The O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire is a sumptuous, 2,000-capacity venue, all gold and red and white, with daubs of illuminated mock-stained glass, like being on the inside of a wedding cake. Appropriate as this freezing cold Tuesday night brings together an intriguing marriage of three bands, Bad Nerves, Balancing Act and Split Dogs.
Bad Nerves – Balancing Act – Split Dogs
O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London – 25 November 2025
Words: Sean Titley
Photography: Manuela Langotsch
With a simple Bad Nerves logo behind them, the band arrived full pelt on stage at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, launched into their opener, and the fans went feral. The mosh pit size was instantly huge, taking up most of the front half of the standing area.
Crowd surfing also started up quickly, and tonight brings more rapid membership of the Dangerous Sports Club than usual, due to the pinball machine mobility of the swarm, leaving momentary gaps to fall through.
Early in the set, one young, short-haired man in a crisp white T-shirt, head planted twice but still bounced back up, to finally go gleefully bouncing forwards across the sea of hands. This was a sight to see.
The mayhem was driven by Bobby Nerves and the pulsating beat and energy generated by the constantly mobile guitarists William Philipson and George Berry. Jon Poulton, holding his base like a gun slinger, fully struck an imposing physical presence. All backed up by Sam Thompson’s tight and relentless drumming.
As the band tore through their insanely catchy and high-energy favourites like Don’t Stop, Loner and Baby Drummer, the mosh got more intense, egged on by Bobby Nerve.
The only time there was a slight pause was when Bobby acknowledged his Mum and Grandad up on the balcony, who were enjoying tearing it up with the same energy levels as the circle pitters. A touching moment as the generations reflected back their love and spirit of the gig in a public-private moment from the balcony to the stage and back.
But a moment was all it was.
With the Bad Nerves logo above the stage flickering at a pace to induce seizures, the band whiplashed into “USA, which, after a lifetime attending gigs, generated one of the biggest circle pits I have seen at an indoor venue.
Leading shortly to Antidote, the blink and you miss it, insane brilliance left the hard-pressed security staff catching crowd surfers at a rapid pace.
After this, Bad Nerves went off to a roaring chorus of “one more song”, coming back and delivering three of their best, blindingly great tracks, You’ve Got The Nerve, Can’t Be Mine and Dreaming at an even higher energy level and pace.
Bobby, by this time, could not stop running around the stage. The audience was absolutely buzzing.
This band, live, is one of the best, and their fans know it. Catch them before they get too big for the smaller venues.
Split Dogs
The audience was slowly filling up as Split Dogs burst on stage to Status Quo’s Rocking All Over The World, which they followed with a ball-busting, crank-it-up and don’t stop set of British punk tunes.
Lead singer Harry Atkins grabs your attention in red leggings, a silver sequinned top, and striking blue eyeshadow, with a voice that is hugely powerful. Pirouetting like a demented Child’s Play doll, Harry Atkins and the band are British punks, a super strength antidote to too cool for school, pop punk and bring back the spirit of the original ’70s movement.
The band are impossible to stop watching, punching punk tunes out and revving up the fans who are soon in the swing of things, dancing and beating the air to the music.
Being the opening act, it is all over far too quickly, but it was wild and an absolute must-see if you get the chance.
Balancing Act
Slowing down the pace from 100 mph, second up were the ubercool Balancing Act. The lead singer, Kai John Roberts, looking knife sharp in a Lincoln green Nehru jacket, takes time to get into his performance but builds up to an emotionally expressive performance reminiscent of vocal heroes like Ian Brown and Bobby Gillespie.
The guitarists in the band, Jackson Couzens and David Carpenter, flanked Kai, acting as a poised foil for the singer. Whilst Split Dog tore you in half, Balancing Act’s rhythm and melody imposed a rock harmony that, at its best, was completely absorbing.
At times, they felt like they had owned the stage for years. At other times, they projected their presence less. The audience was passive, perhaps saving their firepower for Bad Nerves but loving their music, judging by the number of phone cameras in the air.
Performing their style of ’90s influenced indie with panache, they won over the crowd and left the stage to enthusiastic cheering and applause.
