Live Review: Rebellion Festival 2024 – Friday
Words: Dan Barnes
Photos:
The sun is out again on Friday and, although it’s August and ‘summer’ I’m long enough in the tooth to know two consecutive days of sun could well be resulting in a hose-pipe band across the whole of the north-west. Still, that’s for minds greater than mine to wrestle with, my immediate interest is on MDM (or Mere Dead Men) and their old school punk rock, laced with good-time vibes. Mandy and the lads seem to be having a ball and so are the small, but appreciative Casbah crowd.
Becoming a frequent visitor to Rebellion Festival is Kent’s Riskee and the Ridicule whose alternative take on Punk, mixing in Urban beats and Grime rhythms to a hardcore aesthetic for a fresh sound that attract a huge audience in the Empress yet again. I catch the end of Spectrum 4 in the Arena who remind me of what might happen if Frank Turner had a dalliance with electronica; and in the Pavilion, sibling duo, Brioche, are singing songs about life, but adding some humour to the, let’s face it, dire situation.
Brummie crustie-cum-hardcore agitators Police Bastard have been raging for thirty years now and show no sign of mellowing. Now a sextet, they sport a third guitarist, in the vein of Lynyrd Skynyrd or Iron Maiden, but the ferocious musical and lyrical assault is still pure Punk aggression.
I’m probably going to get into bother whichever way I go with this, so I’m just going to be honest: I don’t care that Maid of Ace are four sisters from Hastings; all I care about is their abilities as musicians and whether they can write and perform songs well enough. Of all the times I’ve seen them, the answer is a resounding Yes, and whomsoever booked them onto Green Day’s stadium shows this summer obviously knew what they were doing. The gals play hard and fast, with a merest sprinkling of metal to their tunes, and never short-change their audience by leaving them with an ounce of energy left. Set closer, Made in England comes around far too soon and it’s another triumphant show from the band.
From England to Australia and Kombi Killers have brought their old school punk all the way from Brisbane, feeding their high energy performance into an already stoked Casbah crowd. There’s something of a crossover rumble about Spider’s hectic opening, which comes over like a fairly unstoppable juggernaut. Essex’s Newtown Neurotics come from a time when bands like The Clash, The Ramones and the Pistols were dominating the music scene and the three-piece remain true to their Left-Wing roots to this day. Those with long memories can be seen reliving a (possibly) wasted youth across the Empress’ sprung dance floor.
Rebellion is a sort of homecoming for The Chisel frontman, Callum Graham as he’s not only from Blackpool, but used to attend the festival as a punter before the band started to get the recognition. He also admits last year’s show saw him a little tipsy, but the confrontational nature of The Chisel’s music means we either didn’t notice or thought it was part of the performance. The mixture of many of Punk’s sub-genres: from street to UK’82, to pub rock and beyond all make the band difficult to confine to a particular sound. Even Callum’s family has turned out for today’s show, and he dedicates a fast and grooving one to his mum.
There’ll always be an England as long as Resistance ’77 exist and the anthemic Spirit of St George might not be to everyone’s liking, but it always elicits a heart-felt singalong from those of in agreement with the band. Female-fronted hardcore outfit Jawless demonstrate that the statement about being deadlier than the male still holds true; and north London boot boys, Infa Riot, remind us all how it’s done.
Popping over from Stockholm is The Baboon Show who could quite easily slot right into any number of musical line-ups with hardly a sideways glance. With an intro tape of a radio being tuned, the band serve up a tender slice of Hard Rock, reminiscent of Texas trio, ZZ Top, but also a smattering AC/DC and a few bars of Run to the Hills and The Trooper. They might not be the most Punk thing on the bill this weekend, but the sheer enjoyment factor makes up for that in droves.
Feels like it’s been a while since Californians Stalag 13 last graced Rebellion, but the Skatecore meets Crossover made a welcome return to the Fylde coast this year to remind us of what we’d been missing. There’s a huge turnout for Anti-Nowhere League in the Empress and Animal and company duly oblige to knock it out of the park. I Hate People, Let’s Break the Law, Woman, and Charlie Harper have the crowd at fever pitch; So What gives everyone a chance to have a right good swear, as does Fucked Up and Wasted, while We are… The League closes the show and has us all wanting a couple more.
It would be easy to think Gorgol Bordello are a new band, but they’ve been plugging away since 1999 and have nine albums under their collective belts; they also have a list of former band members long enough to look like a small town’s electoral role. Their brand of Gypsy Punk leans into the use of traditional instrumentation and while the core of the band originates in Ukraine there are elements from further east, in Russia, and in Central and South America. Not the usual Rebellion fayre, granted, but different enough to stand out. A brief stop in the Opera House finds Ms Toyah Wilcox’s career resurgence continuing a pace, and for good reason, as she’s storming through Sabbath’s Paranoid.
In the Casbah are the East End boys from Booze & Glory who smash out a host of hard-edged Oi! tunes, all with a smattering of UK’82 attitude and, before heading off to the Empress I catch a glimpse of Steve Ignorant Plays Crass and, only being a casual Crass observer has made me determined to get to grips with Feeding the 5000, Penis Envy and Stations of the Crass for next time.
The Stranglers’ Spring tour in honour of their Fifty-Years in Black was a special event if the show at the Manchester Apollo was anything to go by. This truncated festival headline could only seek to replicate those previous shows in a rudimentary way. We get all the expected classics: Peaches, Always the Sun, and (Get a) Grip (on Yourself), a couple for the Dark Matter record, including the highlight of that album (which is saying something) White Stallion and even a saxophone accompanied Hey! (Rise of the Robots). I’ll be calling Sparrer a British Institution later in this review, but The Stranglers also tick that box, and then some.
Photo credits: Dod Morrison
