We find ourselves in Soho for night one of two Primal Scream shows. And what we discover is an absolutely ferocious trip through their beloved 2000 album “XTRMNTR”, loud, gritty, hypnotic, and completely out of control in the best possible way.
At the Outernet Live, Primal Scream did exactly that.
After stopping off at Tottenham Court Road, I head to the relatively new Outernet Live, which opened in 2022 on the site of the former music venue Astoria in central London.
I walk in, and the intimate feel of the 2,000-capacity venue hits you as The Paris Match kicks off the night to a fine start. The London-based group takes us on a journey, warming up the crowd while exploring jangly 70s vibes, and we are transported back to those early CBGB days. A cross between the Beach Boys, Queen, and the Stones. Their energy is incredible as they leap and jump around the stage so much that the keyboardist kicks his instrument over, but still ends the song triumphantly. The lively bunch mime, yelling into the crowd and dole out a handful of rich art-rock tracks for the audience to sink their teeth into.
Then it is time for the main event, the reason we are all here. Primal. Bloody. Scream.
Their landmark album “Screamdelica” in 1991 took over the alternative scene, bringing their psychedelic dance beats and blending them with their signature rock and soul roots. Their music morphed between genres over their career, always pushing boundaries and never settling on a single idea. But tonight, their sixth studio album gets the royal treatment. We are all here to witness the 26th Anniversary of Primal Scream’s 2000 record and hear XTRMNTR in full on this hallowed Tuesday night.
Frontman Bobby Gillespie casually strolls onto the stage with the rest of the band, clad in leather trousers and a black shirt, cuffs rolled up to the elbows, without ceremony. Looking cool, calm, and collected, he addresses the crowd: “Alright, London? You ready for this?” in his rich Glaswegian accent. The band jumps into life, launching into XTRMNTR with Gillespie’s intense energy, wandering across the stage with that familiar detached swagger, his trademark sneering vocals cutting through the noise. The immense LED screens glare out into the venue. Now, I was somewhere else entirely. For a moment I wasn’t here in London in 2026, but transported somewhere else entirely. Next, the back catalogue of one of the most influential bands around.
“Accelerator” and “Exterminator” came across as a vicious, urgent force, while “Pills” and the sprawling instrumental wash “Blood Money” kept the tension simmering. Many of tonight’s tracks are cut with both old and new visuals, those of “Swastika Eyes” in particular depicting atrocities happening across the world. What is shown is impactful and powerful while still complementing this incredible album. The backdrop captures the crowd’s attention, becoming the main focus amid the thrashing guitars. As the track ebbs towards its final moments, the band turns towards the screen, letting the music fall away beneath the starkness of the message: “Stop Genocide – End Apartheid – Free Palestine.” The gesture is simple but striking, leaving the words to occupy the space long after the last notes have faded.
An instrumental passage follows, offering another brief change of pace. Bobby Gillespie steps away and allows the rest of the band to occupy the spotlight before returning with the warning: “The boys are going to blow your minds. But once again, enjoy.” What follows is the freewheeling, jazz-charged “MBV Arkestra (If They Move Kill ’Em)”; the band tore open the space around them, full of rhythm, noise, and incredible atmosphere. “Shoot Speed/Kill Light” sounded enormous and completely uncompromising in that immersive space, a track that feels perfectly suited to the live setting. With its humongous pulse and psychedelic character, it sits firmly in the world of XTRMNTR.
Then they revisit “Swastika Eyes”, reprising the track, but this time the Chemical Brothers version. The screens show a backdrop of war imagery, depicting the brutal reality and devastation of the conflicts around the world and the consequences of war, corporate greed, and misuse of power. Ending with the message on the screens that simply states the stark, clear message, “Our Government Is Complicit In Genocide”, receiving thunderous applause from the audience. The remix complements the angry bass and powerful guitars with electronics, sound effects, and distorted guitars.
Touring bassist Phil Mossman carries the torch for the late great Mani, laying down the iconic bass lines in time with Darrin Mooney’s driving backbone in the mix. It is clear the band thoroughly enjoys playing this record; even after all these years, the chemistry between every musician on stage was infectious, reverberating through the crowd in waves, and looking around the room at the crowd tonight are people who had clearly known this record for years, people only just discovering it in the room with us tonight. Old punks, electronic heads, middle-aged blokes who probably still have the original CD somewhere in the loft. For a few minutes, none of that mattered. We were all being battered by the same noise.
Gillespie acknowledges the late Mani before “Kowalski”, the Vanishing Point track becoming an especially poignant tribute to the band’s former bassist. The song arrives with its enormous fuzz-driven bassline, fractured samples, and sci-fi effects, while Gillespie delivers the vocal with his familiar conspiratorial half-whisper, and whatever restraint had remained in the audience had disappeared, turning the room into a mass of movement, its industrial pulse providing the perfect vehicle for the encore. The atmosphere then completely transformed, and Gillespie bantered with the crowd in stark contrast to the main set. We all knew, when we heard those sampled opening lines of DJ Andrew Weatherall’s dance-rock classic “Loaded,” that a magnetic wave of psychedelia was upon us.
The band continued with “I’m Five Years Ahead of My Time”, their take on the psychedelic classic by The Third Bardo, before moving into “I’m Losing More Than I’ll Ever Have” and jokingly proclaiming the crowd was the “London Community Pagan Gospel Choir” before launching into the uplifting communal anthem of “Movin’ on Up”; the soulful vocals brought the crowd to a pure high. “Here we fucking go!” chants bled into fan favourite “Country Girl”. It was awe-inspiring. Then came the instant crowd-pleaser “Rocks”, and the crowd revelled in the music’s hedonism and joy as the set reached its peak, with everyone singing along.
Then I realised it wasn’t just a nostalgia trip; it was a declaration of Maximum Rock n Roll! Bobby Gillespie and co are showing no signs of slowing down, inviting us all to do it all again: “Same time, Same Place”. It makes you wonder who could ever underestimate the power of live music? We really couldn’t ask for more. We did have a good time, and we did have a party. Which, quite frankly, is exactly what a Primal Scream gig should do.
