After five days filled with sounds from around the world at SXSW London, it's hard to imagine a band more fitting to close out the musical program than Shame. Their performance at Village Underground in Shoreditch on Friday (June 5) was an ode to a success story rooted in local traditions and to what friends who simply love to create together can achieve.
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The five-piece began their career rehearsing at a local south London pub (before they were allowed to buy booze), where the regulars introduced the teenagers to the greats who came before them: The Fall, The Stooges, and Tom Waits, to name a few.
This inspired them to create their 2018 debut album, Songs of Praise , a brash, angsty, modernized post-punk that helped revive the genre alongside Brutalism groups Idles and Dogrel by Fontaines DC. Frequent gigs at the 150-capacity Brixton Windmill were so captivating that they launched an entire "South London scene," influencing everyone from Goat Girl and Black Midi to The Last Dinner Party. They soon began touring the world and opening for renowned bands like Foo Fighters.
Three albums later, Shame—vocalist Charlie Steen, guitarists Eddie Green and Sean Coyle-Smith, bassist Josh Finerty, and drummer Charlie Forbes—remain one of Britain's most exciting guitar bands. Album Cutthroat 2025 marked a return to stage roles and rock 'n' roll theatrics after two introspective records about mental health, shifting friendships, breakups and addiction, and their SXSW London performance came in between headlining tours of Asia and South America.
If you wanted to see who's really "shaping the future" at SXSW, as the festival's mission states, then Shame at Village Underground is the place to go. Here are the highlights from the show.
Quick start
Most bands tend to gradually build up the rhythm of a festival crowd, but from the moment Shame launched into the menacing "Axis of Evil," they didn't slow down. The five musicians never slowed down for the entire hour-long set, with Steen directing the slam dance from a mic stand and Green jumping, kicking, and darting around the stage. The crowd was no less boisterous: the front of the hall was a constant mass of sweaty bodies, while in the back, fans broke into a slam dance to the country number "Quiet Life.".
Removing Limitations from the Ego
Shame may be one of the most influential London bands of the 21st century, but that doesn't mean they ever believed in their own popularity. "We're only here for one night, to play you some traditional improvised jazz metal," joked a grinning, sunglasses-wearing Steen at the start of the concert. He later told the crowd about his very first visit to the venue, where he took a pill, vomited, and his friends abandoned him to dance to techno. It's not your typical tale of rock star excess, but it's certainly relatable.
A sense of unity
In the midst of all the dizzying chaos created by Shame, the emotionally charged song "Adderall" rang out. A loud, painful song about addiction and the broader consequences of the disease, it might not be the most obvious choice for a deafening sing-along, but at times the crowd screamed louder than the band on stage. Raising his hands to the sky, Steen encouraged everyone in the audience to let their feelings out, creating a beautiful, touching moment of unity.
Using your voice
The band has never shied away from expressing political views when they deemed it appropriate. Their 2017 single "Visa Vulture" was written in protest against the Brexit vote and subsequent government policies, and their recent single "Cowards Around" criticizes cowardly MPs and those who don't garnish their food. "We all know there are hypocrites in the world..." Steen explained before performing the song, leaving the audience to interpret it their own way. However, when he concluded the concert with the words, "As always, a free Palestine," there was no trace left.
Ending on a high note
Shame is a band many people grew up with. The furious early singles "One Rizla" and "Concrete" captured the sound of the band's youthful adventures—and their listeners'—and it was easy to see how their complex 2021 album Drunk Tank Pink Climbed into the top 10 of the official UK album chart thanks to the raucous response to "Alphabet." However, despite their love of the classics, it was the new material that truly made a splash: "Nothing Better" is a scorching, playful example of angular post-punk, while the cathartic charge of "Cutthroat" closed the evening with the biggest mosh pit yet. Who else is eagerly awaiting what's next?
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