AS I arrived at Sanctuary late afternoon, packed with punks and stalls and all sorts, it was hard to believe that a week ago this show hadn't even been planned.
In the wake of the earthquake in Nepal, Alex Simpson and his friends decided to do something to help and thus this benefit show was called into existence.
I arrived in time for Ash Victim - an acoustic punk duo, who were playing to a pretty packed crowd of all ages.
They were followed by another acoustic act - Rail 27 come from Reading, but whilst their drummer is away at university they have carried on playing.
They are actually one of my favourite acoustic acts, because they still manage to infuse their songs, (and some covers) with some good solid powerful ska-punk.
Next up the first full band of the day, Take Warning from Basingstoke. This is a female-fronted ska-punk band, which have come on in leaps and bounds since they first arrived on the scene a year ago.
They delivered one of their best ever performances, all the more impressive as singer Laura had her left-leg strapped up.
Brand new thrashy punks next - Nickle9 were playing only their second gig, but were clearly a big hit with the crowd. Things definitely got decidedly as they blasted out one killer track after another.
Their set is an impressive dozen songs delivered in 15 minutes or less, the musical equivalent of a roller-coaster ride.
Another acoustic act followed, giving everyone a chance to catch their breath a bit. Harrison Wilde first rose to fame playing bass in The Dirty Rotten Scoundrels from Farnborough. When that band broke up, he carried on acoustically and this was the first time I had ever seen him on his own. He was amazing!
The singing and playing were great, loved the songs, which were both amusing and edgy. He carried on performing even whilst being teased and interfered with by members of the audience. I must catch him again.
There was even space on the bill for some old age punks to also lend their support - Geezapunx were happy to come along to do a bit of shouting old-school style.
They played a reasonable set to a pretty lively audience - well most people had been there for a fair few hours and it was a hot day, so a lot of liquid refreshments were consumed.
Things were about to get even crazier with an awesome set by Sh*thouse - who unwisely started their set wearing wrestling-masks, but after one song the masks were discarded as the band were in danger of collapsing with heat exhaustion.
Suitably freed, they continued the rest of their set at break-neck speed and they even managed to prompt a little moshing in the pit.
The next band The Lurg hailed from Tadley and it was time for another slight change in style with sme very lively melodic hard-core punk.
Whilst they have been around for a couple of years now, they have been taking things at a fairly leisurely pace. It is a tactic which is paying off because they are a fantastic band and I just hope we will be seeing a lot more of them from now on.
Newbury provided Bandits UK with their own unique brand of ska-punk. Those having a smoke in between bands did not stay outside for long once these guys started to play and I can understand why.
I have seen them dozens of times and never seen a duff performance. So tight, so powerful and so exciting. They always bring a zebra-patterned dance rug, which got well used.
The penultimate act was Ill Gotten Gains, a Basingstoke ska-punk band taking a break from recording their debut album to help make this show so successful.
These guys have the speed and heaviness I really love in my live music and they tend to perform about issues that I too am concerned with. As always they played very well indeed and I can't wait to hear this album when it is released.
Curiously enough, the headliners were The Twin Dracula from Reading - who I had just seen the previous night. But they are a very fine contemporary punk band and I was only too pleased to be checking them out again.
Although I have to say that by this time I was really starting to flag, so it is a testament to quality of their performance that kept me going for a little bit longer.
All in all, this had been one of the best shows of the year so far. Well done to all the bands, giving their time for a worthy cause. Thanks also to the Rockbitch crew for the sound and alcohol.
Perhaps the biggest thanks needs to go to Alex and his helpers for putting together the show and providing so much in the way of cakes and artwork and band merchandise.
And let's not forget all the people who attending and contributed towards raising over £1,000!
Punk's not dead - it's dedicated!
Neil Duncan ISSUEPUNKZINE
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