Funhaus at AMP Studios

PECKHAM FESTIVAL

Friday 16th September, 2022

Words by Emma Bowen

Photos by Lia Qin

MOSH PIT POTENTIAL: 60%

SET LIST:

Seeing Volture

Derivative

EGO

Wanna Be

In Waves

Whistleblower

Last weekend, I ventured down to Peckham Festival to catch the new and upcoming punk band ‘Funhaus’ doing an intimate set at AMP Studios. This was my second time seeing these guys, the first being an energetic night at The Dublin Castle in Camden, a pub which has seen some of the most iconic British artists walk through its doors, including Amy Winehouse and Sheffield's finest Arctic Monkeys.

Funhaus are a five-piece band based in London, made up of lead singer Joby Heasmer in charge of vocals, two guitarists Vinny Baker and Donavon McBrien, bassist Elena Posa and drummer Connie Howarth.

from left to right: Joby Heasmer, Elena Posa, Donavon McBrien (note from lia: sorry I didn't get Donavon in this shot but he's there!!!), Connie Howarth

As we arrived, the band were just setting up their stage and running a few sound checks before getting straight into their performance.

Not even a few minutes into their set, the lead vocalist was already off the stage with his mic stand and into the crowd. Although the venue hadn't drawn a huge crowd for this festival, the band certainly didn't let this drain their energy – particularly Heasmer who was on and off the stage throughout the performance and even lying down at some points – his infectious energy certainly credited their stage presence and encouraged members of the audience to get involved as well.

They have a catchy, unique sound with punchy drums and vocals similar to that of a slightly relaxed Sex Pistols song. Towards the end of the set, Heasmer greeted the stage with a whistle and a cowbell used with such passion that at one point it flew straight out of his hands.

The band certainly have good chemistry on stage, as smiles at each other were frequent throughout and their confidence was really encouraging to see. I do feel as though they'e still figuring out their unique image and 'who they really are' as a group, but no doubt this will start to become clear for them soon as they progress forward in the industry. For a new band with no music officially released, they've been incredibly successful so far; Their passion and clear talent is guaranteed to offer them the exposure they deserve.

The only slight disappointment of the night was the unfortunate setting they found themselves in with the venue. I don't think they were given the opportunity for a proper soundcheck before their set, as afterwards they admitted they struggled to hear anything when onstage and weren't overly happy with their performance, but from an audience perspective, the only real time it became clear there was an issue was when McBrien shouted that he 'couldn't hear a f**king thing'. It's a shame as these guys definitely have the potential to fill a room at least double the size, and hopefully next time they'll be in a better position to play without worrying about the sound technicalities.

Their live performances have clearly attracted quite a lot of attention as their booking schedule is packed. Having done a number of shows throughout the past few months, their live performances for October have just been announced, including their very own headline show at The George Tavern in East London on the 21st. Be sure to go and have a look where you can catch them next - @_funhaus on Instagram!