No frills, no fuss, just a room full of people getting stuck into some seriously loud music. Sometimes that’s all a great gig needs and Cancer Bats delivered…

Words & photos by Martha Fitzpatrick (@marthafphoto) | Oct 16, 2026

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There’s nothing quite like a live show that feels less like a performance and more like a collective release of energy. Exeter got a healthy dose of exactly that when Ignite joined Cancer Bats for a stop on the Marshall Made of Loud Tour, with Cancer Bats also bringing songs from their new album, Give Me Dirt, into the mix.

Sweaty doesn’t even begin to describe how warm this show got. By the time things really got going, the venue was absolutely cooking, with the kind of atmosphere that reminds you why small-room gigs can be so special. Forget polished production and carefully choreographed spectacle; this was about loud music, bodies packed together and everyone throwing themselves into the moment.

Ignite were quick to make their presence felt, delivering a set that was as engaging as it was forceful. The band weren’t interested in simply standing onstage and playing through the songs; instead, they made a real effort to connect with the people packed in front of them. Passing the microphone into the front row, they turned the space between band and audience into something almost incidental. It was a brilliant touch, making the venue feel somehow smaller and more intimate, despite the volume and intensity coming from the stage.

There was no shortage of conviction between songs, either. Touching on James Hetfield’s stance around musicians speaking out against genocide and hate, Ignite made their own position crystal clear with the emphatic declaration: “Not us, FUCK ICE.” It was a moment that cut through the noise and underlined the band’s willingness to use the platform in front of them to make their feelings known.

And then there was the singer. Spring-loaded is probably the only reasonable description. Every breakdown seemed to trigger another launch into the air, as though the stage floor had developed some kind of personal grudge against him. The sheer frequency of the jumping was ridiculous in the best possible way, adding another layer of physical intensity to an already energetic performance. You could hardly accuse him of saving anything for later.

Then came Cancer Bats, bringing the sort of energy that makes you wonder how anyone can possibly have anything left in the tank. With “Give Me Dirt” adding fresh material to the mix, there was plenty to get stuck into, but one of the night’s standout moments came when the band brought their merch girl onstage to sing a song with them and she absolutely smashed it. It was one of those wonderfully unpretentious gig moments that you couldn’t manufacture if you tried: someone stepping out from behind the scenes, grabbing the opportunity and delivering the goods.

That DIY spirit was driven home even further when Liam asked for the the house lights to come on so he could see the crowd. Rather than killing the atmosphere, it gave the whole thing an old-school, almost basement-show feel. There was something refreshingly stripped-back about it, a reminder of the days when gigs were about the bands, the crowd and whatever happened in the room, rather than elaborate lighting rigs and production tricks. It felt gloriously DIY, and all the better for it.

Across both performances, the connection between musicians and audience was what really stood out. Ignite’s mic-passing antics brought the front row into the action, while Cancer Bats delivered the kind of unexpected guest appearance and rough-around-the-edges atmosphere that make a gig memorable long after the ringing in your ears has subsided.

The Made of Loud Tour delivered exactly what the name promised: volume, sweat, energy and a healthy dose of punk-rock spontaneity.

No frills, no fuss, just a room full of people getting stuck into some seriously loud music. Sometimes that’s all a great gig needs.