DEAD KENNEDYS + PÏSS BÄTH – DE LA WARR PAVILION, BEXHILL-ON-SEA 17.5.23
The adjective “seminal” tends to get overused, but in the sphere of hardcore punk it certainly applies to Dead Kennedys, who pretty much set the template in the early 1980s. Even if you haven’t heard their music you’ll have certainly seen their logo of a stylised DK on a red background, replicated on the T-shirts of generations of rebellious youth over the past four decades. Their 1980 debut ‘Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables’ has a special place in this reviewer’s heart, having enjoyed heavy rotation on the Dansette record player of my teenage bedroom, back in the day.
Frontman Jello Biafra parted company with the band when they split in the late 1980s, and a later acrimonious legal wrangle over royalties means a reunion is unlikely. Sadly, last autumn we also received news of the untimely death of D. H. Peligro, the drummer since 1981. A message from the band on the venue’s website explains that they felt they should honour their commitments to the fans who had bought tickets for these dates, and that they are naming this the “DHPower Tour” in recognition of their bandmate, and dedicating the shows to his memory.
Tonight we are at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill, a grade one listed icon of modernist architecture right on the seafront. The balcony is closed, so we’re some way off maximum capacity, but there’s a good-sized crowd with a broad range of ages, and a palpable buzz of anticipation.
First up we have Pïss Bäth, a four-piece from Glasgow. They sound like high-velocity hardcore punk, but are hairy dudes who look like a rock band. It’s super-fast, super-heavy, and a lot of fun. The singer is called Plug (an essential component of any bath). His flailing long hair totally obscures his face and his vocals are an unrelenting scream. Guitarist Sancho and bassist Liam groove about, throwing shapes, and bearded drummer Paddy dispatches fills of high-speed triplet rolls.
Plug confesses, in an accent so thick you’d need to have watched a whole series of ‘Rab C. Nesbitt’ to make it out, that the band are hungover. Crikey! How energetic would they be otherwise? I particularly like the amusingly titled second number, ‘Bong Voyage’, which has an ‘Ace of Spades’ vibe to its bass-led intro, and a tasty wah solo. Plug wants to remove his T-shirt, so hands his mic to Paddy, who unsubtly announces to the whole auditorium, “We are in dire need of some weed.” The shirtless Plug has an extensive gallery of body art, and Paddy turns in an impressive drum break at the end of ‘INTU The Void’.
A screamingly intense cover of ZZ Top’s ‘Sharp Dressed Man’ is performed at a blistering pace, and the set concludes in a maelstrom of furious energy with the excellent single ‘Sword Swallower’. There are stabs, pushes, and a nifty false ending. The drummer has crawled to the side of the stage to interact with the audience. I wouldn’t know whether his wish has been granted, but he’s shaking hands for a while. This has been a very entertaining start to proceedings. If fast and heavy is your thing, I think you’ll like Pïss Bäth.
Pïss Bäth:
Plug – vocals
Sancho – guitar
Liam -bass
Paddy -drums
Pïss Bäth setlist:
‘Street Valium’,
‘Bong Voyage’,
‘INTU The Void’,
‘Inverness Knifeman’,
‘Sharp Dressed Man’ (ZZ Top cover),
‘Castlemilk’,
‘Piss Bath’,
‘Sword Swallower’
Before the main event, Ray, Klaus and Skip of the Dead Kennedys come out onto the stage to pay tribute to their former bandmate. “Rest in power, D. H. Peligro. This music’s for you.” Occupying the drum seat tonight, as the band takes the stage, is D. H.’s friend and former drum tech, Santi Guardiola. By coincidence (the set list is exactly the same as for their 2019 tour), the first number is ‘Forward To Death’, with Skip snarling the lyric: “This world brings me down. I’m looking forward to death.”
Klaus Flouride is playing an exact replica of the 1966 Jazz bass he used back in the day, right down to the road wear and stickers. The original was lost in transit during a tour in 2013. ‘Winnebago Warrior’ has a wonderfully bouncing bassline, played with sufficient punch to vibrate the DI box off the top of his precipitously high stack. It’s probably as well it’s a familiar set, because I need to stop taking notes and dance for the surf-guitar driven ‘Police Truck’, originally the B-side (remember them?) of the ‘Holiday In Cambodia’ single. Quite a lively mosh has developed, and the crowd density is sufficiently thin to allow the participants to build up a good bit of momentum. It gets particularly vigorous for ‘Let’s Lynch The Landlord’, a song whose time has surely come, in the straitened circumstances of a cost-of-living crisis.
Skip has been the lead vocalist since 2008, and seems very comfortable in the role. His voice has the hectoring vibrato of his predecessor, and he has a genre-appropriate enthusiasm for antagonism. Pretty much everything he does and says is a wind up, and his introduction to ‘Jock-O-Rama’ seems to get many unsuspecting punters properly riled. “It’s beautiful…. to be this close to France,” he begins, before reeling off a list of things that the United Kingdom is not united about: the coronation, Brexit, politics. When the pantomime villain tells us we are mistaken as a nation about the use of the term “football”, he gets a pint of water lobbed at him from the crowd in response. I’m pretty sure he will reciprocate in due course.
There’s a worryingly enthusiastic chantalong to ‘Kill The Poor’, which I’m surprised the current government hasn’t adopted as their theme tune. I like Ray’s guitar work during the different movements of ‘MP3 Get Off The Web’, an update of ‘MTV Get Off The Air’. It’s probably due for another revision in this current age of low-royalty streaming. ‘Too Drunk To F*ck’ predictably inspires more frenetic dancing and moshing.
Some of the crowd still haven’t quite got the idea with Skip’s wind ups, and seem genuinely upset when he announces that they have to finish the set now as there’s a 1980s club night following, and the venue need to clear the hall in readiness. This patent nonsense draws howls of derision and a palpable sense of relief when the band pushes on with the more experimental ‘Moon Over Marin’.
Drummer Santi, who has played an absolute blinder, addresses the crowd with his own tribute to D. H., ending with the rallying cry: “F*ck sexism, no homophobia, and no f*cking racism!” There’s appropriately enthusiastic chanting of the imperative verb from ‘Nazi Punks F*ck Off’, and I’m seriously impressed with the crowd response to set closer ‘California Über Alles’, a mass word-perfect singalong of the “suede denim secret police” section when Skip thrusts the mic towards us.
Needless to say there are encores, and it’s time to just enjoy the moment and have a dance. I do notice that the same jokey interludes pop us as in 2019: a burst of Taylor Swift during ‘Viva Las Vegas’, for example. Given what’s happened in the intervening time, I’m thankful that they’re here at all, so will forgive the lack of new novelty. In fact, I’d forgive anything to hear ‘Holiday In Cambodia’ performed live. Ironically, Cambodia is a popular holiday destination these days, but that’s what the passage of time can do over 40 years. It’s certainly roughed me up a bit, but I’m glad I’m still here to catch a set by one of the cherished bands of my youth. I’m impressed that after the lights come up, rather than retreat to the dressing room, Skip is down on the barrier interacting with the fans, posing for selfies and handing out copies of the setlist. Good man.
Rest in power D. H. Peligro (Darren Henley) 1959 – 2022.
Dead Kennedys:
East Bay Ray – guitars
Klaus Flouride – bass, vocals
Ron ‘Skip’ Greer – lead vocals
Santi Guardiola – drums
Dead Kennedys setlist:
‘Forward To Death’ from ‘Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables’ 1980)
‘Winnebago Warrior’ (from ‘Plastic Surgery Disasters’ 1982)
‘Police Truck’ (single B-side, 1980)
‘Buzzbomb’ (from ‘Plastic Surgery Disasters’ 1982)
‘Let’s Lynch The Landlord’ from ‘Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables’ 1980)
‘Jock-O-Rama’ (from ‘Frankenchrist’ 1985)
‘Kill The Poor’ (from ‘Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables’ 1980)
‘MP3 Get Off The Web’ (from ‘Frankenchrist’ 1985, originally ‘MTV Get Off The Air’)
‘Too Drunk to F*ck’ (single, 1981)
‘Moon Over Marin’ (from ‘Plastic Surgery Disasters’ 1982)
‘Nazi Punks F*ck Off’ (from ‘In God We Trust Inc.’ EP 1981)
‘California Über Alles’ from ‘Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables’ 1980)
(encore)
‘Bleed For Me’ (from ‘Plastic Surgery Disasters’ 1982)
‘Viva Las Vegas’ (Elvis Presley cover) (inc ‘Shake It Off’ by Taylor Swift) from ‘Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables’ 1980)
‘Holiday In Cambodia’ from ‘Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables’ 1980)
(2nd encore)
‘Chemical Warfare’ (inc ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ by Lynyrd Skynyrd )
(from ‘Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables’ 1980)
