‘VARIOUS ARTISTS’ – ‘REBELLION’ FESTIVAL, WINTER GARDENS, BLACKPOOL 3.8.23
Whilst there are other punk festivals held in the UK, the ‘Rebellion Festival’ is arguably the largest and most important, both in terms of the artists and the spectators that travel from all over the world to attend. Unbelievably this is only the second year that I’ve been here, but it is now an unmissable part of my annual gigging calendar.
My first band today, in the RIS Arena (essentially the new bands’ stage), are Choked, who hail from the Mid-Wales border country and consist of Sam (vocals), Lennie (lead bass), Raph (rhythm bass), Gaz (drums) and Jonny (guitar). The first thing that I notice about the band is that they have two bassists! I think the last band that I saw with this configuration was Ned’s Atomic Dustbin back in 1990! I remember back then that I considered this kind of line-up to be a bit pointless. However, now being (allegedly) older and wiser, I can see that having two bassists can open up possibilities not available to other bands.
Both of these guys (Lennie and Raph) are essentially lead bassists, which are quite rare animals. Lemmy was a prime example, as was The Who’s John Entwistle. At one point one of the bassists plays chords, whilst the other plays a lead part. During ‘The Recut’ one of the bassists and the guitarist solo in unison, obviously an octave or two apart! Drummer Gaz joins one of the bass players on backing vocals. The band are coming up with new songs at quite a rate. Their self-titled album ‘Choked’ only came out in January, but already they’re introducing new and unreleased songs into their set.
New song ‘Inside My World’ starts out with a Bo Diddley drumbeat, whilst ‘Knockout’, another newbie, is probably the fastest song in the set. The singer is wearing a Hunt Saboteurs Association t-shirt, and this appears to be an indication of the band’s beliefs, as their set ends with the title track of their 2020 released ‘Blood Sport’ EP. Their set today is far too short. I would have liked to have heard more. The band’s next few gigs are Sunday 10th September at ‘Going Feral For Mental Health Fest‘, Herefordshire; Thursday 12th October, supporting 999 at The Victoria, Birmingham; and November (tbc) ‘Heart Of Anarchy Fest’ , The Herdsman, Hereford.
Choked setlist:
‘Buried Alive’
‘Two Can Play’
‘Blind Faith’
‘Inside My World’
‘The Reaper’
‘Kiss This’
‘Conspiracy’
‘Knock Out’
‘Blood Sport’
choked.bandcamp.com
www.instagram.com/chokedband
My next band are Brighton’s very own Lambrini Girls, also at the RIS Arena. They seem to split opinion somewhat, but this is a good thing, as it gets people talking about the band, and more importantly, their message. It could be argued that they entertain, educate, and provoke debate in equal measure. Whatever your views about them, no-one can deny that they are an exciting and memorable live band.
They swig from a bottle of Sierra Tequila during soundcheck. Whether this is pre-loading or just to settle any nerves they might have (although I can’t believe that they actually get nervous) I couldn’t say! Halfway through the first song guitarist Phoebe Lunny is already in the audience getting up close and personal to the crowd. An audience member holds her mic so that she can continue singing and playing. Phoebe spends more time in the audience than she does onstage, but this has no negative impact on the music. During ‘Help Me I’m Gay’ Phoebe is back in the audience calling for “gay legends” to make themselves known. Bassist Lilly Macieira is also now in the audience, still riffing powerfully. Putting on a performance like this would be a major distraction for some bands, but the Lambrini Girls carry it off with aplomb, the music remaining tight and powerful.
Phoebe, briefly back onstage, rips off her dress and is back in the audience again, introducing a song that I don’t think I’ve heard before: ‘Terf Wars’, which is about transphobia. What’s a terf I hear you ask? As indeed, I did. A terf, dear readers, is a trans-exclusionary radical feminist. That is, a feminist who doesn’t believe in trans rights. Listen and learn with the Lambrini Girls! The set continues with future classics ‘Lads Lads Lads’ and ‘The Boys In The Band’, both songs dealing in different ways with toxic masculinity. Phoebe, back in the crowd again, hands her mic to someone in the audience and runs off. Where’s she going? The balcony of course! I mean, why wouldn’t you? Once there she demands (and gets!) total silence, whilst she sings unamplified. Then she comes running back down for a final call-and-response session with the audience with their tune ‘Craig David’.
With that, they’re gone. Then the discussions start. Is there too much showpersonship and not enough music? In many ways it really doesn’t matter. The music has been good and it hasn’t suffered as a result of some aspects of the performance. Let’s face it, nobody who’s seen today’s gig is going to forget it in a hurry, and if they don’t forget the gig, they almost certainly won’t forget the message. Simples!
Lambrini Girls setlist
‘Big Dick Energy’
‘Help Me I’m Gay’
‘Mr Lovebomb’
‘Terf Wars’
‘Lads Lads Lads’
‘White Van’
‘Boys In The Band’
‘Craig David’
bsmrocks.bandcamp.com/album/youre-welcome
www.instagram.com/lambrinigirlz
I wander over to the Opera House for Blyth Power, who I last saw at St Albans Beer Festival in 1997. The line-up has changed somewhat since then. The one constant is drummer and vocalist Joseph Porter (real name Gary Hatcher), who has steadfastly been helming the band since 1983. Joining him on keyboards is Annie Hatcher, who has been with the band since 1995. On bass is Ben Bailey, a relative newbie, having only joined in 2014. On guitar is Hugo Hatcher, who is only seventeen, having joined the band in 2019. No matter how old he is, he’s one helluva guitarist. Apparently Joseph Porter has been taking him to Bloodstock for the past few years, and “he’s been picking up some very metal habits.”
The older members of the band are well into the age of parenthood thus have a song “about being woken up by your kids”. Still, knocking on or not, they’re not letting the grass grow under their feet and have a new album out called ‘The Power Behind The Throne’. They’re clearly very proud of it as we’re treated to some selections from it, and very good they are too. ‘Seven Summers’ is about squatting on the dole in the 1980s, when such a thing was still possible. One gets the impression that the current Government would make it a capital offence if they could get away with it. Far better to have people living on the streets eh?
Another song on the album is about stalking an ex on Facebook, “with all of the subtlety of an American foreign policy”. Let it not be said that Blyth Power lack a sense of humour. ‘Going Down With Alice’ is a song about early 1980s punk rock from the ‘Women And Horses And Power And War’ album of 2014. The song makes a good companion piece with ‘Seven Summers’. The set ends with a final song from the new album: ‘Katherine’, which Joseph tells us can be summed up as “she said no, get over it.”
Blyth Power seem to be virtually ageless. I suspect this is because they have always had a continually changing cast of members, so there has been a constant influx of new blood, whilst there has been a core membership of Joseph Porter and Annie Hatcher providing a great big slab of continuity. Plus they remain a superb live band. Don’t take my word for it. Dip into the Blyth Power live experience yourselves. “Where can we have this very experience” I hear you cry?!! Well, it just so happens that every year Blyth Power hold a festival called The Ashes. This year it takes place on 18th to 20th August, at The Blue Ship, The Haven, near Horsham, RH14 9BS. It’s not a million miles away from Brighton. It’d be kind of rude not to go wouldn’t it? Tickets HERE.
Blyth Power setlist:
‘Morning Comes Home’
‘Cold War Comforts’
‘Timelines’
‘Seven Summers’
‘Going Down With Alice’
‘Katherine’
blythpower.bandcamp.com
www.blythpower.co.uk
I now head over to the rather regal Empress Ballroom for the UK Subs. I’ve been looking forward to seeing this band again, and I’m sure they’ll be one of my highlights of the weekend. The one remaining original member of the band is Charlie Harper, who is seventy-nine years old, although you wouldn’t know it. Bass player Alvin Gibb has had five periods of membership with the band, starting in 1980. Guitarist Steve Straughan joined in 2014. The current drummer is Stefan Haublein. Unbelievably, there are seventy-nine former members of the UK Subs (one for each year of Harper’s age. Is this a coincidence???) but the chemistry between the four current members is incredible, almost bordering on telepathy. All four of them give it 150%.
The band rip straight into ‘C.I.D’ and I immediately start to doubt Harper’s age. If somebody told me he was fifty I’d believe them. You have no doubt that he absolutely means the lyrics that he’s singing. When he sings “I wanna be teenage” you’re left in absolutely no doubt that he probably does. It’s easy to forget what good musicians they are. Instrumentally they’re a sh*t hot three piece. Steve Straughan’s playing in particular is utterly extraordinary.
Unfortunately they only get an hour, but we do get classics such as ‘Warhead’ and ‘Tomorrow’s Girls’. They’ve still got the attitude, and still got the chops. Having played their farewell European tour this year, a lot of people think that they’re giving up playing live. This doesn’t seem to be the case. At the end of the last encore Charlie tells us “see you next year!” Well, here’s hoping.
They have a final UK tour running from 7th September until 1st October. Much of it is sold out, but there are still tickets left for Southampton 1865 on 10th September, Reading Sub 89 on the 11th, and London 100 Club on 1st October. If you soft southerners can’t make those dates, you may have to consider gigs in the Midlands, up North, in Wales, or even Scotland!!! Depends on how much you like the Subs I suppose. Ticket links are available HERE.
UK Subs setlist:
‘C.I.D’
‘I Live In A Car’
‘Kicks’
‘Emotional Blackmail’
‘You Don’t Belong’
‘Endangered Species’
‘Rockers’
‘Organised Crime’
‘New York State Police’
‘Bitter & Twisted’
‘Fear Of Girls’
‘Limo Life’
‘Down On The Farm’
‘Party In Paris’
‘Tomorrows Girls’
‘Warhead’
‘Riot’
‘Stranglehold
’Disease’
(encore)
‘Teenage’
‘Keep On Running (‘Til You burn)’
uksubs.keekmerch.com
www.uksubstimeandmatter.net
Penetration are the last band that I see on Thursday night, also in the Empress Ballroom. Headliners The Damned have had to pull out due to Dave Vanian hurting his back and being in too much pain to perform. I know that this is not a decision that they will have taken lightly. Cock Sparrer plays there instead. However, being a massive Damned fan, I can accept no substitute, good as Cock Sparrer are, so Penetration become my de facto Thursday night headliners in the Empress Ballroom, and very worthy they are too.
The current line-up comprises original members Pauline Murray on vocals and Robert Blamire on bass, together with guitarists Steve Wallace and Paul Harvey who both joined in 2001, plus Ken Goodinson on drums. The opening song is ‘Reunion’ from debut album ‘Moving Targets’, which is quite well represented in the set, with four songs originating from it. Fifth number ‘Sea Song’ is from Penetration’s most recent album ‘Resolution’, which came out in 2015, and Pauline Murray admits “is now actually quite old.” When I first saw Penetration in 2016 Pauline Murray’s hair was defiantly dark, it is now white. However, both she and the band put in a performance which is both feisty and energetic. It’s a very lean show with no flab.
There’s a cover of ‘Free Money’ by Patti Smith, and three songs from the aforementioned ‘Resolution’ album, which on the basis of what I hear tonight seems to be a fine piece of work. However, the highlight for me is ‘Don’t Dictate’, three songs from the end of the set, which draws a line in the sand every bit as confrontationally as it did back in 1978. Penetration only get an hour, with no encore permitted, which is a real shame. They played this gig with four days’ notice, standing in for U.S band Descendants. Penetration hadn’t played for nine months, so either they rehearsed really hard, or they’re just a naturally good band. Probably a bit of both. Disappointingly they currently have no gigs booked! Come on guys, come out to play. And so endeth day one of ‘Rebellion’. Not with a whimper, but with an emphatic bang!!!
Penetration setlist:
‘Reunion’
‘Nostalgia’
‘Danger Signs’
‘Movement’
‘Sea Song’
‘Makes No Sense’
‘Stone Heroes’
‘Free Money’
‘Come Into The Open’
‘Don’t Dictate’
‘Beat Goes On’
‘Shout Above The Noise’
www.amazon.co.uk/Resolution-Penetration
penetrationband.com
For ‘Rebellion’ reviews of Friday 4th August – click HERE. Our reviews from Day Three of ‘Rebellion’ (The Saturday) can be found HERE and our reviews of Day Four (The Sunday) can be located HERE.
‘Rebellion’ festival will return on 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th August 2024. Early bird tickets are already on sale from HERE.
