As It Is & Greywind Gig Report | Venue: District, Liverpool | Date: 13th September 2026
Sometimes the best shows are the last-minute ones. I only learned of the show about three hours before it was set to kick off. I’ve really enjoyed the work of the Brighton pop-rockers As It Is for a while now. Ever since their album The Great Depression, they’ve been a band that has been on my radar. This evening would mark my third time catching them live in concert. The last time I got to see As It Is was at Slam Dunk Festival 2025, so I was very excited to attend a headline show. Speaking of Slam Dunk Festival, one of my favourite discoveries from that event in recent years has been the Ireland-based emo-rock band, Greywind, who joined As It Is for this evening’s entertainment. I’ve loved listening to Greywind since their album Severed Heart City dropped, and they’re a band that doesn't leave my rotation. So, yeah, I’m really glad I dragged myself to Liverpool for this one.
The show was being held at a small venue called District. I had never been to this venue, so hunting it down on the edge of the city centre was a little bit of a challenge. Though I did eventually get there, tucked away on a side street. District is a small venue that could barely accommodate 300 people; however, this was a perfect venue for a small-scale show to get the crowd wild, hot and sweaty. At first glance, the room didn’t feel like there would be much space for a crowd, considering that I’ve seen As It Is in much bigger venues. However, this more intimate setting felt more and more right as the night went on.
The lights shone bright as Greywind took to the stage. The first time I saw them, I didn’t know them or their music, and they really impressed me. This evening I went in with more of an idea of what I was getting into and with more knowledge of their songs, so I could sing along. Almost immediately they began their set with chaotic energy. Blasting off with songs taken from the album, Severed Heart City. How do I describe the enigmatic frontwoman, Stephanie O’Sullivan? She’s so expressive in her performance of their music. You can’t take your eyes off her for a moment as she’s always looking for ways to entertain the crowd. When she engages the crowd, you can tell the whole room is listening. Her banter with the Liverpool audience was absolutely on point. Even in this shorter opening set, the band really made great use of every moment on stage. Be it blasting through their setlist, cracking a joke or two with the crowd, or just genuinely enjoying each other's company on stage. The whole set had a vibe of good times.
I think songs that stood out to me were some of the heavy hitters. Songs like “Swing and Sway” and “Antidote” were absolutely fantastic, and the band performed them with enthusiasm and conviction. The band sounded fantastic, with each instrument ringing out in the most brilliant way. The drum work sounded excellent with an almighty clatter and bang. Each hit rang out clear as day. The guitar and bass roared with life, and the vocals sounded so clear as Stephanie sang with so much clarity. The crowd was so engaged too; the Liverpool crowd provided a much-needed loud and proud atmosphere for their set. This was an excellent opening set and served its purpose of warming up the crowd for the headliners. I had such a good time. Greywind closed out on their massive single “Waterfall”, which was certainly the crescendo that this set required. It was enough to send me to the merch table after the set, so you know it was good!
After a brief turnaround, the stage was now set for the headliners of the evening. The crowd definitely filled out more as the show was about to begin. Under the banner of the joke “You Wouldn’t Call As It Is a Rock Band”, the band filtered onto the stage to the rapturous applause of the Liverpool faithful. How do I describe this set? Jam-packed is probably the best term. In a phenomenal hour-and-a-half set, the lads from Brighton blew through 21 songs. Cramming in old and new songs, As It Is took every second on stage and used them to entertain the crowd to no end. Fresh off the release of their self-titled album in July, the band performed like they had nothing to lose, kicking things off with the new songs “I’m So Alive” and “Live, Laugh, Love, Los Angeles” to a huge pop from the crowd. Clearly, the new album has made its mark. I’ll admit I’ve only listened to the new record a handful of times since its release, but man, the way they performed the new songs has made me want to go back to it and take another listen with fresh ears. The new material sounds fantastic and feels like a natural progression of their existing material.
The boys quickly transitioned into some of their older material. When the opening chords of “Sorry” blasted from the speakers, the crowd kicked into a higher gear. Especially since that song encapsulates the lyrics “Never Happy, Ever After”, which is the title of their 2015 debut. As I stated, they had a lot to get through in this set, so they didn’t come close to slowing down for a moment. This tour has been special for As It Is as they’ve chopped and changed certain songs. As the band clarified, they have so many songs; why not play as many as possible on this tour? They said this as they blasted into “The Haunting” from their 2018 album The Great Depression. I will take a little moment to say that early on in the set, the sound was a bit mixed. Early in the set, from where I was standing, the instruments drowned out the vocals somewhat. This did get progressively better as the set ploughed on; however, it was something I noticed early on.
The band were crammed into a smaller stage, but that didn’t stop the band from running around the limited room they had. They were so captivating to watch, and one thing I noted was that frontman Patty Walters never stopped smiling. Not even for a single moment. You could just tell that he was taking it in. When he said that As It Is would be celebrating their 15th anniversary in 2027 (the band formed in 2012), you could see the emotion in his face. You can just see that this is what this band loves doing, and the crowd reflected that passion back at them like a mirror. It was that moment when I had the realisation that the smaller venue was a good choice. The smaller and more intimate crowd were singing so loudly, and it made for an excellent atmosphere to be in.
There were so many highlights to this set. Some of my personal favourites were “Marilyn”, “The Wounded World” and the fantastic anthem “Ruin My Life”. All of which were performed with passion, with the crowd singing along to every beat. A song that I’m grateful I got to hear live on this night was the tune of “Turn Back To Me”, which was a great comfort track for me and still brings back those feelings from when I first heard it. As soon as it started, the set found itself coming to its closing moments. The final two songs were spectacular. As It Is ended this set with the doubleheader of “The Stigma (Boys Don’t Cry)” and “Dial Tones”. The former was the song that got me into the band in the first place, so it was great to hear it live again. The latter is the band's most notable song, which I feel was the best way to close out the night.
Goddamn. What a fabulous night. Two bands performing incredible sets. They brought everything that makes them special and put a spotlight on it. Greywind bringing their emo-rock theatrics and As It Is working their pop-rock magic for the Liverpool crowd. Like I’ve said, sometimes the last-minute shows are the best, and this is my message to you, stop waiting around, get out and get tickets.
Great review!
ReplyDelete