Part 2 of Neil Duncan's report on Rockbitch's all-conquering 2-day 10th birthday party

So I got there in time to see Sometime Riverside playing their set. There was a smallish group of fans and friends upstairs to see them, which is no surprise for early evening on a hot sunny Sunday.

They were an indie/pop band, not sure where from but probably quite local. High point was the cover of Rock Star made famous by the Shrek movie.

Quickly hot-footed it downstairs for Take Warning, a fairly new, female-fronted ska band from Basingstoke. This was much more my style and I enjoyed both the original material and the covers, (a new band is inevitably obliged to play.

They have come along so far since their debut show a few weeks back and already they are getting a bit of a following. They will become even more important as a number of well known ska bands fold later on this year.

Back upstairs for Redhead and whilst this band are new to me, it is filled with familiar faces from a number of now defunct Basingstoke bands. They play fairly classic rock and fairly up tempo, which is nice to see.

The crowd had gotten a little larger so I guess they have a bit of a following already. I expect we'll be seeing a lot more of them in the months to come.

The next downstairs band were We Deny who have been around for a while now and do like their style. Female fronted pop-punk, which is good and fast, but also has some heavier riffs to it.

Again, I made sure I was over on the bass-side, because there is nothing better than feeling your rib-cage rattle to that low rumble. With catchy songs and a good bit of interaction with the crowd was really starting to start the party.

The main benefit of alternating the upstairs and downstairs stages is that there is very little hanging around. All the way from Fleet, Like Home were ready to kick off with some classic hard-core. I have seen them before and I like them a lot.

They got the speed and heaviness I like, along with some passion in their performance. I really must try and catch them in other venues and other towns.

Downstairs again and the well oiled machine seemed to have hit a rut - the stage was empty! Eventually It Varies from Basingstoke got started and certainly pleased the posse they had brought with them.

It was unfortunate that the tardiness had a knock on effect for the rest of the evening.

More hard-core upstairs in the shape of Saint (the) Sinner from Bournemouth. They play a fantastic variety of hard hard-core, making full use of duel harsh/melodic vocals and thrashy riffs.

In spite of the restricted space (and low headroom) there was a good deal of moving around especially for the mandatory beatdowns. They are currently on tour (with the next upstairs band), so there was a lot camaraderie between them.

After a few line-up changes We Are the Brutus are back in business and they were playing on the downstairs stage. I think they were a bit unlucky because it looked like they got the food-break and smoke-break slot, which meant that rather more people were outside than inside.

Still, this did not faze them and in fact it was used to bond with those interested in seeing them. They only had a stand-in drummer for this show, but he did a tremendous job keeping the guys going.

Back upstairs for the final band on this stage - Networks from Portsmouth. I have seen this band before and the bands the members have been in, so I was confident this was going to be a blast.

Well for a start the place was rammed and the songs were great - heavy hard-core full of powerful rage. They even got a circle-pit going at one point, which was an amazing achievement.

The final, headline band downstairs were Fake the Attack - who I missed at Basingstoke Live, (much to my chagrin) as I was eager to check out their new material. A technical blip early on had me on the edge of my seat, but fortunately it was sorted out and I got the proof, (not that I needed it), that this is a band going places.

This was an impressive performance and I can't wait to check out the studio material when I get my hands on it.

Thanks to the bands who played, to the management and staff who kept us fed and watered and especially to Jon and Rockbitch for part two of a great weekend to celebrate ten years worth of great shows.

I can't be the only one hoping for ten more years of the same!

Neil Duncan, ISSUEPUNKZINE