Déjà Vega, New Century Locker. 7th November 2026

Tonight we’ve got an older band (not that old), with some new music, in a new venue, that’s part of an old one. Which is to say, Déjà Vega are banging out tunes from their new record in New Century’s new Locker Room. I love this venue and to now have this smaller capacity space, really does add a feather to its cap. I was expecting it to be smaller to be honest, but it holds 400 and doesn’t feel far off capacity. Déjà Vega, with two brilliant albums under their belt, have just remarkably released a third that keeps pace with its predecessors and it’s right in with the new stuff as Jack attacks the mic and brilliantly a theramim, before picking up the guitar to tear through ‘Crave’, it’s a blistering start. The sound in here is good and they’re fucking loud. They sound vital and violent on ‘Banshee’, a feeling as always that this only really makes sense live. The records are amazing, but get in a room with them and you witness them really let loose. The rhythm so solid, they can flex with ease. It’s beautiful. Come ‘You Only Like Me In Stars’, the pints are flying, the pit goes nuts, old blokes are crowd surfing! The guitar on ‘Chasing’ sounds mean. Jack always plays like his guitar’s trying to kill him, but tonight it’s really got teeth. The new stuff lands just as hard as the old. The record’s only been out a couple of weeks, but the faithful know every word of ‘Talk To Me’. The intro to ‘Can’t Stop’ is pure gold and one of my new favourites, honestly I’d be happy for it to lock in like this for another hour, but it’s no less brilliant as it detonates on Jack’s nod. I’ve seen them live a lot, but never sounding this deadly and never with a crowd this frenzied. A crowd feed off a band and vice versa. Midway through ‘Eyes of Steel’, one of the speakers packs up, they don’t stop and a few seconds later it explodes back into life and sounds fucking monumental, the crowd feel it and go nuts and so do the band. It’s one of those moments where a technical glitch hits a set, and triggers a gloriously unique moment. Pure euphoria. ‘Nightmares’ might be slower but it has tons of aggression. As we reach the midpoint with ‘Kontact 368’, it proves to be a trippy interlude monster. They’re leaning into a more electronic sound on the new stuff and I’m all for it. Don’t worry though, Mike’s bass sounds filthy on this. The buzz guitar riffs of ‘Techno Tom’ step us up a gear again, but I think everyone’s knackered. It doesn’t matter. The pit has morphed into a bobbing mass of joy, people holding one another up, smiling like idiots. ‘The Importance of Love’, it’s fair to say stands out a mile with its soft lament and stripped back feel. I’m not a fan (or at least it’s not yet grown on me) but it’s always good to try new things and it pairs well with ‘Outside Now’, as the neon strip lights fire and drunk blokes wobble and fall over. The energy lift for ‘Mr. Powder’ is insane. More surge forward to hit the pit as it goes off again. I love the new stuff, but it’s no surprise that the old faves kick hardest. It’s a fucking party in here! The security guy, doing his best to keep things safe all on his own, gets drawn into the dancing on ‘Can’t Wait for Another Life’, but makes his excuses and eases to the side. He looks worried as it kicks off during ‘Who Are We’, as pints and limbs fly, but fear not “we (really) are one”. The pit isn’t all kids, it’s quite comical to see the old lads getting stuck in, but everyone’s looking out for each other, as the guitars run wild and the cowbell kicks. They close with ‘The Test’ which gets its usual 15 minutes, although I think it finishes closer to 20, as we all strap the fuck in and hold on tight. Driving drums, that theremin being manhandled by the neck of a screaming guitar. Honestly this set is everything live music should be, completely free, expertly controlled. Déjà Vega, superb.