14.10.18

The Great British Alternative Music Festival. Butlins, Skegness. 05.10.18. - 08.10.18.


Words: Steve White & AJ Phink. Photography: Steve White.




The Great British Alternative Music Festival. Three days and nights of live indie, punk, post punk with a smattering of mod and ska thrown in for good measure. A festival with a bit more comfort than most. No tents in muddy fields here. This is Butlins, Skegness. Comfortable chalets ranging from the basic containing just bedroom and bathroom the luxury with lounge, kitchen complete with complimentary tea, coffee, crisps and even a couple of small bottles of red and white wine,TVs, bathrooms with towels and complimentary toiletries. All chalets within a 10 minute walk of the venues and the venues all indoors. It’s adults only – good because it means there’s no kids wandering around with no interest in the music at all, not good because there are 14/15/16/17 year olds around who love music that’s not straight out of X-Factor and who would love the opportunity to see so many quality bands in such a short space of time. Almost 4000 people brought together by a mutual love of music from bands who refuse to conform to what the mainstream wants. Whilst punk has its various fashions – there’s plenty of extreme mohicans, died hair, leather jackets, and ripped T-shirt’s it’s attitude that joins people together here and because of this there is never any bother. People aren’t here to outdo each other. They’re here to meet with, drink with and listen to bands with like minded people.



As for the bands. Three stages. The Introducing Stage kicks off at 4pm each day and, in theory, introduces people to bands they haven’t heard of before. In actual fact a load of these bands are well known, have been going for years and have a dedicated following. This year saw Pete Bentham and The Dinner Ladies, Drongos For Europe, Witchdoktors, Desperate Measures – none of whom are ‘new’ kick out a range of hardcore punk, psycho garage punk, socially aware stripped back poppy punk and guitar drenched post punk. Desperate Measures formed in 1982! The Lengthmen, The Reletics, Delinquents, Blue Carpet Band and others reinforce the fact that punk/post punk/grungy rock n roll is not only not dead it’s alive and well and here to stay. Introducing Stage bands receive votes from the audience in the form of tokens and the winner from each day returns next year to open the main stage. No disrespect to the winners, they were all brilliant, but it’s a system that’s open to abuse and should be changed. Whatever, it’s great exposure for all the bands with many saying they’d booked more gigs on the back of this weekend and sold a load of merch.



Witchdoktors


Blue Carpet Band

Bus Station Loonies

Delinquents

Desperate Measures


Pete Bentham & The Dinner Ladies

The Relitics

Verbal Warning

The two main stages are a showcase of bands that reinforce your faith in music. Bands from ‘back then’ still have the attitude, aggression, passion and raw power that make you realise it’s still important to kick back against a lot of the attitudes many try to force upon us nowadays. Sham 69, UK Subs, The Rezillos, The Boomtown Rats, Eddie & The Hot Rods, The Blockheads, Spear of Destiny, The Professionals and New Model Army all played superb sets that didn’t rely on regurgitating old songs but included, in the majority of cases, songs released much more recently. Bad Manners injected a real party atmosphere and kept people dancing until the early hours. Newer bands No Thrills, Hands Off Gretel and, love them or loathe them, Hung Like Hanratty prove beyond doubt that there’s more to music than the chart fodder too many people buy into nowadays. There’s still anger, there’s still social commentary and, with Dirt Box Disco there’s also a lot of fun.

Anti-Nowhere League

Bad Manners

Blockheads

The Boomtown Rats

The Boomtown Rats

Dirt Box Disco

Ed Tudor Pole

Eddie & The Hot Rods

GBH

Hands Off Gretel

Hands Off Gretel

Hung Like Hanratty

New Model Army

New Model Army

No Thrills

The Rezillos

The Rezillos

Sham 69

Sham 69

Spear Of Destiny

The Professionals

The Professionals

UK Subs


Should you wish you could watch some of every band that plays. There are clashes but unless a venue is full, in which case it’s one in one out, you can wander freely between the two main stages.  It’s less than a two minute walk between them. We had every intention of doing just this but sometimes a band will hook you in so much you don’t want to leave. This year it was The Rezillos (so missed Flight Brigade), Spear Of Destiny (I missed The Lambrettas) and New Model Army (missed all but one song of Angelic Upstarts).

As well as plenty of bars selling reasonably priced drinks there’s slot machines, on site swimming pool, coffee bar, supermarket – you can take your own alcohol to the Introducing Stage, chip shop, restaurants, clothes stores, record stores and, of course, the beach where a walk can clear the morning hangover.

Well organised with almost 40 bands over the three days, decent accommodation, friendly, efficient staff and a price tag hovering around £120 if you choose the basic package there really is nothing to complain about.

30.6.18

Kristin Hersh + Fred Abong. Newcastle Cluny2, 27.06.18.



“If Jesus could wash my feet I still wouldn’t have a hope in hell.” Just one of a number of great lyrical snippets from tonight’s opening act Fred Abong, former bass player with Throwing Muses and Belly. After a long absence, and some persuasion from Kristin Hersh herself, Abong has recorded and released a mini album/ep ‘Homeless’. All six tracks are played tonight and, writing these words two days later, I’ve become a convert. Mesmorising, repetitive guitar picking runs throughout a number of his songs – ‘Equinox’ and  ‘Homeless’ being two stand outs that immediately hook you in and make you really want to listen, while slower, heavier strumming backs up ‘Hi Avalon’ and ‘The Cannery’ all topped with a voice that instantly reminds me of Eels Mark Everett. Husky and gravelly with lyrics that can deal up despair, bleakness and some fragile emotional thoughts. Acoustic versions of previous heavier, grungier tracks such as ‘Bower Bird’ and ‘Christmas’, not to be found on the ep, sound great. Fred Abong delivered a set of acoustic songs that allowed fans of his previous bands to experience a new way of appreciating his songwriting.

Website here.

Listen to Homeless (even better - just buy it) here.

Fred Abong

Fred Abong


Kristin Hersh pushes the curtain draped to the right out of the way, walks on stage, says “Hello” and the place falls silent, the audience immediately transfixed by her presence. Opening with ‘Bright’ from most recent album ‘Wyatt At The Coyote Palace’ both Hersh and those present are taken to another place. A place where, for the next hour or so, nothing else matters apart from the songs we’re listening to. Kristin Hersh is an endearing yet powerful presence. There’s virtually no chatter between songs except the occasional comment that “it’s so quiet in here.” That’s simply an indication of the respect and adoration so many have for her. Not a single person would dare start holding their own conversation whilst she’s playing. Not a single person would even want to. It’s a career spanning set covering her solo output as well as a decent number of Throwing Muses numbers. Songs that are over twenty years old, some approaching thirty years of age sit comfortably amongst recent releases and lose none of their power or impact. Stripped of drums and bass, with just Hersh’s volatile guitar playing and voice that veers between delicate sweetness and raw yelling ‘City Of The Dead’ , ‘Static’ and ‘Sunray Venus’ are transformed into completely new auditory experiences. Crowd favourites ‘Poor Wayfaring Stranger’ and, of course, ‘Your Ghost’ are greeted with particularly enthusiastic, yet polite, shouts of appreciation. The rawness of ‘Mississippi Kite’ contrasts beautifully with the delicate, emotional ‘Flooding’. It’s a set that’s all too short. Kristin Hersh leaves the stage and it’s almost as if everyone awakes from a wonderful hypnotic trance. Suddenly there’s floor stamping and yells for more. No way she’ll get away without returning, which she does with a comment along the lines of “Now for my happy songs” before belting out an encore that included, amongst others  ‘Your Dirty Answer’, the Muses ‘You Cage’ and ‘Gazebo Tree’.
Great night from one of rock’s most talented singer-songwriters.
Setlist, but not in order and possibly with one or two minor errors: The Key / Bright / Krait / Mississippi Kite / Gazebo Tree / Freesia / Poor Wayfaring Stranger / Your Ghost / Static / City Of The Dead / Flooding / Sunray Venus / I Will Never Marry / Banks Of The Ohio / Sundrops / Cuckoo / You Cage / Dirty Answer

Website here.

Shimmer - Facebook fanpage here.

Kristin Hersh

Kristin Hersh

Kristin Hersh

Kristin Hersh


Kristin Hersh

Kristin Hersh

Kristin Hersh

Kristin Hersh






27.6.18

Public Image Ltd + Miles Hunt. Newcastle Academy. 12.06.18.


The Wonder Stuff frontman strolls on with his guitar, sits on a stool behind his mike and delivers a set of acoustic numbers that stretch back over a career spanning 30 odd years. With limited time there is, unfortunately, only enough minutes for nine songs but each of them is delivered with passion although obviously in a gentler, more laid back way than seen at Stuffies gigs. Miles Hunt sings from his heart about things that matter to him, including a rallying call against the right wing direction the UK seems to be heading with ‘We Came Here To Work’. There’s a large back catalogue to choose from. Tonight we’re treated to ‘When The Currency Was Youth’ and ‘We Came Here To Work’ from recent album with Erica Nockalls as well as a decent selection of his Wonder Stuff output – ‘Can’t Shape Up’, ‘Good Deeds & Highs’, ‘Caught In My Shadow’, ‘Circlesquare’ and with the exception of one sad git the crowd like it. This sad git, clearly not expecting an acoustic opener at a PiL gig, decides to heckle Hunt. He’s quickly dispatched with a cutting comment asking if he’s still fighting the punk rock wars.


Miles Hunt

Miles Hunt



Miles Hunt



40 years ago Public Image Ltd broke new ground with their experimental post-punk and rewrote the rules of music, again. 40 years on and with a wealth of material to draw from PiL, when on form, still make you feel you’re experiencing something special. Tonight they’re certainly on form and as expected we get a career spanning set that opens with the superbly catchy, addictively danceable, ‘Warrior’. Live PiL deliver intense, vibrant and still relevant songs. The current, most stable line-up, of Lu Edmonds, Bruce Smith, Scott Firth and John Lydon pump out a perfectly crafted noise of deep, dark bass rhythms, tribal drums, scratchy guitars and wailing vocals. Lydon dominates front of stage with that unforgettably piercing stare and now familiar dancing shuffle. But it’s Lydons voice that really hits home. Whether howling his way through ‘Death Disco’ or delivering a slightly less ear splitting cry of ‘Public Image’ you are constantly reminded that PiL are PiL. They’ve never compromised and they’re not going to start now. PiL do what they do and if you don’t like it you can fuck right off because they really don’t care. This is why they can be one of the most exciting live bands around and why every new release is fresh and innovative. Classics are belted out much to the approval of those here. ‘Death disco’, ‘Flowers Of Romance’, ‘Memories’, ‘This Is Not A Love Song’ and ‘Rise’ – the perfect song to end a set covering all of the last four decades.
Some things don’t change. Lydon still swigs his brandy for medicinal purposes before spitting it back out, still clears his nasal cavities between songs. Tonight he’s not wearing glasses but still stands behind a song book.
PiL return for an encore, Lydon complete with Newcastle scarf, and begin the unmistakeable chant of “Hello, Hello” and ‘Public Image’, surely one of the greatest songs to appear in the aftermath of punk, makes the masses move. Finishing with a truly immense ‘Open Up’ PiL leave you realising just how good following your own convictions and not following a formula can be.
Set List: Warrior / memories / The Body / Corporate / The Room I am In / Death Disco / Cruel / I’m Not Satisfied / Flowers Of romance / Fishing / This Is Not A Love Song / Rise.
Encores: Public Image / Open Up/Shoom.


Public Image Ltd

Public Image Ltd

Public Image Ltd

Public Image Ltd

Public Image Ltd

Public Image Ltd

Public Image Ltd