eaddy plays samples of professional wrestlers from the 1980s. To anyone who is a wondering, the samples are from Road Warrior Animal: “What a rush!” The environment is raucous to say the least. Gone are my days of being near the front and being kicked half to death. I can see flashes of the band between the sea of waving arms and limbs. The odd glimpse of theOGM is visible through the mesh of bodies colliding into each-other at force. The gig resembles a punk band. The pace is only slowed with the track ‘Bone Collector’, which is unopposed by the audience as it is a fan favourite.

The dark blend of punk and hip hop is a rare entity that is rarely encountered in the music industry. This risk might be the key that is responsible for the bands wild success level. The eccentricity of the duo is fantastic. They blend together well and keep hold of a ridiculously high level of energy throughout their whole set. I cannot even fathom where they get their energy from, they legitimately don’t stop going. Their fourteen song setlist is impressive and showcases the bands ability amazingly. If you have neither heard or seen Ho99o9 I cannot recommend seeing a band more. The energy cannot be rivalled and the experience of the gig is phenomenal.