Live Review + Gallery | DITZ @ The Garage, London

Matthew Wellham

Photographer & Filmmaker based in East London. A lover of the post-punk and alternative movement, he can usually be found at the back of the Shacklewell Arms or Moth Club, camera in one hand and a beer in the other.

DITZ solidify themselves as one of the most visceral and wildly brilliant bands that have emerged in the last decade

Brighton-based DITZ return to London as part of their mammoth EU and UK tour, bringing their ferocious sophomore album ‘Never Exhale‘ to fans across the continent.

DITZ are known for immersive and intimate live shows, where lead singer C. A. Francis can often be found wandering the crowds, clambering up sub stacks, and sprawling above the heads of swirling fans below. In Islington’s 600-capacity The Garage, I’d say Francis managed to come within touching distance of nearly every single person.

Opening the night was Butch Kassidy, a London-based act that’s been popping up here and there for over seven years, but still has only one brain-melting single, ‘Heath’, released back in 2021. As the room continued to fill with fans, Butch Kassidy delivered a 40-minute set of ambient, moody, almost shanty-esque tones, with flashes of metal and thrash thrown into the mix. What they created was a whirlwind of noise that enveloped the room, as a steady stream of fans poured in.

At 9.15, it was time for DITZ to take their place on centre stage. As the lights dimmed and the buzz of the crowd dropped to a murmur, the atmospheric and anxiety-inducing ‘V70’ burst through the system. As the track continued to reverberate through the floor, the band emerged to an explosion of applause. Instantly, they threw themselves into ‘Taxi Man’, a riffy, bass-heavy track that allows Anton Mocock on lead guitar to scream out high notes in a call and response between the two instruments. Francis, as expected, climbed over our heads and found themselves standing tall on the palms of the smiling crowd below. They stood unwavering above, their daisy-patterned summer dress becoming a beacon in the hazy fog of the stage, before diving down to surf the crowd, howling out the lyrics: “So I get back into the car and I tell him to keep on driving”.

As Francis made their way back onto the stage, the band shifted gear into my personal favourite track: ‘Four’. The song is post-punk at its core, with lyrics that refer to the commodification of queer culture: “Could it work in pink?”. Underneath these provocative lyrics are progressive, distortion-drenched guitar riffs that swirl around the room as the inevitable mosh pits begin to break out. This is DITZ at their best. Francis stands on the photo pit barrier, wagging their finger in a circular motion, conducting the crowd that is now a spinning cyclone steadily building to the pulse of the music.

Throughout the entire show, it felt like Francis was in complete control. You couldn’t help but be transfixed by them, finding your eyes following as they walked through the crowd, at one point making their way to the bar at the back of the venue, patiently waiting as a member of the audience ordered them a double on the rocks. Francis continued to scream thought-provoking lyrics down the microphone as the band worked their way through a healthy mix of their two records, The Great Regression and Never Exhale.

Building on that sense of control, DITZ continued to dictate the pace all night, with tracks like ‘Smells Like Something Died In Here’ offering the audience a second to catch their breath and soak in the talent of those before them, before throwing everyone back into the sweaty chaos with ‘The Body Is A Structure’ and its heavy, gnarly themes.

As the night drew to a close, DITZ thanked the crowd in attendance, commenting on how their music usually resonates better in Europe (I can completely understand how they would do really well in countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany), but that they’ve historically struggled to connect with people in the UK. However, with the new record and nights like tonight at The Garage, there seems to be a well-deserved shift in this band’s fortunes closer to home.

The term post-punk is thrown around a lot these days and has often lost some of its true form, but DITZ are a refreshing take on the scene. Their lyrics are sharp, poetic, and tackle themes in queer culture that are too often overlooked. Combined with their raw, dynamic live performances, they are an artist that stands tall on the shoulders of post-punk’s best.