VIVE LE PUNK FESTIVAL
Leamington Spa The Assembly
April 26th
Here are two fan reviews of the VLP festival. All photos are copyright Uglypunk.
The venue was excellent, recently refurbished - and it looked it too. Great stage with good visibility from anywhere in the room. There was mention of a new £250,000 sound system having been installed, and after hearing all the bands play you couldn’t argue with it either - they all sounded exceptionally good. Even the light show was very good all day and reached its peak at the end of the night for the UK Subs and the Anti Nowhere League. The only downside during the whole proceedings was the over-use of the smoke machines for the last few bands - so much so that Nato (the ANWL drummer, for those that don’t know) couldn’t even read his set list at one point - and it was less than three foot away from him !!!!!
ALL the staff (yes, INCLUDING the bouncers) were excellent, and as usual at these events there was no trouble whatsoever - just everybody having a good time and really enjoying themselves watching the bands.
First up on stage were a local band called SECTION 13 (4/5) - pictured below - who did a great set, watched by a decent gathering for first on like. Very energetic and watchable frontman, with a good punk sound made for a fine start to the days proceedings.
Next up - the ever fast and furious VARUKERS (4/5), who never fail to produce the goods, with Rat stalking the stage and taking command as usual. Bit early in the day for them to be playing - but with so many other good bands still to come someone had to be second on!
Similar can be said for the third band too, THE LURKERS (4/5) - but Arthur was needed later on for the 999 set, so we'll give yer that one !! Another polished performance by the three piece punk legends and very well recieved.
The day was still only young and already it was time for the consistently brilliant VICE SQUAD (4/5). With the super Beki Bondage up front they put in another great performance (even when Paul’s Amp blew! But he sorted it out, and most punters probably didn’t even notice!) Excellent delivery and energy throughout the whole set.
Time for THE MEMBERS (3/5) now. Recently re-formed after approx 20 years (so I was told) and this was only about their fifth gig since then. The least lively band of the day, which was only to be expected - played a mixed range of tunes including some slow ska/reggae types and the crowd pleasing Solitary Confinement and Sound of the Suburbs. Not my type of music - but that is nothing against their collective performance.
Arthur has had a long enough break now! So it’s the turn of 999 (4/5). Brill set with lots of old stuff mixed with a few of the new album tracks, and they all went down well. Nick Cash was lively on the large stage and even managed to get airborne a couple of times too!
Enter the maestro... Charlie Harper and the UK SUBS (5/5). Charlie was on top form, clad in leather jacket and Vibrators T shirt - prancing around, throwing the mike stand in the air, jumping about, and more. How does he do it after all these years, AND, at his age?! Sorry Charlie. A great performance from a great man. He always has time for the many people that want a word or a photograph with him, and today was no exception - mixing with the crowd/fans all day/night. Top man. Anyway, an excellent set produced by the whole band - even though Jamie (the drummer) was clouded in smoke for most of it!
Headline time, and the ANTI-NOWHERE LEAGUE (5/5). Up steps Animal to take centre stage, flanked by Shady and the recent new member Johny Skullknuckles (still playing with Goldblade as well by the way), and the awesome Nato pounding the skins at the back, and the power level is massively increased with the shout of "We ARE The League". A fabulous show put on by all of them, well over an hour of their fav/best songs had the crowd enthralled and bouncing around. A great finale helped by the top quality pa system and the cranked up light show. Even the smoke effects looked good for the punters (and the photographs!), but it was a bit much for the band members.
Another all-dayer like this should be a must. Big thanks from me and many others to Nigel, the General Manager, and ALL involved at The Assembly in Leamington Spa for their hospitality and for Hosting the event. If you've never been to this place to see a gig, then GO ! You wont be disappointed.
CHEEEEEEEEEEERS,
'UGLYPUNK'
ALL photographs are copyright of 'Uglypunk' and may not be reproduced without prior permission.
THE VIVE LE PUNK FESTIVAL
Had an excellent weekend in Leamington, rounded off by a superb gig promoted by the Vive Le Punk website.
The venue, The Assembly Rooms in Leamington is ideal for a gig. Great sound and great lighting with a couple of well staffed bars.
The gig started off with local band SECTION 13 (3/5), whom I had not heard before, and they got the afternoon off to a great start. More hardcore than ‘77 punk but very enjoyable. They even played Black Flag and Bad
Brains covers, which they nailed.
Next up were the VARUKERS (4/5) who are celebrating 30 years of hardcore punk! Rat, Biff and the crew piledrived out a great set of apocalyptic sounds and
proved they still have the fire. They are off to New Zealand and Australia right now as part of a world tour. Catch ‘em when they are back.
We then had THE LURKERS (5/5) who never disappoint. Arturo is a great frontman and the band always play a great show. They played old and new tracks including “Rubber Room", "Shadow" and the brilliant "Come and reminisce if you think you’re old enough", finishing off with "Go ahead Punk".
Next up were VICE SQUAD (4/5), who despite early amp problems, were excellent.
999 (5/5) took to the stage next and like The Lurkers were on blistering form. We got the usual tracks, "Homicide", "Nasty Nasty", "Feeling alright with
the crew" as well as a couple of tracks from the superb "Death In Soho" album.
Then a band that I never saw first time around – THE MEMBERS (4/5). When they took to the stage I thought "Who the fuck are these old blokes?" because they looked like old blokes and not your usual "punk band". Being one of their first gigs in 20 odd years showed and they made a few cock ups, BUT, it was great hearing "Sound of the suburbs", "Soho a go go", "Police car" etc
live. Their new single "International Financial Crisis", which is an updated version of "Offshore banking business", was also played and is superb. Give them a bit of time and go and see them - superb.
Good ol’ Charlie and his merry gang were up next and as usual the UK SUBS (5/5) were superb. Admittedly you could probably know from memory what the band are going to play, CID / RIOT / WARHEAD / STRANGLEHOLD etc but they always play so well. It was good to see the band so high on the list, although quite a few people thought that they should be headlining and a few left before the League took to the stage.
Now I love the ANTI-NOWHERE LEAGUE (5/5), and despite knowing the set list pretty well, I am never disappointed, and this gig was no exception. From WE ARE THE LEAGUE / SNOWMAN / WOMAN / LET'S BREAK THE LAW to tracks from ROAD TO RAMPTON, always superb. Johnny Knuckles, from Goldblade, is probably the best guitarist they have ever had live and it makes them well worth seeing.
All in all, a superb day and thanks to Vive Le Punk for organising it.
Tim Richards
A big thanks go out to Uglypunk and Tim for their reviews and Uglypunk for the great photos!
FOR LIVE REVIEWS OF THE JIM JONES REVUE AND THE STRAWBERRY BLONDES, CLICK HERE.