LAST week I was covering a charity gig, this week it's a birthday - there is nothing like a bit of variety.

At this show, the music could not have been more different than the last. First up from Farnborough were The Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, an old school punk band affectionately playing 1982-style punk with a great deal of enthusiasm and a lot of fans in the crowd to cheer them on. They play their best shows when they open the evening and we could see why they are often invited to play in London, or to support some of the top names in the punk world.

Next up were The Drones from Camberley, a consistently first class live three-piece who shared many of the same fans as the first band and a lot of friendly banter helped liven up the atmosphere. The vocals were shared by all members of the band, so they were able to collectively give a highly animated performance.

The next band were from the same neck of the woods, but offered a slightly different brand of punk. Known as 'crust' or 'anarcho', it tends to be a good deal heavier with a lot of features in common with heavy metal. As you would expect, it was slightly chaotic and highly politically charged, but it went down well with the crowd and it is always desirable to have a bit of variety in the line up. In some respects, they were setting the scene nicely for the next band up.

Global Parasites come from North Wales, but are very well known on the Underground/DIY punk scene, gigging relentlessly, especially in Europe. They play very fast hard-core punk, with a strong old-school feel to it. Simple and to the point, it gets the job done and got the crowd moving very nicely. There was also a lot of fist-in-the-air, singing along to the infectiously anthemic songs.

I feared that the show might have peaked early, but I hadn't reckoned on the unbelievable power and talent of the headline band. They are called Beat the Red Light and whilst they are loosely based in High Wycombe, their eight members are scattered across the Home counties. They play an unusual style of music known as, 'ska-core' which is a mix of ska/punk and metal. It sounds like it should not work, but it does.

You have a full brass section, thrashing guitars laying down many different techniques and vocals that are out of this world. The crowd went mad and understandably so - it was just irresistible and these guys played it so well. They were even called on to play an encore, in spite of playing a pretty full set.

So happy birthday to Ron and a big thanks to Jon (Rockbitch) and the management and staff of the Bang Bar, for another unforgettable night.


-Neil Duncan, ISSUEPUNKZINE