LEAP at The Joiners (12.5.2026) with Dear Tash supporting.
Always a pleasure to return to The Joiners. Previous notes on the venue here in one of my venue blogs: The Joiners. This evening I was conveniently on my way back from London on the train for this one – it’s a mile from the Central Station. Almost inconveniently, tonight is a promotion play-off second leg game at Southampton FC, a stone’s throw from The Joiners. I brush passed groups of visiting Middlesbrough fans down St Mary’s Road – in the end the game went to extra time and I managed to get out and back to the station in time (Southampton won after extra time).
This LEAP tour is taking in a lot of smaller venues and selling them out, as the tour ad indicates. They’ve been playing in Europe and looking at YouTube some of those are slightly bigger venues. Their debut LP, Entropy, was released in October last year and got noticed in the charts Germany, Austria and Switzerland. An independent release but they have recently signed with US punk/metal label Epitaph.
I bowl in not long after 7.30pm and Dear Tash comes on stage – she’s on the UK tour dates with LEAP. Bright and lively – highly mobile around the small stage and rocky sounds; really quite heavy rock at times. Quite a metal feel with that guitar sound – Pat Benetar’s name flashed through my mind. Probably didn’t flash through many minds as I seem to be about 40 years older than the average audience member tonight.
It’s a short set but I was impressed on a first hear – there’s a drummer, guitarist and Tash will play bass with much exuberance on some songs.
LEAP are on pretty early as well, for which I’m grateful with the big match on up the road.
I bought this ticket on a recommendation and wasn’t disappointed (cheers Tony). I’ve been listening to the debut LP and other Spotify tracks. Again, there are elements of early 80s rock, presented in a modern way and boy is this punchy.
They are straight out of the traps and in your face – let’s see those hands – let’s get that mosh going. This is an audience participation band. Front man Jack Scott has a huge presence and he’s bouncing. He’s joined by Adam Mason on guitar, Declan Brown on bass and Hector Cottam on drums. Exciting times for these lads.
Reading around, they are London based for now, but Jack having been in Edinburgh and South Africa before embarking on a band in Brighton. He really is the focus.
The sell-out crowd is largely 20 somethings and there are only a couple of faces that looked like my age group. They know what to expect – the hand go up for first time LEAP gig-goers but also the acknowledgement that they like the LP – and I daren’t venture to the front section in case I am swept up in the movement.
Some songs slow with a more pop or even some slightly rap influence on occasions, and the arms are going. Largely though it’s indie rock though less predictable. Reminds me a bit of The Hunna.
Sinking Feeling was perhaps the most familiar song from my pre-listening of the debut album.
They started in 2021 with the first release being One Million Pieces in 2022 (link to YouTube official video) – this is their big song I guess. It gets the build up and the crowd respect.
The video I grabbed – on my phone – was the 2024 release, Vision Of Us. This seemed more success than the phone pics tonight. This track has a bit of an echo of a Turnstile anthem. USA material? Maybe.. I can see it.
The set flew by and I was quite surprised when their time was up. Convenient though. A short sharp shock of a gig and off I go for the train, before the football fans come out.
One to watch and another good catch for Joiners.
Gigs with Ivan 