Snayx live in Manchester: Hastings trio push blistering punk rock to the limit

13 October, 2023

Snax live at YES Manchester

Your heart is in your mouth as Charlie Herridge – Snayx’s inimitable frontman – ricochets around the stage, his head often narrowly missing the ceiling. Brushing past the projector and strobe lights, it almost feels safer when he’s in amongst the crowd, commanding the mosh pit from the centre. From the opening track ‘Boys In Blue’, he’s making use of every inch of space – and there sure isn’t much, as a sold-out crowd have squeezed into this shallow basement venue for the punk-rock trio’s first Manchester headline date.

Hailing from West Sussex, Snayx (pronounced ‘snakes’) have become a defining part of a buzzing local punk scene alongside Kid Kapichi, Lambrini Girls, HotWax and Monakis; tonight, the latter provide support alongside London electro-punks Shelf Lives. Completed by bassist Ollie Horner and drummer Lainey Loops, Snayx are on a red-hot streak of thumping, riff-tastic singles, having dropped their debut EP ‘Weaponized Youth: Part 1’ this April. Yet, it’s their live show that is beginning to set them apart – a wall of sound that can move mountains. No guitarist? No problem.

Snayx drummer Lainey Loops live at YES Manchester — Credit: Liam Maxwell, Scruff of the Neck and YES! Manchester

Tonight’s Manchester crowd have bought into it before a note has even been played. By the third song ‘I’m Deranged,’ Herridge is well and truly drowned out, the room relishing the chance to scream back every word. Leading the way from the front is a fan called Sonia, the founder of their fan community, ‘The Belly Crawlerz’, whom Herridge invites on stage for a moment in a show of gratitude.

This special, eye-to-eye relationship with fans is a driving force behind Snayx, who are going above and beyond to foster a safe, inclusive space at their live shows. The band have invited Safe Gigs For Women to every gig on this headline run in an effort to educate male fans on how to be active bystanders and stamp out sexual assault in live music. It’s a move that feels synonymous with the Snayx’ founding message – fighting for change, and saying it out louder for the people in the back.

As the walls recover from the heftu injection of bass, Herridge and Horner are hoisted onto the crowd’s shoulders in true Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes style for a cover of The Prodigy’s ‘Breathe.’ It rounds off a flawless display from a vital band who are definitely capable of propelling UK punk far into the future.