Basingstoke Irish Centre

May 31 

ANOTHER free punk show courtesy of Punk 'n' Disorderly promotions and the Irish Centre - which nearly struck the rocks before it even started!

But thanks to everyone pitching in and moving the gear in double quick time we relocated into the downstairs hall.

First up and sporting a new drummer were Geezapunx who played a slightly shorter set to ensure all the other bands got their fair share of air-time. The acoustics were not quite as warm as the club upstairs, but that's not too critical where punk is concerned.

Next up and back from the dead were old-school pop-punkers, The Grizzley Ends from Guildford who have been coaxed out of early retirement to delight everyone, once again with their fast, catchy punk.

I was not the only one who had seen them first time around and it was almost as if they had never been away! It was a classic performance with the added joy of seeing a 30 minute set blasted out in twenty-two and a half minutes. Fortunately it's impossible for punk to be played too fast. I hope that this was just the first of many more shows to come.

A slight change of style was delivered by Violation from Reading - a much younger band and a lot more on the anarcho side of the fence. Fortunately punk is a broad church and all tastes are catered for.

I was glad to see that these guys got the crowd up and moving, that always improves the atmosphere of any show. They went down very well and in fact the night was turning into a pretty classic live performance.

Main support was provided by T & The Mugs from Bracknell, who for a lot of their career have been a punk covers band. However in recent years they have introduced some original material and have started playing a lot more shows outside of their home town.

They were on top form, with a blistering performance - fast and powerful, which saw the crowd getting even more feisty. Very satisfying.

The very worthy headliners were the amazing Wonderbeers from Kingston - guaranteed to entertain. They keep the topics of their songs lightweight but nevertheless relevant, including beer, work, kebabs and important stuff like that.

A large enough crowd hung around to enjoy the set, dancing and singing along and sometimes both. It was a magnificent end to a night of varied entertainment.

A big thanks to all the bands who played, to Matt Kelly for doing the sound, the management and staff of the Irish Centre and to jolly decent soul who found a lost wallet and handed it in.

I am pleased to say that the wallet and all its contents have been returned to the rightful owner - the true spirit of DIY.

Neil Duncan, ISSUEPUNZKINE