S.L.R. Magazine

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LIVE REVIEW: Bad Nerves at Underground Arts in Philadelphia, PA on May 9, 2025, by Jonathan Lane

England’s Bad Nerves: Is it Garage Rock? Garage Punk? Pop Punk? Power Pop? All I know is, Bad Nerves is pure rock n roll. The band consists of  Bad Nerves, with its roots in Essex, England, in 2017, headline a killer, 3-band smorgasbord of punk and punk-adjacent music.  Written by Jonathan Lane Every tune in…

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England’s Bad Nerves: Is it Garage Rock? Garage Punk? Pop Punk? Power Pop? All I know is, Bad Nerves is pure rock n roll. The band consists of 

  • Robert (Bobby Nerves) Clemson on vocals and guitar
  • William Phillipson and George Berry on guitars
  • Samuel Thompson on drums
  • Jonathan Poulton on bass

Bad Nerves, with its roots in Essex, England, in 2017, headline a killer, 3-band smorgasbord of punk and punk-adjacent music. 

A black and white image of the band Bad Nerves performing on stage, captured mid-action with band members jumping and playing instruments, promoting their tour with Spiritual Cramp.

Written by Jonathan Lane

Every tune in Bad Nerves’ set, old and new, is well crafted and performed. The Rock ‘n’ Roll energy – musically and physically – is turned up to 11 out of 10 from start to finish of the 17-song set.  (See the full set list below)

As a new fan of Bad Nerves, I’ll share a few memorable songs and my impressions: 

The set begins with Baby Drummer. This high-BPM tune reveals the band’s classic punk influences. It is immediately followed by Don’t Stop – and the hot, fast-paced punk groove doesn’t.  Plastic Rebel is a bouncy 80s power pop number; the bouncing continues with

Radio Punk features adrenaline-pumping dual guitar runs by William and George.  It’s a lament about how they just don’t make punk like they used to. With Bad Nerves rattling nerves out there, I don’t think this will be a concern.

Radio punk, you’ve lost your nerve

I’m nervous, I will never be myself

Radio punk, you’ve lost your girl

She never sang a song for no one else

Radio, I gotta plug in my radio

Yeah, you used to be mine

But now you never play the punk I like

Radio (ooh-ooh)

You used to be mine, my baby’s just a punk

A radio punk, radio punk

Radio punk, you’ve lost your mind

But someone’s gotta pay back mum and dad

Radio punk, you’ve lost your soul

You never wanna be like all of those

Who package their punk for … 

Radio

Television Kicks off with a heart pounding drum beat that doesn’t quit, while USA is a frenetic song, with edgy, distorted guitar riffs. 

Bad Nerves takes down the house with the last two songs of the main set, Antidote – which is as catchy as promised in the intro by Bobby. The pulsating, packed crowd could have headed home satisfied after The Kids Will Never Have Their Say – an anthemic closer that mixes an upbeat tune with a decidedly downbeat message (summed up in the title).

Egged on by sustained cheers, Bad Nerves ultimately returns to the stage and serves up a tasty and satisfying encore. 

“You’ve Got the Nerve”, reminiscent of a Ramones tune, revives the mood of anyone bummed by “The Kids Will Never…”. Reaching back to their early days, “Can’t Be Mine” keeps the crowd hopping, and the pit moshing, and Dreaming is the perfect punk closer – a despondent and petulant song about lost love. 

Overall, this modern band adds a fresh 2020’s sensibility to music that feels comfy and nostalgic to fans of all those genres we mentioned up top. Thanks to charismatic front man Bobby, expertly backed by the boys, this performance showcases the band’s impressive range and capabilities in songwriting and musicianship.

Bad Nerves at Underground Arts, Philadelphia, May 9, 2025

Set List

  1. Baby Drummer
  2. Don’t Stop
  3. Electric 88
  4. Plastic Rebel
  5. Loner
  6. Radio Punk
  7. Television
  8. Wasted Days
  9. USA
  10. You Should Know by Now
  11. New Shapes
  12. Too Lazy to Love
  13. Antidote
  14. The Kids Will Never Have Their Say

Encore

  1. You’ve Got the Nerve
  2. Can’t Be Mine
  3. Dreaming

———————————

Follow BAD NERVES:
https://badnerves.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/badnerves
https://www.instagram.com/badbadnerves
https://twitter.com/badbadnerves
https://www.youtube.com/@badnerves

Photography by Jonathan Lane

https://www.photographer-jonathan-lane.com/home

A dynamic live performance by Bad Nerves, featuring a vocalist in mid-air jump holding an electric guitar, with a bassist focusing on their instrument in the foreground and colorful stage lights creating an energetic atmosphere.
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Live performance of Bad Nerves, featuring a bassist and a guitarist in dynamic poses on stage, illuminated by vibrant red and blue lights.
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A drummer passionately playing a drum set on stage, illuminated by colorful stage lights.
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Show Openers

Opening for Bad Nerves were local sensation, Philadelphia’s Wax Jaw, followed by Spiritual Cramp, out of San Francisco.

Fronted by Energizer Bunny and vocalist Shane Morgan, Wax Jaw hits the stage full bore and barely hits the brakes over the set. There wasn’t a tune in the set I didn’t enjoy. That said, standouts for me include Night Sweats, Be the Man, and Attitude – the last including an exceptionally fine guitar solo.

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Up next is Spiritual Cramp. As with the other two bands, it would be an injustice to box them into one musical style – that said, their attitude and stage persona are decidedly punk. Vocalist Michael Bingham puts the “front” in “front man”, while the rest of the band delivers outstanding beats and riffs. Highlights for this fan include the opener Blowback – a musical punch in the face, the beat-heavy Addict, Slick Rick – a groovy and instantly familiar-feeling tune, and Better Off This Way, a defiantly punk ode to being yourself, defective as you might be. They go out the way they came in – punching you in the face, this time with the epiphanous Spiritual Cramp.  

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