Rebellion 2019 – Sunday

I’m sure The Skids could fill this place

One last day of the long haul. Last night, as usually happens at some point, I fell asleep fully dressed , but this time at about 4am I stirred and managed to get changed without getting out of bed. Meanwhile Damp has been kept awake every night by seagulls. He finally comes up with an ingenious solution – he closes his window!

It’s early doors again at the Winter Gardens, and it’s time to talk about band names. They play a bigger role than I might admit in choosing what unfamiliar bands to give a listen to. Years ago a colleague told me that his mate’s band had the best band name ever, which was You Look Good In Orange. As a good mate I told he was categorically wrong and that it was actually the worst band name ever. On the other hand a mate briefly was in a band called Chickens In Suspenders. I don’t know if they ever played a gig, but they actually had a claim to best band name ever.

All of which is saying that faced with 4 days and 7 stages it’s can save a lot of time if I whittle unfamiliar bands down by band name, and therefore I nearly didn’t bother with the appallingly named Sunday Punk Club on the Introducing Stage. However the programme describes them as “a UK82 style Punk band from Edinburgh who sound just like they have transported from that very year” so I check them out, and indeed they are, and very good they are as well. Hopefully they’ll be back next year, hopefully after a name change.

After which it seems to be the punk comedy hour. We watch a bit of the very popular and hard-gigging Hung Like Hanratty, making their Rebellion debut in The Casbah. I saw singer Alan’s first band the Fork Hunts 24 years ago andit was quite an experience. I also put on his next band Mercyless Kop, another experience (see the final part of DIY Disasters). The man is mad. HLH specialise in simple sing a long songs about Jimmy Saville being a pervert, Simon Cowell being a dickhead (illustrated with a very literal mask), girlfriends having too much plastic surgery, etc. All a bit obvious for me but they go down well.

On the other hand I thoroughly enjoy Trigger McPoopshute on the Introducing Stage (Great name? Terrible name? Probably great!). This bunch of middle-aged Welshmen play straightforward but good punk with scatological subject matter (ie Shitfinger, Skidmarks And Spencers) and occasionally some scientific debate – possibly my favourite new song of the weekend is their song with the chorus “Penguins! Penguins! Are they fish or birds?” They’ve brought some supporters who engage in silly dances at the band’s prompting. At one point there is a 6 man moshpit that still manages to have a crowdsurfer. One of my favourite bands of the weekend.

The japery continues with Welsh skate thrash band Pizzatramp in The Casbah. The music’s not quite my thing, but they are hilarious. The exceedingly drunk singer comments on the mohicans wilting in the recent heatwave but reminds us “Think about the Goths! They’re extinct.” by way of introduction to Millions of Dead Goths (sorry Beth). They play a 30 second thash song I Wish You’d Fucking Die which I think is the sort of thing I’ve heard too many times, but then follow it with a 30 second thrash song “I’m Glad You Didn’t Die”. Genius! They follow this year’s trend of taking on stage selfies with the audience in shot, but encourage us to show them how much we hate them, so they depart to a sea of middle fingers.

Things get marginally less silly with Brighton band Rotten Foxes giving us a bracing blast of hardcore on the Introducing Stage. Marginally. They have a song called Mullets and the guitarist has indeed gone the full 80s tennis player in the barnet department. They go down well and at one point I find myself standing next to “Sir” Charlie Harper, a man who always keeps an eye on up and coming young talent. Perhaps he is checking out potential future UK Subs members.

After this I wander past the Opera House and remember that Alternative Carpettes – a slightly rejigged version of 70s pop punks The Carpettes – are on and pop in just as they play my favourite Frustration Paradise. Bonus! It’s hard to get a much bigger contrast punk wise to Rotten Foxes though.

Meanwhile Damp has actually spoken to the mysterious man in suit that we’ve seen at the front for various bands. It turns out he’s Belgian, and wears suits because “people don’t expect it”. Fair enough.

Back at the Opera House it’s a relief to find that contrary to claims by Pizzatramp, Goths are not extinct as reactivated 80s goth band 1919 are on. I quip to Damp that it’s their centenary. Shortly afterwards the singer makes a similar quip. Oi! Leave the smartarse comments to me. Ten minutes in I realise I’ve missed multiple calls from home. I psyche myself like last year to call it quits and head home to respond to some crisis. I call to find that Mrs wyngatecarpenter had a missed call and thought it might be me. Wyngate jnr is prompted reluctantly to tell me he’s missing me and that’s sorted. I then spot Lydon Superfan and wave, which a passing random woman takes as an invitation to a high five. It’s that kind of weekend.

Back to 1919 who have a good early 80s goth sound but I find a bit samey ( yes , I know I’ve watched Varukers etc multiple times but there you go). Nice to have a goth break though. How about March Violets or Play Dead? Go on…

The evening is due to start with back to back angry anarcho from Cress in the Pavillion followed immediately by Conflict in the Casbah. In the Pavillion I’m surprised to see that old school crusties Cress appear to have transistioned. Even more surprising they seem to have actually washed their hair. This can’t be right. Vintage dresses as well. I eventually reluctantly accept that Cress have been replaced by an all female band that I don’t know. After this in The Pavillion are the increasingly popular Kid Klumsy. A friend of mine at home with no interest in punk has heard them because her partner knows one of them. She describes them as “really heavy” and “a racket”. Here’s a sample.

I wonder what my friend would think of Conflict who I go to see instead. A contentious band in many ways, and one who have a chequered history with the festival, the story is that they were banned for several years after an incident following their last appearance. Nevertheless if you’re a big enough crowd puller you’ll usually get invited back eventually (eh, Jimmy and Mensi?) On the credit side, Rebellion has stated that Conflict are donating their fee to a homeless charity. In fact when they come on they sound as powerful and hard hitting as I’ve ever heard them, and for about 15 minutes seem as if they could snatch my best band of the weekend award. The impact does wear off a bit though as they go on, although it’s hard to argue with the closing Whichever Way You Want It. Colin announces towards the end “take what you want from Conflict” which is at odds with the old Conflict. They always seemed very clear exactly what messages they wanted you to take. Strange times. Anyway here they are , possibly even heavier than Kid Klumsy

We’re into the final strait of the endurance test now. It’s over to the Ballroom with Damp and Superfan for the this year’s nearest thing to the Pistols, The Professionals. The main question for me is how are my feet (which started aching on Thursday) going to last. The answer is find somewhere to sit down for 10 minutes between bands, even if it’s a patch of floor that my jeans stick to. Anyway The Professionals do a solid set with some decent new material , in a slightly-punk-inflected-melodic-rock way, from their comeback album. The best one is veering towards a ballad and is called Bad Babies. Interesting, will they have any other PIL knock off titles. Death Discos perhaps. Disappointingly for me the new stuff means there is no room for The Magnificent or Little Boys In Blue, but there you go. We get 1-2-3 which, as with The Stranglers set,  sees a display of people counting on their fingers as they thrust their arms in the air. It’s good to see that basic numeracy is alive and well in the punk scene. It’s interesting to watch Paul Cook at close-ish quarters which should confirm to any doubters that it was a myth that the Pistols couldn’t play (admittedly a myth they helped to promote). Speaking of the Pistols, if you want to know what anarchy is for Damp, Superfan and me these days, it’s trying to catch each other out by tapping each other on the wrong shoulder. It’s kept us amused all weekend.

Next up one of the big events of the weekend – Richard Jobson and co walk on the stage . Yes it’s …The Damned! Eh? That’s what the projection at the back of the stage says. I have a moment of panic and grab my programme , but no, it’s some backstage bod’s mistake. The Skids seem oblivious as they kick off with Of One Skin, and probably aren’t sure why there’s suddenly a cheer halfway through the song when the correct logo finally appears behind them.

Regardless Jobson is on fine form, dancing as embarrassingly as ever and telling us the still astounding news that their new album went to number 2 in the charts. He is jocularly (I think) apoplectic that they were kept off the top slot by Leo Sayer. It helps to confirm my theory that old artists are doing well in the album charts because people my age and older actually buy albums. I guess it also shows that their two years of touring the UK has paid off. What more could they have done to get to the number one slot…HOW ABOUT PLAY LEICESTER!!? YOU’VE PLAYED EVERY OTHER CRAPPY LITTLE BACKWATER THAT HAS A CESSPIT OF A VENUE…YOU PLAYED SOUTHEND, CLITHEROE AND THAT TOWN WHERE THAT FILMED LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE…WHAT’S WRONG WITH LEICESTER?! ..THINK YOU’RE TOO GOOD FOR US?? …but that said congratulations to them on their successful comeback, and I enjoyed tonight’s set. No hard feelings eh?. We get bonus covers of What Do I Get? in tribute to Pete Shelley and Pretty Vacant which gets an unexpected impromptu guest vocal from Paul Cook. They finish with a rousing Into The Valley and more or less say that this is it for the comeback, and I think maybe they are right, it has been quite special and I’m glad in a way that they aren’t going to milk it to death….maybe just one more gig to finish off though… how about Leicester? If they’re worried about not filling a bigger venue they could always play Duffy’s Bar (capacity 40).

So who can top the Skids. No one I reckon. I mill about for a bit and spot the singer from Uproar and tell him I wanted to see them but they were clashing with the Skids. Last time they played I also missed because the clashed with …The Skids. He’s annoyed about it, he wanted to watch the Skids as well.

The Chameleons are on in the Opera House. A good mate of mine is a big fan and will no doubt be annoyed if I had the opportunity to see them and missed it. On the other hand The Damned are on in The Ballroom who I don’t usually bother with but they are playing Machine Gun Etiquette and another mate made me promise to give them 10 minutes. I give the Damned 10 minutes but the sound is poor again, it’s sweltering and uncomfortably rammed. On the other hand The Chameleons are playing in the civilised, seated environs of the Opera House. No contest! Their indie/alternative sound is, relatively speaking, chill out music. The singer seems a bit annoyed about this. Not personally with me, but he observes with disgust that at the end of a 4 day punk festival the seats are all still in place. I check mine – the workmanship is a bit too good for me to pull it out, and anyway I actually would just prefer to put my feet up. Anyway, I enjoy them and may ask my mate to stick on his albums next time I go round.

After that I go and catch up with Damp who is very impressed with US band The Dwarves. They go in for a bit of pc-baiting – yeah, whatever but at least they are funny with it. It takes all sorts to make a festival like this.

We stagger to the pizza shop, get waylaid when we find out the pub is still open, stay til last orders, stagger back to the B & B and crash out, knackered but happy. Considering I was jaded and thought it looked like one of the weaker years, it’s not been bad at all.