It’s a few days away from the Summer Solstice, and thankfully, after days of torrential rain, the sun appears high in the sky over Dreamland, despite it being rather late in the day. Du Blonde has not long finished a rather sprited but ragged set, and Skunk Anansie have arrived on stage at the huge outdoor venue.

From the moment the drum loops and hard edged riffs of ‘Charlie Big Potato’ float above the near capacity crowd – things are insanely busy for so early in the evening, proving that for most, Skunk are just as much of a draw as the night’s co-headliners, Garbage – and Skin runs across the stage, there’s a feeling that the next seventy minutes will be special. This performance of the lead single from 1999’s ‘Post Orgasmic Chill’ proves to be the perfect opener: against the heady rhythm, guitarist Ace’s riff cuts across the crowd with a knife edge sharpness. Skin’s vocals share a genuine power with immediate effect, and a tone that’s immediately recognisable. By a couple of minutes in, it’s clear the crowd are in for a set that will not hold back. and Skunk Anansie’s huge presence isn’t remotely diminished by a minor technical issue that means the vocals during the early part of an aborted ‘Because of You’ aren’t as clear as they should be. Taking a moment to adjust, the band begins the song again – a welcome opportunity to spend more time with one of the night’s most melodic guitar lines – before the chorus riff hits with a massive crunch against Skin in full cry. Now settled into her performance, she sounds amazing, but there’s still better things to come…

Flying the flag for the still new album ‘The Painful Truth’, ‘An Artist Is An Artist’ allows for angrily spat vocals on a track that explores the concept of creativity contrasted with the prejudice of ageism, with the performance delivering on a really punchy rhythm, and a little later, the excellent ‘Shame’ brings the set a slow, more commercial offering, and its less busy arrangement finds Skin reaching deep inside herself for one of the night’s greatest vocals. These contrasting tracks act as a snapshot of the band’s rich and varied sound, but also prove that the brand new material stands up well against their “legacy” tracks.

The first half of the set is very strong, with the band really working the stage and audience, but it’s at the mid point the audience really gets onside. After announcing “a brand new song that we wrote yesterday”, the opening bars of ‘Hedonism’ whip the audience into a more visibly excited mass (Skin then admits she lied), and even from near the back of the venue, voices can be heard singing, showing how far reaching the band’s best songs are. ‘Weak’ gets an even bigger response: the front of the crowd becomes a sea of arms, and this massive 90s hit sounds as great as ever. Aside from Skunk’s abilities to summon a choir of audience voices, the show is also about inclusivity in other ways, with Skin talking very assuredly about LGBTQ+ issues, of using tolerance to battle hate, and the show even includes a full sign language interpretation.

For those near the back of the venue, an opportunity to witness the “Skin Cam” on the giant screen gives the show an extra (very welcome) dimension, since it really shows the energy Skin puts into her performance, and the observer gets to run around parts of the stage and audience with her. This is an audience she clearly adores, going as far as to set up a female only moshpit in front of the stage, which she joins. Musically, everything continues to power forth with a genuine impressiveness: the brand new ‘Cheers’ takes a swipe at Reform and a troubled Britain, marrying sharp commentary with a selection of accessible riffs, again, showing that ‘The Painful Truth’ is more than worth checking out, while earlier hit ‘I Can Dream’ rouses a singing crowd once more.

‘Tear The Place Up’ comes over with a genuine intensity, and the speed driven riffs represent the band at their most aggressive tonight; Skin marks the occasion by encouraging a circle pit, something rarely witnessed at Dreamland, but it’s an event that is greeted with enthusiasm. Even near the back of the venue where the more casual gig goers can be found on the raised and banked areas, there’s a genuine feeling of energy and excitement, when it’s clear that an insanely heavy ‘Yes, It’s Fucking Political’ has lost none of its fury in three decades.

Pulling the set to a close, Skin talks about the band’s very first release, and the crowd gets the ultimate throwback with ‘Little Baby Swastikkka’. Or at least it would be; this song really isn’t about nostalgia. As Skin rightly says – with the rise of the far right in the US and rumblings in Europe – its calling out against Nazi ideologies and other hate feels more relevant than ever. The band attack the riffs accordingly, and Cass’s bass brings a truly funky edge to the night’s performance behind a vocal that manages to capture anger and sheer exasperation in equal measure. At the song’s close, with a few bigger sounding, grumbling riffs creating a massive climax, Skin quietly leaves the stage, knowing that this set represents a job not just well done, but a set that would’ve taken the venues roof off…if it had one, only to reappear seconds later, shout “fuck the serlist…let’s have some fun!”. With that, the band launch into an unexpected cover of AC/DC’s ‘Highway To Hell’. This provides a sharp contrast with everything that’s gone before, but it’s certainly a memorable way to bow out.

With a well chosen set featuring something from most Skunk Anansie albums, most of the hits sitting comfortably alongside album cuts and later singles, and with Skin literally throwing herself into the audience, nothing here has been left to chance. There’s no feeling of complacency or merely assuming the crowd will be onside; the band have worked insanely hard to entertain and educate, and judging by the thunderous response they receive, it’s more than paid off. Skunk Anansie were always far better live than on record, but tonight, they’ve been absolutely spectacular.

June 2026