The Dr. Martens ‘Stand Up For Something’ tour rolled into Stockholm last night. The organisers of this party were probably hoping for a bigger crowd than the one that eventually strolled into Debaser Medis on Wednesday, but the bands on show didn’t let the space at the back of the room put them off their game. First up on this triple bill were one of the most exciting acts in Stockholm right now, Moon City Boys, who, despite their name are not boys (it’s an all girl line-up), are probably not from the moon (although I didn’t take the time to find out whether this was definitively false, so maybe?) but are from the city. I think. Anyway, what they definitely are is very fucking good, as their set of lo-fi sludgy indie proves. Songs like ‘Rockets’ have powerful echoes of late, Loaded-era Velvet Underground, while the more up-tempo numbers could easily slot into the Captured Tracks catalogue.

Turbowolf arrive pretty determined to get the most out of the crowd. Their vocalist quickly demands that the crowd pack themselves into the front of the stage, and then the band proceed to sing, scream and riff them onto their wavelength. One particularly enthusiastic punter, who maintains a one-man moshpit throughout the entire gig, gets a hug from the band in appreciation of his efforts.

Finally, Gothenburg band Spiders wrap up the party. The band are effortlessly at home on stage and succeed in whipping up the crowd, which clearly includes a pretty substantial set of committed fans, into a frenzy. They blast through their set before the crowd’s demands pull them back onstage for an encore.

All in all, a pretty successful night.

Words & Photos: Austin Maloney.