Live Review: Creeper

Support: The Howling
Bootleg Social, Blackpool
Saturday 25th March 2026

There really is nothing better than a basement venue, the walls vibrate in sync with the audience’s anticipation, the walls themselves vibrating in sync. Blackpool’s Bootleg Social is the perfect spot for live music; everything is up close and personal. Plus, any intimate run of Creeper headlining dates is always a good time, and with this being their visit to Blackpool, it was no wonder it was one of the first to sell out.

From the moment the first chord reverberated, it was clear The Howling weren’t simply playing for the crowd—they were orchestrating a communal surge of energy that swept everyone along for the ride.

With a fusion of raw, gritty guitar work and stage confidence, The Howling aren’t simply playing for the crowd but connecting with and enticing with an impressive wall of distorted blues-driven and muscular rhythm and beat that sounds vintage enough to feel classic but with sharp freshness that demands your attention and engagement.
An impressive seven-track set that starts with a high-voltage riff-heavy blast of Little Promises. A crowd sing along to The Howling’s cover of Madonna’s Like a Prayer were Mikey dropping within his own vocal quirks and finishing up with a theatrically apocalyptically Unholy to leave everyone certainly well warmed up. 

Like every creative knows commitment to the bit is key and Creeper execute this with a passion. And the amassed kindred spirits that have flocked to this coven do so with enthusiasm as well as copious amounts of face paint and stage blood. Creeper’s pre stage appearance starts with sprawling A Shadow Stirs adding to the atmospherics as Creeper storm the stage an instant high-velocity immersion, into their vampiric opera with its dark and lethal bite.

The atmospheric tension exploding into pure adrenaline as the band tore into the opening notes of Mistress of Death The intimacy of the Bootleg Social turned the room into a beautiful, gothic pressure cooker, where every lyric was shouted back with religious fervour. During the melancholic swell of Lovers Led Astray, as Hannah Greenwood, swept the front row collecting roses. Another organically reoccurring reminder of the unique phenomena Creeper shares with their fans.

The scorching momentum remained unaltered as the basement floor physically shaking as the crowd animated the space through Headstones, Sacred Blasphemy and later the absolute fucking gem that is Chapel Gates . Will Gould commanded the stage with his signature blend of swagger and vulnerability, prowling the small space like a man possessed. The setlist was a masterclass in pacing, balancing the breakneck speed of the opening numbers and encore with a with the lush, theatrical arrangements of The Balled Of Spooky and emotional tsunami that is More Than Death .

In such a tight space, the sweat and theatricality felt tactile, it doesn’t feel like a standard gig more like we’ve fallen through a mirror to something way darker than Lewis Carroll dreamt up for Alice, and every moment was devilishly delicious. Roll on the next Creeper adventure!