‘PUNKS NOT DEAD’ screamed the T-shirt of one of the smokers in the crowd banished to Mr Kyps car park to puff on their ciggies. As we pulled up and got out of the car, a tall punk with bleached blonde, spiky hair detached himself from the crowd and ambled over, he informed me that he was on the door tonight and the charge for parking was £2! Before I had a chance to protest, his face broke into a massive grin “Naw, only joking mate…just ‘aving you on”.
He then promptly told us it was the 24th time he’d seen the Subs and gave us a big hug and told us we’d enjoy tonight.
With the tone of the evening well and truly set, we made our way in.
With every song barely over a minute and a half Thunderdump probably get more songs into their half hour set than most headlining bands manage to do in the main set! Riff heavy punk rock with some amusing lyrics. Towards the end of the set the songs start to get a bit repetitive but at the end they throw in one with a bit of Ska in it, but it isn’t enough to get the punters engaged.
The Demonic Upchucks get a few more bodies up to slamdance/pogo. Their brand of punk is more polished and structured than the previous band (even though they share the same bassist) and guitarist Matt’s vocal goes from low growl to mediolic singing from song to song. They have a good live presence and were a definite crowd pleaser. Set highlight for me was ‘American Werewolf in London’.
There aren’t many bands that can boast as loyal a following as the UK SUBS can, frontman and founder member Charlie Harper is on par with Motorhead’s Lemmy as a relentless touring machine, willing to play anywhere and everywhere and be able to deliver the goods every night. As he emerges from backstage the crowd lets out a huge cheer.
With an extensive back catalogue to choose from, the Subs proceed to whip Mr Kyps up into a punked up frenzy of classic tracks from their past. ‘Tommorrow’s Girls’, ‘TV Blues’ and ‘Stranglehold’ ensure that there will be a few brusied ribs from the mosh pit the next day! Watching the like of American acts Greenday and The Offspring, have massive album sales and sell out tours, must be sickening for them, as they are one of the most underrated punk bands around today. They are clearly enjoying themselves as much as the crowd, which all adds up to a great night.
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As we left, I noticed a sticker for a local anarchist group plastered on the bonnet of my car! I thought ‘Damn that’s going to be a bugger getting off’ but like tonight’s event it came off smoothly with no fuss.
