Just two months ago KNEECAP played two sold-out shows at Paradiso in Amsterdam. Due to the high demand of the tickets, the trio decided to quickly make their way back. On November 12th they played at AFAS Live, which has 4 times the capacity of Paradiso.
After supporting KNEECAP on their Australian tour earlier this year, Miss Kaninna got invited back to support them for their Paris and Amsterdam show. Between her songs she talked a lot to the crowd, telling them about her youth and getting into music. Growing up on Bruny Island, Tasmania she experienced a lot of bullying and racism, as being aboriginal is worse than being trash in Tasmania. She put on a great set, educating people on both Palestine and the murders of black people in Australia. Her set included songs such as ‘Dawg in Me’ and ‘Blak Britney’.
Around 9PM ‘3CAG’ started playing over the speakers and the screen lit up with KNEECAP’s intro, giving the crowd information about the genocide in Palestine and how the Dutch government is supplying weapons to Israel. During this the crowd started chanting “Free, Free Palestine”. Fans hung out both Palestinian and Irish flags from the balcony. First up DJ Próvaí walked out on stage, hyping up the crowd a bit before taking his spot behind his deck. Followed by Mo Chara and Móglaí Bap walking out and kicking off the first song of the evening: ‘IT’S BEEN AGES’. This was followed by ‘Amach Anocht’ and Mo Chara telling the crowd he is sick, saying he “should be in bed having a wank”. Despite feeling unwell, the trio put all their energy into the set, giving the crowd a night to remember.
Before ‘Fenian Cunts’ the duo asked the crowd if there were any Irish and Dutch people in the audience, followed by asking if there were any Fenian Cunts in the venue before starting the song. The crowd was asked if any of them attended the Paradiso shows two months ago, which got a lot of cheers. This is their biggest ever headline show in Europe, for which the trio was very grateful, expressing their gratitude and thank you’s throughout the night. They felt like they had no right to be playing in front of such a massive crowd in Amsterdam, to which the crowd replied by chanting “Kneecap” over and over. With most of their lyrics including the Irish language, the trio felt even more special when people were singing along and going crazy for the songs.
If it wasn’t clear yet, KNEECAP always takes time in their set talking about Palestine, and they won’t stop until they see a change happening. Multiple times the “Free, Free Palestine” chant was done throughout the night, both by the crowd and the band.
Back in 2017 they released their first single, ‘C.E.A.R.T.A’ (cearta is Irish for rights), and for this song they asked the crowd to get as many people as possible up on each other’s shoulders, to bring the security a nightmare. Within seconds people were up high, held by their friends.
They ended their set with ‘H.O.O.D’ and ‘THE RECAP,’ which both got the crowd going crazy for the last time this evening. If you’re in for an evening you won’t forget anytime soon and let out all your energy, a KNEECAP show is definitely one to attend.
