WHAT could be better than a pleasant drive on a warm summers evening down to one of the areas legendary rock venues and a pretty interesting line-up?

It would have been better if the M3 wasn't snarled up with rush-hour traffic and delays on the A30 because a poor motorcyclist had been knocked off his bike. We arrived a little late shaken by what we had seen and got down to the business of trying to deliver a reasonable show.

The first band up were Fish Hook, a female fronted rock'n'roll band from Reading and already there was a pretty good crowd gathering for a damn fine performance. It was a bit of a mixed bill and yet it all worked very well. Sound quality was great, the weekend was upon us and everyone just got into the music and had a great time.

Next up were Geezapunx from Basingstoke making their first trip to Winchester. Both crowd numbers and the temperature were up as they launched into their rough and ready old school punk.

It is nearly a year since they first staggered onto the music scene, but their confidence has grown, which has improved their performance - one of their best shows to date.

No matter how good the support bands were, the night belonged to the ladies of The Ramonas.

This all girl Ramones tribute band is really so much more than a mere tribute band. They took to the stage with much applause and much genuine affection from the packed venue.

Their playlist was insanely long and they blasted out one awesome song after another. The most amazing thing about it was that you forget they are playing covers - these songs sound and feel like their songs and it was certainly one of the best live performances I have ever enjoyed.

Get those girls down for Basingstoke Live next year I say!

Thanks to all the bands and to the promoter and venue for a first class night of classic live music.

Neil Duncan, ISSUEPUNKZINE