Pig//Control, Dry Heaves, Jaded Eyes @ the Fox and Newt, Leeds

Saying you’ll go to a Sunday night gig is always a dubious proposition, entirely dependent on the amount of cash frittered away over the previous couple of days, and levels of fragility/rum flu allowing for movement. However last weekend’s line up at the Fox and Newt was too good to miss out on, a stance I clearly shared with a fair few of Leeds’ music patrons. We missed opening act the Platitudes, a local ska punk band whose inclusion on a hardcore bill seemed odd – not having seen them though, I couldn’t comment on how they went down. Luckily we reached the pub in time to see Jaded Eyes, a band made up of local scene veterans who wear their influences on their sleeves. With a name taken from a Government Issue song, and featuring ex members of the Voorhees and the Horror, they ripped through a set of Dischord influence hardcore punk which immediately grabbed the attention of the quickly growing crowd. This DC influence is muddied with a slightly debauched edge - no more than in 'Factotum', whose title is taken from a Bukowski novel -
which, along with the hoarsely shouted vocals, place the band firmly within a strong tradition of throat ripping Northern hardcore. Definitely a band to keep an eye on, especially with a record out later in the year.

With the crowd amped, and slightly pissed in many cases, Sheffield’s Dry Heaves hit the stage and pummelled eardrums with a set of thrashy 80s style hardcore. If you get the chance go and see them (if you live in Yorkshire chances are you will, due to a heavy gigging work ethic), this is abrasive music at its rawest. Headlining tonight’s show were Pig//Control from Berlin, who I hadn’t checked out before but was informed were alumni of various rad German hardcore bands. This proved to be a good tip off, as we were treated to an ear melting set of D-Beat influenced hardcore; short fast songs, squeals of distortion and ferocious vocals melded to create an inescapable wall of noise which grabbed by the throat and didn’t let go. Despite a surprisingly quick cut off, possibly from the venue, no-one could feel cheated after seeing a line up like that. I staggered home, ears ringing, safe in the knowledge that the hardcore scene in Yorkshire is going from strength to strength.

5/5

Jono

The Damned with The Dickies @O2 Leeds

In my considered opinion going to see live bands is one of the finer things in life, and as such I try to do so as often as possible. Late last year I realised that my passion had possibly gone slightly too far after spending £18 to see The Damned in Leeds, on my own, when I could barely afford food. However with the ticket already purchased I decided to make the best of things and, after a fortifying smoke, made my way into the icy night in search of punk rock and good times. As venues go, O2 Academies are never ideal for a solo gig mission; overpriced beer and oversized rooms almost seem specifically designed to feel unwelcoming, lessening the connection the crowd feels with the band, and with each other. However The Dickies, over from the US to open on the tour, showed no signs of noticing this and proceeded to put a smile on everyone’s face with their  camp, slapstick pop punk. Singer Leonard Graves Philips looks like an alcoholic maths teacher and dances like a stripper having an on-stage breakdown, which taken along with props including a snorkel and sex doll for ‘Waterslide’ and a cock’n’balls sock puppet for ‘If Stuart Could Talk’, made for one of the most fun live performances I saw all year. I can imagine the gig at the Brudenell the previous summer was a treat, another UK headline tour in the near future definitely wouldn’t go amiss.

After the edifying site of seeing large groups of drunken middle aged punks singing along to punk versions of ‘Silent Night’ and ‘Banana Splits’, The Damned had a lot to match…and unfortunately, they didn’t pull it off. Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible and co put together all the elements you could want from a Damned show; a good ratio between straight up rock and roll and keyboard heavy, looming gothic sounds, all the classics you would expect to here, and plenty of rock opera posturing. However, what still seemed fresh and fun as recently as the early 2000s, when I last saw them, now comes across as slightly jaded and worn out. Possibly it wasn’t helped by the herb that was now wearing off and bringing with it a tiredness I had forgotten about, but adding a five minute prog-style breakdown in to every song is not a way to keep anyone but the most accomplished muso geek interested. I forced myself to stay until I heard ‘Smash it Up’ (of course, the final encore), but by then I was tired and ruefully thinking about other ways I could have spent that twenty quid. Nostalgia, you are a violent and fickle mistress…all I can say is thank god for the Dickies!

3/5 (That three not being for the Damned, in case you were wondering).

Jono

A Bloody Merry Christmas

If I've learnt anything over many years of gig going in London, it's that you'll pay too much for shitty beer, you'll get a mohawk/spiked jacket/something similarly "punk" thrown into your face, and you'll generally feel quite destroyed afterwards. Last night's gig at Camden Underworld ticked all these boxes, but with one of the best line ups I've seen at any gig this year, I just didn't care.

Doors opened at 3pm, which was horrendously early. We got down around 5, just in time to see Faintest Idea. There was a pretty decent crowd size for them, especially considering how early it was. I think they played for about half an hour and mostly covered tracks from their latest album, The Voice of Treason. They were excellent as always and got everyone moving (including a circle pit round the perilous pillar in the middle of the dancefloor of the Underworld). An amazing band who get better every time I see them. 

Next up was Mike TV, who were, frankly, awful. It was like watching a really bad Green Day at a Warped Tour (not one of the good ones). I think I watched about half a song then retreated into the bar. Although, their only saving grace was a guitarist who looked like "a pigeon on crack". Is that a good thing? I don't know.

By this point I'd already resented paying over £4 for a pint, and discovered that we could buy cans over the road and take them into the venue with no-one checking, so that was good. Mike TV managed to clear everyone out of the main room, which is a shame because a lot of people stayed away and missed Claypigeon who are definitely on my new favourite band list. Playing a mix of ska, hiphop(?) and, erm, D&B they are really worth a watch if you get the chance; you won't be disappointed. 

Afterwards, Tyrannosaurus Alan played their last ever London show. It's a shame that I didn't get into this band earlier and I was so gutted when they said they were splitting up. The crowd went completely insane for them and it seemed like a fitting way to end their existence on such a high. Hopefully they'll be back at some point and do a Capdown. I can only hope.

After what was the most crazy crowd reaction of the day, I must admit I was a little scared to see Random Hand. I've said before that I never get bored of seeing this band play live and last night was no different. They got everyone singing and dancing, and I only got kicked in the face once, which I thought was quite good really. I thought I'd get kicked in the face more. It's always good to hear northern tones onstage in London. 

After Random Hand the weekend's excesses were starting to take their toll and I was having difficulty standing upright. Anti Vigilante played a blistering set, reminiscent of Capdown. Personally though, I think they should have played a little earlier in the day and the final slots should have been taken By Tyrannosaurus Alan and Random Hand, but maybe that's just me. Jaya the Cat closed everything and were great as always and ensured that everyone left with a massive grin on their faces. 

All in all, a beast of a Sunday, a bruised face, and a head that feels like its been put in a vice and sweet brass ringing in my ears. 5/5

Kathy

Leeds Pie Race Festival 2012 @ The Well

The last month or two have been fairly quiet with regards to gigs, as you may have noticed from the lack of activity on this site. However as the weather quickly degenerates into the rancid pile of faeces that is the British winter, going outside becomes less appealing; instead there is an increased temptation to be indoors, consuming large quantities of alcohol in a bid to forget that we live in a semi-underwater country for most of the year. On the plus side, this means that more people are drawn to gigs, especially all day events where the Red Stripe is cheap and the liver assault is broken up with a pie eating contest. This weekend saw what I think is the 4^th annual Pie Race festival, which bought together some of the best in punk, ska and kazoo based music to draw in anyone not tempted enough by the pie based revelry alone. We missed the actual pie eating competition along with the early acts due to hangovers and sleep deprivation, but reached the Well in time to catch Leeds own The Swindells, whose gravelly punk rock rivals Geoffrey Oicott in terms of unadulterated Yorkshire pride…and I don’t say that lightly. Fast and fun, beer is flying, pissed up dudes are trying to dance but mostly falling down on each other, and I already know that I’ve made the right choice for the night. Their set finishes with shouted choruses of ‘Yoorkssshiire, ‘til the day I die!’ ably assisted by various kazoo players who have materialised, which would probably have seemed strange if I didn’t know that a kazoo band had already played earlier in the day. The day was laid out so that the artists playing alternated between two rooms, so we headed upstairs to grab a beer, sit down for a while and listen to Billy Liar’s set of acoustic one man punk, which drew comparisons to early Against Me (before they decided to be a crap indie rock band). Then it was back down for Revenge of the Psychotronic Man, who woke up those who were starting to flag with a short and to the point set of furious hardcore. Working in plenty of songs from the new album in to a small amount of time, there was still room for some older classics, and a solo punk rock rendition of Kirsty MacColl’s ‘There’s a Guy Works down the Chip Shop Swears He’s Elvis.’ They also set the tone for the rest of the night’s dancefloor carnage, with human pyramids, wheelbarrow pits and drunken face plants a-plenty. It was an awesome sight to behold and there will undoubtedly have been some impressive bruising going on around Leeds the next day.

      This is the point at which my memory starts to get hazy with regards to the order in which people played, but I have an idea that after Revenge we wandered upstairs for another sit down and to listen to Wakefield’s Louise Distras. Playing heartfelt, bluesy acoustic punk, it’s easy to see why she’s starting to get some high profile support slots. Her stripped down set acted as a counterpoint to the madness downstairs. After she had finished we lurked around upstairs for some time, unfortunately missing Acid Drop, but it was a necessary sacrifice in order to ward off the onset of tinnitus for a while longer (time to invest in ear plugs I think, what an old bastard I’ve become). The next band we saw were Benson, who despite having a truly awful name, played a tight set of bluesy rock with a horns section, that bought to mind a more polished, indie influenced Rocket from the Crypt. One of the best things about the Pie Race is the way that the promoters aren’t afraid to mix up the bands they put on style wise, so from here it was straight downstairs to the far rawer ska punk sounds emanating from below…Faintest Idea are the best proponents of horn driven punk in recent years in my opinion and they didn’t disappoint. Their half hour was used to showcase much of their newer material, which already sounds as classic as anything from the last two albums. By now my head was reeling and my ears were ringing, but I was more than ready for the surreal ramblings of Captain Hotknives. Those who know don’t need telling, but any line up can be improved by the addition of Bradford’s finest, I can’t imagine anyone witnessing this and not being in stitches. This could have been the end of the night, and no-one could have felt cheated, but the punk rock icing on the cake came in the form of Roughneck Riot’s furious folk punk, which saw the nights drunken dancing reach its climax. This band need to be seen live, and they bought the night to a drunken, uproarious close. Two days later and I’m still slightly haggard, roll on next years!

5/5

Jono

Citizen Fish - Dancing on Spikes EP

In a country beset by economic woes, a Tory government and a strange, reactionary backlash by many young people that has led to these people being in power, a release from the Citizen Fish/Subhumans camp is especially timely. Dick Lucas has always been adept at writing in depth lyrics relating to social and political problems without making every song sound like a political tract, and the new Citizen Fish EP 'Dancing on Spikes' is a biting look at the current situation in Britain, set to a shout a long ska punk soundtrack that should have anyone' feet moving straight for the nearest dancefloor/pit. Like last years full length album 'Goods', the music on here is slightly slowed down in comparison to the bands output during the 90s and early 2000s, but its none the less foot stompingly catchy for it. Songs such as 'Unemplode', aimed at Job seeker's office and their unrealistic expectations for people to find work in this climate, or otherwise work for much lower than the amount needed to live, or 'Over', questioning the finality of the assumption that we have pulled out and 'finished' with certain middle eastern conflicts, are made more comprehensible by a slower pace, and are still catchy as fuck. The one faster song on the record, 'Write It All Down' is clearly going to be fun when your down the front with a cider in hand, but to be quite honest all six tracks are! The West Country's finest come through again.
5/5
Jono

Revenge of the Psychotronic Man - Shattered Dreams Parkway

Clasped in my grubby little paws is the latest release from Manchester's Revenge of the Psychotronic Man. The blokes behind TNS Records and all round cool folk. This album is for anyone who likes their music fast and loud. When I say fast, I mean it. Like...15 songs in under 20 minutes fast. I hope they realise how much more difficult it is reviewing summat that's over so quickly!

This is the follow-up to Make Pigs Smoke, which got rave reviews from (I'm sure) pretty much everyone who heard it. This one will certainly achieve the same, if not better reviews! The album touches on all sorts, from media hypocrisy, prejudice and discrimination, right through to songs about Clint Eastwood. Seriously. You won't get this from any other band out there.

It's not for people who like music to take its time. It's almost like it's giving your whole head a massive punch, but in a good way. If this punch to your face and ears makes you question what's happening around you it's got to be embraced and acted upon. The way I see it, if music is loud and fast, it's like a mental kick up the arse to make people get away from their TV screens take more action. It's more of what's needed!

It's hard to pick highlights because I love different tracks on this album for different reasons! The ones that jumped out at me were Ready, Steady, Bastard, An Aggressive Lecture, Beer for Breakfast (for obvious reasons-although "not everyday or you'll die") and Look at Me, I'm a Fucking Tiger (even if it's just for the title alone). Is This Cool lulls you into a false sense of security because...you think it's a slow song...but then...AAAARGH it's as fast as all the other ones! Fuck the Sea sounds like it could be on Make Pigs Smoke, which the other tracks on this album don't. 15 Million Merits is also a stand out track about Big Brother culture of society.

I've listened to this album repeatedly while putting this review together. Like I said earlier, the tracks don't really sound like they belong on the earlier album but they're definite progression from it. I'm really looking forward to seeing these tracks performed live. It's fast as fuck and they're playing in a way that a lot of other bands seem afraid to do these days. Each time I listen to it, it makes me want to drink as fast as possible and break things. Which can only be a good thing. 

Am I right? I think so. 

5/5

Boomtown Fair 2012

Boomtown Fair. Home to freaks, weirdos, punks, crusties, hippies, pillheads, rockabillies and people who look a bit lost. This was my third year in a row attending the festival, held in the same place for 2 years running in the first time of it's history, and it's my favourite place on earth. I still have festival blues a week after it all ended, and this review is an attempt to make some sort of sense of everything that went on over the course of the weekend.

Compared to other, more mainstream, festivals that I've been to, Boomtown maintains it's own spirit and atmosphere unlike anywhere I've been before. There is so much work that goes on behind the scenes creating the 'town' and acts that I would like to personally shake everyone involved by the hand and give them a pint. Unfortunately, I have neither the time or the finances but I sincerely hope they carry on to do the work they do!

We arrived on Thursday afternoon, with the sun beating down, having successfully snuck in our 'illegal' cider, beer and rum supplies and trekked across the campsite to find fellow Boomtown veterans and some Boomtown virgins. Surveying the campsite (we were in a similar place to the year before) we could see that the site was much, much bigger. We set up the tent, had some beers and got a bit merry, then before we knew it it was evening. We ventured into the town to see (I think) the end of Roughneck Riot and then we saw Faintest Idea, who, if you've read earlier reviews, we're pretty psyched on. They were brilliant as always, although perhaps not yet ready for such a big stage. I'm not really sure what happened after that to be honest, due to consuming Janet's Jungle Juice (make of that what you will).

Friday soon came around and was met with cider, beers and sensi in the warm sunshine. I'm not really sure where Friday went but I remember wandering around near the Bad Apple Bar and wandering around the site in general seeing what was about. We were sat near the main stage and heard what sounded like some insanely catchy music. This was the Movits from Sweden, and served to reinforce my belief that this country provides some of the best party bands around (this has been proved to me every year at Boomtown so has now become something of a tradition).

We hit the Boombox to see Balkan Hotsteppers, who play a mashup of balkan, gypsy and hiphop. Dancing around not really in control of what I was doing is perfect on a Friday afternoon in the sunshine with rum in hand. I remember seeing a bit of Gentlemen's Dub Club who were alright, and then we went to the Hidden Woods stage to see The Skints, who I'm pretty sure played the best set I've ever seen them play. However the end of the set was marred by my smoking too strong a spliff and needing a little lie down staring at the trees above. Nevertheless, I picked myself up, and after some more wandering I remember seeing a bit of The Peacocks set, who were pretty awesome, and then we stuck around for The Meteors. I can't describe how big of a letdown The Meteors were. The singer was a bellend of epic proportions and they just didn't really seem arsed. We left midway through the set and passed out at the tent to Arcadia's heavy bass vibrations.

By Saturday I was fully in the festival swing and welcomed morning with a swig of water and a can and plain bagel. We headed to the Hidden Woods early on and saw Black Star Dub Collective, who were amazing. I've loved the tunes I've heard by them but was yet to see them live, but they didn't disappoint. Perfect for chilling under the trees whilst giving you something to think about. Hopefully they will be playing south at some point again soon. 

Again, not really sure what happened on Saturday. I know I saw some bands and they were good....but the only things I remember with any great form of clarity were Random Hand, who slayed it as always (I will never get bored of them live) and Slamboree, a circus/rave/balkan mashup of extreme mayhem. It was chaos on a stage! Probably one of the very best highlights in a weekend of amazingness and a band I would encourage everyone to see. Their cover/remix of Zorba the Greek (a traditional Greek classic) is truly inspired and worth seeing them for alone. Insanely brilliant band!

Saturday evening we decided to investigate this weird, noisy metal spider thing known as Arcadia. Every night there was an Arcadia show. I honestly haven't seen anything like it before. Acrobats! Fire! Lasers! Bass! More fire! More lasers! Fireworks! Fire! Fire! Smoke! More fire! The shots of fire were so intense you could feel the heat off them from several metres away. The Arcadia show coincided with a massive controlled propane explosion on the hill behind the 'town' and it lit up the whole site. IT WAS AWESOME!! Looking back at photos of it now it looks like it's from a film or something. Pretty sure I'm never going to see anything like that again in my lifetime. It's no wonder there was so many acid casualties with that shit going down every night. I thought it was complete madness and I was relatively in control of my mental faculties. Even though it probably didn't look like it as I stared at the display as if I'd never seen fire before.

On Sunday I was feeling a little the worse for wear and everything seemed like a challenge. I had some rum and some cider and that didn't do the trick. I was in a state of despair. I was near the main stage. The sun came out. The Skatalites came onstage. Everything was good in the world again! Like the Selecter last year, I firmly believe that if everyone had an injection of ska in the mornings there would be no problems or worries. For that 40 minutes, nothing else mattered. True legends and true heroes. 

Sunday seemed to be the day that loads of bands I wanted to see were playing, and the day I felt most haggard. I saw about half the set of The Slackers, then moved over to the Lion's Den to see Mungo's Hi Fi who were sweeeeeet. I knew there was only 1 way to get through my personal hell and that was to hit the rum, and hit it hard (and get some vegan food along the way - of which surprisingly there was plenty). We then saw some of Bootscraper, who were amazing! Everything I wanted in a piratey-esq band, especially when swigging rum. A band I'd like to see lots more of! We then chilled outside for a bit and went to see Tyrannosaurus Alan. Unfortunately the power went out midway through the set, however they carried on for a bit with the brass section and the drummer, and eventually the power came back on and they played a blinder of a set. 

Unfortunately we missed most of Jimmy Cliff's set but heard some of his sweet sweet reggae/ska classics. We rocked back to the Devil Kicks Dancehall to find mates throwing themselves around to Jack Rabbit Slim. We threw ourselves around too. They were wicked! We headed back to the mainstage to see a bit of Caravan Palace who were lovely! I think I'm growing to like this electro swing business. We saw some fireworks, then we saw the Wall of Death (which amazed everyone I think) then saw the last band of the weekend, The Filaments. It wasn't the best I've seen them play but they never disappoint! And really, I think everyone loved flinging themselves round the tent to Bastard Coppers.

I've had such a severe bout of festival blues since Boomtown ended! Couldn't have asked for better weather, better company or a better mix of music. This year taught me that I can get out of my comfort zone and enjoy genres in a way I never thought I could - although the bands I knew before the festival were (largely) amazing, this year for me the highlights have been things I wouldn't normally listen to - Slamboree were so enjoyable I can't wait to see them again, I could've danced at the Boombox all day, and if rave and jungle is played on Arcadia it's the best thing on the planet.

Here's hoping the rumours aren't true and Boomtown isn't sold off to someone with less passion and creativity and are just bothered about the money. Keep Boomtown as it is, I love it too much!