Rebellion 2008, Day 2. Back to my normal style

I woke up at 6.49am precisely on Friday. Very early indeed considering I had consumed a fair amount of alcohol the day before. I left Darcy sleeping the sleep of the just and after taking an Ibuprofen and making a cup of coffee, I sat in front of my trusty computer and wrote up the first day. I got Darcy up at about 9.30am and we very slowly got ready to go out.

Outside the Winter Gardens just before seeing The Duel

We made it into Blackpool in time for the Duel. I really like the Duel. I have their CD “Let’s Finish What We Started” and I can assure you, it’s good stuff. Unfortunately, the sound was poorly mixed: the bass and backing vocals were too loud. This spoilt it a little for me but I still enjoyed it a great deal. Tara, as always, looked great. One thing, though, why does Andy Thierum never face the front of the stage? Any explanations will be welcome.

We went up to the Bizarre Bazaar next and caught the last ten minutes or so of a comedian, Chris Brooker. My hearing was still a bit shot at so I didn’t catch much of what he said. However, he was followed by another, Ben Schofield, who was good and I could hear him. He did good observational comedy but I’m not going to quote any – it always loses something in the translation and I never remember things properly, so you’ll just have to take my word for it that he was funny.

After that, we went for a wander and Danny from Middle Finger Salute said “Hello” to me. I like these lads a great deal. They’re much the same age as my older daughter and have amazing energy. They always say hello when they see me too, which is very polite of them and makes me feel like punk royalty. He told me that they had played the night before at short notice. I was heart-broken. I hate to miss a chance to see them. Still, I knew they were playing on Sunday, so it wasn’t as if I wouldn’t see them at all.

Danny 2 days later on stage

The next band we saw was Outl4w. I first saw these boy wonders in 2006 and boy! was I impressed! They’re two years older now (obviously) and the music has quite a thrash feel to it. The ah-factor has lessened as they have grown older, although it hasn’t disappeared fully yet. There is a massive amount of respect for them amongst grizzled old punks and skins. They have a very mature sound for such young lads.

Then we went to see London. They are not a band I’ve heard before but they came highly recommended so we decided to give them a try. Definitely worth it, although they had a couple of hiccups at the start of the set. It was all sorted out eventually and they played good noisy punk. I can’t find anything about them online so if anybody knows if they have a myspace, let me know. I want to find out more.

After that another wander and then we went to see Argy Bargy. It is absolutely scandalous that I have never got round to buying any CDs by them. I think they’re brilliant and their set was the highlight for me on Friday. I can’t name any songs, although they were familiar, so I’m really showing my ignorance here. I will have to make sure I rectify this disgraceful state of affairs before much longer. Next year, I promise I’ll be able to give a decent account of their set.

We saw Blood or Whiskey after tea. Darcy assures me they don’t always play as fast but, to be honest, they can play as fast as they like. I did feel my age (I’m 45, you know) during their set because I was on the edge of the moshpit and got moshed into rather more frequently than I like. We moved further back after a few songs, where the view was not so good but at least I wasn’t being bumped into quite so much and I could hear them just as well. I like Blood or Whiskey. They manage to mix Irish and punk music so it’s exactly to my taste.

Blood or Whiskey, note banjo player in the background.

After they finished, we rushed next door to catch the end of Deadline’s set. This was one of a few nasty clashes where we had to choose between bands. Darcy had never seen Deadline before and I think he was impressed. So much so that he’s put my Deadline CD on his I-Pod now and will soon be listening to them on a regular basis on the bus home from work.

GLC, unfortunately, I couldn't find a picture of the Final Vinyl EP

We had a break for alcohol after Deadline and then went off to watch Bad Manners for a while. It was only a while because I wanted to see Menace. Menace is one of those bands I’ve liked for many, many years. I had three singles by them back in the day: GLC, The Young Ones and my long time favourite, Last Year’s Youth. Those singles were taken to the council tip by my ex-husband sometime in 2007, along with all his old vinyl too (just so you don’t think he’s an utter bastard). Last Christmas, my excellent son bought me a Menace compilation CD. I played it on my way home from work a couple of days later and I still remember where I was when “Last Year’s Youth” came on. I was driving down St Anne’s Road East and I started crying. Sorry, I’m a softie, I know, but that song means so much to me.

Well, when we went in to watch Menace, I had back ache, so we sat down leaning against the wall to give ourselves some relief (Darcy had the same problem). They played some stuff I didn’t recognise, some stuff I did but couldn’t put a name to and then “GLC”. I sang along with gusto. Then more songs and then “Last Year’s Youth”. Somehow the back ache went and the years fell away. I was 17 again and I leapt to my feet, rushed to the front and spent the rest of the time bouncing around like a lunatic, pointing at the stage and singing along at the top of my voice. So much so that the skinhead in front turned round to look at the old pretender behind him, who thought she was more “last year’s youth” than him. I think he conceded the point. I am 45, you know.

We finished the evening by going to see the Cockney Rejects. Well, I say see, but we actually didn’t see a great deal of them, although we did hear them. The back ache had returned with a vengeance and my feet hurt like hell, so we found an empty bit of wall and sat down against it. The sound was quite poor where we were (although I now know that if we’d braved the front of the crowd, it would have been much better). However, it was heartening to hear Stinky Turner singing about Flares and Slippers. It makes me realise I’m not the only old one there.

After that, we made a dash for the taxi and went home. Oh, one last thing, my radar was working brilliantly all day. I managed to spot John Robb,  Charlie Harper and Animal during our peregrinations and turned round during Deadline’s set and found myself facing Stuart Pearce. I even held the door for him when we were all leaving after they had finished. Not bad for somebody who usually can’t see beyond the end of her nose.

~ by Jester on August 12, 2008.