999 + Klammer + The Filth. Westgarth Social Club. Middlesbrough. 26.08.17.

Promoter - Stephen Harland  / Down By The Jetty Promotions.

A busy day and the need for a curry meant we didn’t arrive at the Westgarth until after Andy X and The Amazing Spacefrogs had been and gone and No Way had just one song left to play.

Great to see The Filth again. Old school punk rock full of anger and passion The Filth are regulars on the Teesside gig circuit and have a loyal following. There’s a decent number of punters showing their appreciation down the front – always good to see. ‘Revolution.Com’, ‘Punks & Skins’, ‘Rise Of The Mods’. Cracking tunes delivered with a real energy and attitude that’s no doubt as relevant nowadays as it was 38 years ago.

The Filth.

I’d been looking forward to seeing The Drones tonight so was a little pissed off when, a couple of weeks ago, it was announced they wouldn’t be playing. But then more than happy when Klammer were announced as their replacement. ‘Post punk, dark pop’ from Leeds their two albums, 2013’s AUSLANE and 2016’s KLAMMER have been regulars on my recent playlists. Live they’re everything I’d hoped they’d be. Deep, chest rumbling bass lines and thumping drums overlaid with edgy, atmospheric, room filling guitar riffs. ‘Reciprocate’, ‘Power Of N’, ‘High Life’, ‘Caught In The Act’ bring together the best post punk bands and mould them together into the unique sound of Klammer. You don’t need to strain your ears too much to hear bits of Magazine, Banshees, Ruts, Cure, Sisters Of Mercy. Dark, deep, brooding vocals from Paul Strickland top everything off. ‘Heavy Weather’ hits us with unrelenting thrashy guitars, far more punk than post punk while recent single ‘Everything Depends On The King’ powers along with a deep bass rhythm and subtle guitar twangs before erupting into a high octane chorus. Just two songs from 1^st album AUSLANE – ‘Somewhere New’ digs under your skin with its infectious bass while ‘Star In The City’ is pure Joy Division. A smattering of new songs – ‘Production’, ‘Gullfoss’ and ‘Magpie’ leave us looking forward to album no.3 which hopefully won’t be too long coming.

Klammer also have the honour of being the 100^th band I’ve seen in 2017. 

Klammer are back in Middlesbrough, again at The Westgarth, on December 9^th with The Filthy Tongues. Two brilliant bands. Well worth a trip out. Details here.

Klammer Facebook.

Klammer - website.

999 never disappoint. Whenever and wherever they play you know you’re going to have a good time. This is punk rock with a decent tune. Drum and bass beats that hook you right in and get your heart beating just a bit quicker and your feet moving just a bit faster. Topped off with those subtle but important and distinctly 999 guitar riffs from Guy Days and the unmistakeable vocals from Nick Cash all at top volume it’s an addictive combination. The set spans their recorded career. Early classics ‘Nasty Nasty’, ‘Hit Me’, ‘Titanic(My Over) Reaction’, ‘Emergency’ from 1977/1978 through to ‘Last Breath’ with it’s hard, serious lyrics yet superbly catchy chorus from 2007’s Death In Soho. Along the way all the classics are played – ‘Boys In The Gang’, ‘The Biggest Prize In Sport’, ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, ‘Feelin’ Alright With The Crew’ with its superb guitar intro. It’s aggressive, it’s tuneful, sometimes it’s almost poppy punk albeit without pop lyrics (‘Boys In The Gang’, ‘Little Red Riding Hood’), sometimes it’s full on, in your face, noisy, 100mph punk – (‘I’m Alive’, ‘Nasty Nasty’). Whatever it is it’s all top class from a group who have probably had the most stable line-up of all the punk bands from back then. Three original members (although sadly drummer Pablo Labritain can’t play tonight because of health problems. Lurkers drummer Stuart Meadows fills in superbly) together with Arturo Bassick on bass whose been with them for 27 years. It’s no wonder their sound is tight. Final song ‘Homicide’ is greeted with a mini stage invasion and singalong. Great stuff.

It’s a sizeable and really appreciative crowd tonight with non-stop thrashing about at the front. One small, bloody incident involving a slip on some spilt beer, a head hitting the floor and a nasty cut was the only negative. Thankfully he seemed OK by the end of the gig.

It’s hot, it’s sweaty, it’s loud, it’s fast, it’s jump around tunes. It’s a great gig.

999 - Facebook.

999 - website.

The Hangmen + Snakerattlers + The Antiseptics. Moby Grape Basement, Stockton. 12.08.17.

The Moby Grape basement club in Stockton has been reopened by Tim Oxnard and promises great musical outings for the future.

The first of those (for me) is tonight’s gig of ‘carefree rock ‘n’ roll’ courtesy of The Antiseptics, Snakerattlers and The Hangmen.

Promoted by Lunar Tricks.

And Moon Skull Records. 

Moby Grape’s basement club is perfect for such events reminding me of small, intimate venues from my youthful years in Manchester such as The Banshee and, in later years, York’s The Duchess. There’s a decent crowd that cuts across a wide age range adding to my growing belief that some elements of today’s youth do actually listen to decent music and get out to see it played live rather than relying on TV talent shows and YouTube for their tunes.

First up tonight are The Antiseptics. Youngsters from Middlesbrough who, in their short existence, have already graced the stage at London’s Roundhouse and at punk’s holy grail of festivals that is Rebellion. And it’s easy to see why. Loud, angry, fast punk rock from the word go. Connor Mcpherson spitting his lyrics out while Jamie Campbell on bass pounds around the stage like some axe wielding psycho. Their influences are obvious – Subs, Upstarts, Discharge. Add in a hint of ska and a bit of mainstream punk and The Antiseptics have their own sound. With a set list that includes ‘Politician Killer’, ‘Stalin Was A Sellout’, ‘No Pasaran’ and ‘Mother Russia’ you’re left in no doubt about opinions regarding the state of society. ‘Overdose’ is a magnificant reggae/ska tinged danceable number reminding me of Ruts/Ruts DC while ‘Babylon Is Dead’ takes you back to some great Clash tunes. Add in a cracking cover of ‘Suspect Device’, a crowd that clearly appreciates them and it’s a belting start to the night. Middlesbrough can be a tough, angry town. The Antiseptics play tough, angry punk. 

The Antiseptics – Facebook.

Snakerattlers really are on top form. It’s the fourth time I’ve seen them in 2017 and tonight is certainly the best. Rising from the ashes of The Franceens (whose album ‘Stepford Smiles’ is well worth a place on your shelf) Snakerattlers have certainly made an impact on the local scene since they arrived. Reverb fuelled rock ‘n’ roll with a pure punk rock attitude. Think The Cramps pared right down to just one guitar and two drums. But that guitar and those two drums make one hell of a glorious noise. Dan Oliver Gott screams, wails, howls, shouts and sings his way through a set list that veers from the foot stomping, accelerator to the floor ‘Let You Go’ to the rhythmic pounding of ‘Oh My Love’ via the guttural howling of ‘Rattlerock Rumble’ in the space of just 7 or 8 minutes. Naomi Gott backs it all up with unrelenting, thumping drum beats. Throughout the set Dan Gott fixes the crowd with a stare that is both compelling and possessed. At times this is literally in your face as he take his guitar and it’s addictive, nagging riffs into the crowd while Naomi casually bangs out the beat on stage. It’s a set that grabs you and doesn’t let go. Instrumental ‘Death Valley Driver’ has one of the angriest, grungiest guitar riffs I’ve heard in ages. Rounding off with ‘Sweet Sixteen’ – ancient beats, infectious guitar, vocals straight out of the camp of Lux and then ‘Ripper Rattle Rock’ – pure, basic, primitive garage rock ‘n’ roll it’s a set that makes you long for more and determined to see them again.

Album ‘This Is Rattlerock’ available here.

Snakerattlers Facebook here.

 

For the next hour The Hangmen give us full on, loud, hard, fast psychobilly rock ‘n’ roll. 19 numbers covering murder, death, hell, suicide. Unsavoury stuff delivered with a backdrop of infectious drums and rumbling double bass.Loz Firewalker growls out vocals whilst his guitar sucks us in with everything from heavy blues riffs to full on thrashy punk. It’s raw, uncompromising and intense. ‘True Hate’, ‘Pity My Soul’, ‘Godkilla’, ‘Great Brain Robbery’, ‘Body Bag’, ‘Dancing On Your Grave’ – the song titles alone tell you what you’re going to get and it never lets up. Impressive performance delivered with kick ass energy.

The Hangmen – Facebook.

The Hangmen – website.