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Wednesday 24 January 2018

Buzzbomb - Sixty Miles of Bad Road

Drop the bomb Trump. C’mon you deranged orange shit gibbon. I fuckin’ dare you. 
Once the dust settles we will just come out and party in the rubble to Buzzbomb. These guys are punk rock survivors who are more than able to provide the soundtrack to a brave new post apocalyptic world.
So on you go and throw whatever you want at them. 
They will just keep coming back for more and that’s a promise and a fact rolled into one.
You just can’t keep them down.
Over the years they have outlived many of their heroes and peers, they have hung around as venues arrived with a bang and vanished with a whimper, and now here we are in the present and I would wager hard earned cash on them turning up battered and bruised as the house band for a post end of day’s party.
They are the sort of punk rock hooligans that are referred to as the real deal, and with Sixty Miles of Bad Road they have managed to take all those years of paying their dues and distilled it all down into a blast of modern sounding street punk par excellence .
It’s all killer and it shoves your filler where the sun doesn’t shine. There’s no slacking as the foot remains pressed hard down on the accelerator from start to finish. 
This is ultimately a refreshing release because it has no faux pretence to be anything other than a celebration of punk and roll in all its wide and varied forms. From the Clash to Social Destruction, to The Ramones to Dead Kennedys, from old school thrashing to pop punk melodies, the influences keep being signposted as we fly past them at a dangerously reckless speed.
It’s an exhilarating experience when you strap yourself in to listen to this one, and it sounds as if every gig that they have played, and every release that they have unleashed on the public, was simply building up to this moment.
It’s the climax of years of putting blood, sweat, and tears, into playing in a band. 
Not bad really. Not bad at all.

Monday 22 January 2018

The Skids - King Tuts Wah Wah Hut - Glasgow (10/01/18)

Jump in a time machine and set course for 2008.

Now jump out and do a quick poll on who thinks the Skids would not just be back with a new album in 2018, but also touring to critical acclaim.

The results would be a shared laugh, a loud braying ‘get outta here’ laugh from everyone asked, but who would be laughing now?

The last album was way back in 1981, and for me it ended the band on a less than auspicious note. To be brutally honest I couldn’t find the joy in ‘Joy’, but then again sometimes alternative endings, or even new beginnings, are not to be sniffed at, and that seems to be the case with the current approval ratings for Jobson and co.

So with my less that glowing memories of the demise of The Skids mk1 left behind me, and giddy on the word of mouth praise from mates who had caught the dates at the tale end of 2017, there I was in King Tuts Wah Wah Hut with my mate Dennis to check them out myself.
Dennis was one of the many who had been singing the bands praises, and I have no problem in saying he was right. He hit the nail on the head with his unstinting praise. The Skids are, to use a time worn trope, on fire.

The gig was unofficially sold as an introduction to Burning Cities, but on the night the band only played three songs from their current release, and gifted the lions share of the set to blasts from the past.
A good call on their part.
It's doubtful anyone would have been complaining about the set lists as the new album wouldn't have been in the hands of the many at that point, and for those who did have it, they would still be in the bedding in period of listening to the new material.
So with that being the case it very obviously a no brainer to go for the recognisable songs.
In response the audience of mainly middle aged men, of which I am one, were unstinting in participating in a cardio vascular workout to show their appreciation.
Nostalgia sells hard. Possibly harder than an overdose of viagra.
Or maybe the exuberance was really in response to Jobsons trade marked out of time pin wheeling aerobic performance and the gig was just an expensive gym work out with a better than usual play list to sweat to.

Who cares! At the end of the day the band was painting smiles on lots of faces, and that’s what a good night out is all about.
A personal highlight was the updated version of TV Stars with the roll call of modern day media darlings. That moment is going to sit as the quality bar of the year so far. Now let's see how long that lasts. 

The album is now currently sitting a few feet away from me with the turntable beckoning. Reviews have been positive from the mainstream music press, but less so from fans who are claiming that the excellent production job helps cover a less than impressive lyrical content.

The jury is indeed out, but some thoughts will be shared soon on here.

That is the first gig of the year done and dusted, and plenty more to come. 2018 let’s be ‘avin you.

Damned if you do. Damned if you don't.

Click on image to enlarge.
Yesterday my partner in crime, life, mishaps and adventures, drew my attention to a Groupon offer for tickets to see the Damned play in Glasgow.

The tickets were virtually half price. So a great deal, a phantasmagorical deal for those who hadn't procured them already.

Trump would call it the biggest and best deal ever.
No better deal has ever been offered to punks anywhere.

Not so great if you were one of the good little fans who bought tickets weeks, or months, ago, as we did though.

In fact it's a bit of a kick in the teeth to be honest.
Here's your reward for a bit of fan based loyalty and support. You can pay the premium price while the johnny come lately types and the casual fan gets a sterling offer of a money saving deal.

So thank you. Thank you very much. This feels great.

Of course none of us are blind to the harsh world of economics. We understand the reasoning behind the offer, and most of us can rationalize the benefits.
More people attending an event ensures that it takes place, and the increased volume of traffic maintains the gig economy.
Both are positives, but it still feels wrong on a personal level, on an emotional level.

I can't be alone in thinking this.

Here is a band that I have seen so often that I have lost count long ago, a band that I own every studio release of, a band that I have thrown cash at over the years for merchandise, and a band that I have paid virtually double to see in comparison to a chunk of those who will ultimately attend the gig.

Again, thank you. My heart is bursting with joy as I typed that out.

Of course I used the handy link the site provided and shared the offer with everyone that I thought would have a passing interest in the gig.
I'm not a cnut.
Keeping it a secret would have been churlish.
Just because we lost out on a deal doesn't mean we shouldn't get the word out, but this isn't a situation that has put a smile on my face.
My wallet is of course extremely unhappy with the offer too.
It's not as if my finances are in rude health. I'm sure others will commiserate.

Anyway, hopefully this doesn't set a precedent in punk circles. That's the bigger picture problem.
For the positives mentioned there are also negatives.
The main one being that punk music lovers start to hang about until the last minute before committing to a gig in the hope that they get a better deal.
With this then resulting in gigs being pulled due to the perception that there is a lack of interest in the show.

Not so great when you think about that is it?

Basically I don't consider live gigs to be the same as a lastminute.com offer on a hotel room, or a cheap seat in the back row of a play in a theatre. Maybe that is just me. My perception of it all.
I would argue that club level diy gigs by independent promoters definitely can't follow this example and survive though.

So there is a lot to think about here. Is it a good move, or a bad one?

Still a fan, and still looking forward to the gig, and the free preshow sets from Fire Exit, Shock and Awe, The Media Whores, The Threats and The Red Eyes in Audio, but I'm not going to pretend that I am fine with this.

I'm not fine at all. I just can't be happy today.

Sunday 21 January 2018

So what have the Droogs been up to? Pretty much f**k all mate, but that's changing.

Here's Dave. He wants you to go and see The Damned.
It would be rude not to. So we will.
It's time to get the nose back to the grindstone isn't it?

So as from tomorrow we are back. We have even made a list.

And here it is.

Some podcast recommendations.
Live reviews - Skids (King Tuts - Glasgow)
Reviews of releases - Buzzbomb, Steve Conte, Eureka Machines, Skids.
Updates - Scott Sorry benefits.

That will be enough to be getting on with.

After that the updates will be a bit haphazard as life at the moment isn't allowing for a commitment to posting to a time frame. You gets what you gets.

So until tomorrow here are some songs to be going on with.

First up is Ryan Hamilton & the Traitors with their latest single.
Tour dates are out there and will be listed in the next few days with some further information on what Ryan is up to.



And as Kelly and I have sorted out tickets for Sparks, and I am rather excited about that, here is the lead single from Hippopotamus.



...and last, but never least, is this blast from the past from Crazyhead. We shall be making a road trip to London to see these guys later in the year. It's one of those if the mountain doesn't come to Mohammed deals.