Belfast industrial post-punk outfit Chalk brought their Crystalpunk EU & UK 2026 tour to Button Factory Dublin for a night that felt parts warehouse rave and fever dream. Backed by Irish electro noise duo bbft, the evening delivered relentless energy from start to finish.
bbft opened with a set that immediately blurred the line between underground club culture and chaotic punk show. Often described as sounding “stuck between a rave and a punk show,” their mix of jungle breaks, euphoric trance synths, and distorted guitars filled the venue with a hypnotic wall of sound. Yet, surprisingly, much of the set evoked memories of Ozric Tentacles for me, with sprawling textures and psychedelic grooves weaving through the duo’s harsher electronic edges. It was an inspired and unexpected comparison, but one that fit perfectly as the crowd lost itself in the swirling noise.
When Chalk finally emerged, the atmosphere shifted instantly. Despite some minor technical issues early in the set, the Belfast trio handled the interruption with total professionalism. There was no panic, no loss of momentum, just a quick regroup before launching straight back into the performance with even greater intensity. From there, the band barely put a foot wrong.
The seventeen song set opened with the thunderous “Tongue” and never loosened its grip. Chalk’s industrial rhythms and crushing post-punk sound hit with ferocious precision, while the dim lighting and sheer physicality of the performance transformed Button Factory into a pulsing post-punk bunker. By the time closer “Velodrome” arrived, the audience was completely spent. It was a blistering headline performance that confirmed Chalk as one of the most exciting live acts currently emerging from Ireland.
bbft photos:
Chalk photos & set-list:
Set-list:
Tongue
Pain
Can’t Feel It
Claw
One-Nine-Eight-Zero
Pool Scene
Longer
Bliss
Static
Them
Afraid
Skem
I.D.C.
Béal Feirste
______________________________
Get Fucked (The Chats cover?)
Conditions
Velodrome
Photos & words – Ian Mc Donnell @mcgigmusic
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