Viagra Boys - Live

Alexandra Palace - 6 March 2026

⭐⭐⭐

Who would have anticipated this time last year that the Viagra Boys, Stockholm’s post punk extraordinaires, would be able to sell out the 7,300 capacity Alexandra Palace. But based on the numerous queues that I had to battle with to get into the venue, the number of people standing ahead of me in the bar, and the riotous noise, I assume that they did! We can put this down to the resounding success of last years Viagr Aboys album, with Man Made of Meat and The Bog Body catapulting them into the indie rock limelight. Many peoples favourite album of the year and not without good reason (this writer himself named The Bog Body the best song of 2025).

But first I have to survive the onslaught of Getdown Services. I have to be honest, I just don’t see the appeal. To me it just sounded like two drunk fat blokes shouting over dance music and swearing a lot. And my did they swear - totally incensed that the Alexandra Palace has started charging bands 20% of their merchandise fee. I get the outrage - merch is a lifeline for many artists at a time when record and CDs sales have been largely replaced by streaming. But I don’t get Getdown Services.

The wait for the Viagra Boys passes fairly quickly, largely due to the entertainment factor of their kiss-cam, homing in on unsuspecting crowd members and enticing them to go all full on snogs. Largely man-o-mano.

Finally the band enter the stage, surprisingly to Man Made of Meat - I would have put money on that being the big crowd pleasing finale. But start with it they so, and the crowd goes mental. From where I am standing I can hardly hear the band, deafened by 7,299 drunken voices singing at the top of their lungs. At which point it is worth noting that the sound is pretty horrible. For a big venue, its not particularly loud (quite different from recent gigs by Iggy Pop and Amyl and the Sniffers at the same venue), and sounds somewhat muffled. But thats no reflection on the band itself, who play with the true conviction that we expect of them.

Fan favourite after fan favourite follows, with frontman Sebastian Murphy in fine form. Despite the bad back. But then, its his birthday, so he is determined to party hard. Tattooed torso and beer belly proudly on display as ever. The crowd are partying even more so however. Aside from the few near me that insist on talking through the songs or complaining that the music is too quiet (see above). The band themselves may ridicule masculinity, but there is some serious machismo going on out front!

There is no doubting that the set rocks. Yes, it feels like the evening is drawn out a bit by long interludes of nothingness noise in between songs at times. Dare I say padding? But when they launch into Sports all is forgiven. They keep me and my stretched bladder holding on to the one but last song however before treating me to The Bog Body that I’ve been waiting for.

So not without its problems, but nothing you can really fault the band for. The Viagra Boys now how to rock, punk out and party. And we are all invited.

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