buzzcocksfan: Penetration + Uproar. The Georgian Theatre, Stockton. 18.11.17.

Looking forward to another great night of live punk rock promoted by Fast Forward Promotions and, as is to be expected, it opens with a proper decent support band. Uproar, from Durham, are not new. They’ve been delivering their own brand of punk rock since 1982 and still consist of ¾ of their original members. And they pack a real punch. A melodic cross between SLF, The Clash, UK Subs etc they’re loud, hard, energetic and aggressive yet thankfully don’t stray too far into the zone of hardcore shouty punk. Recent album ’Waiting For The Revolution’ features heavily. Full of Dave Cook’s slashing guitar riffs, powerful vocals from Stuart Henderson backed by the infectious bass/drum rhythm of Andrew ‘Goober’ Scobie and Gav Scollen songs such as ‘Time Is Coming’, ‘I Don’t Care’, ‘Empty Heads’ grab your attention, hold you there, throw you back in time whilst also emphasising the relevance of the songs today. ‘Vane Tempest’ – spitting venom about the closure of the former Seaham colliery - “Where has all the spirit gone? You took fools gold. You’re closing down our hometown”.

But it’s not all about the new album – ‘It’s Not You’, ‘Have A Good Laugh’, ‘Soldier Boy’ from early 80’s album ‘And The Lord Said’ together with ‘No War No More’ from 1982 EP ‘Rebel Youth’ remind us that the leaders we live under today are no different or better than they were back then.

Uproar

Penetration walk on stage, check guitars are tuned up, then launch into ‘In The Future’. From those opening guitar chords, quickly followed by the voice of Pauline Murray you know this is going to be really good. It’s the last night of their 40^th anniversary tour and we’re treated to a set of songs in chronological order from 1977 right up to October ’17. Opening songs ‘In The Future’, ‘Duty Free Technology’ and ‘Race Against Time’ never made it as official releases in ‘77/’78 but show us Penetration as part of that very first wave of punk. Raw, honest, powerful songs full of the energy needed to push music in a completely new direction. Thankfully they were eventually properly released, but as the original demos, on LP ‘Race Against Time’. ‘Silent Community’ follows, guitar intro as angry now as it was then. With Murray’s vocals ranting this is punk at its most sincere. ‘Don’t Dictate’ says it how it is with real anger. ‘Firing Squad’ shows just how much energy this band still has with Rob Blamire stomping round the stage hammering out those bass riffs, Paul Harvey lost in the atmosphere of the gig, crouching low, almost in the front row of the crowd pulling sounds out of his rhythm guitar whilst second guitarist Steve Wallace backs those sounds up with a much calmer persona. Four songs from classic debut album Moving Targets – Patti Smith’s ‘Free Money’, single ‘Life’s a Gamble’, a superb cover of Buzzcocks ‘Nostalgia’ that Penetration have made their own since they first recorded/performed it and the almost funky punk ‘Movement’. ‘Danger Signs’ precedes just two songs from second album Coming Up For Air, possibly less well known but no less powerful than Moving Targets. ‘Shout Above The Noise’ and the wonderful ‘Come Into The Open’.

At some point in all this Pauline Murray has told us she’s suffering from a particularly bad cold. It’s not noticeable. Melodic and captivating her voice hasn’t changed and remains as distinct now as it was 40 years ago. Continuously moving around the stage, in and out of some great lighting, she’s a captivating presence.

2015’s album Resolution, arguably more slickly produced than it’s older siblings, is still pure Penetration. Catchy guitars throughout it’s twelve punk/pop/rock numbers all, with the exception of one, overlaid with that voice it’s rapidly become a fan favourite. Three from this – ‘Just Drifting’, the guitar driven ‘Beat Goes On’ and the indie power pop of ‘Calm Before The Storm’ – round off a perfect hour.

They return to perform an encore that includes new single ‘Shake Some Action’ (a Flamin’ Groovies cover) and a superb version of ‘Stone Heroes’.

And that’s it. Great band, great gig.