Our Alex Goose was at the London Brixton Queen’s Head on a Saturday night to see a packed bill of fiery punk goodness!
For a genre most often associated with youthful rebellion, punk certainly does sound good in older hands. This year alone from Slam Dunk to Rebellion and countless other gigs/festivals, we’ve seen many a veteran band play with the kind of conviction and energy that belies their age, and although none of tonight’s bands are what you could call spring chickens, they’ve all managed to hone their craft without sacrificing the inner fire and sense of discontent that fuels all great punk bands.
If there was an award for hardest-working limb tonight, it would go to the right hand of Pardon Us’s guitarist/vocalist Morgan Brown. He’s got serious chops, but for those times when only some trusty power chords will do, the Johnny Ramone-style ‘buzzsaw’ attack comes into play.
The Liverpool trio come across as the missing link between Snuff and Hüsker Dü on the likes of ‘Charter City Blues’, and that’s a great place to be for both them and us. Be sure to check out the recently-released (and fabulously-titled) ‘Dig Your Own Grave (And Save)’
With his blue shirt and red guitar strap, Dealing With Damage vocalist/guitarist Ed Wenn has something of a (most likely unintentional) postman vibe going on tonight. And boy, can he and his band deliver the goods.
‘We Make Bombs To Feel Safe’ sounds even more brooding and ominous than on record (the record in question being this year’s superb ‘Use The Daylight’), whilst on the flipside of that coin, ‘Bigots Vs The Mad Professor’ is a scorching blast of hardcore punk.
This is anthemic stuff and we can’t recommend it highly enough. Oh, and kudos to bassist Paul Grier for playing a Rickenbacker, because in Punktuation’s mind, Rickenbacker = Lemmy. RIP Mr Kilmister, hope everything is louder than everything else up/down there.
Spoilers’ guitarist and drummer are wearing Face To Face shirts, and indeed, at times the Canterbury quartet are reminiscent of Trever Keith’s crew if they had a tendency towards short, sharp bursts of breakneck-speed melodic hardcore.
These days, too much so-called pop-punk lacks any real bite, but these guys play it as it oughta be, and recent record ‘There Or Thereabouts’ deservedly gets plenty of airing. Throw in some bizarre between-song banter about pasty consumption (trust me, you had to be there), and it all makes for a triumphant end to the evening.
Oh, and we won’t sign off without doffing our caps to South London Punk Collective, for putting on three great bands in Zone 2 for only a fiver. Here’s to the next one!
Photo Credits: Clare Dowse
Follow Spoilers on Their Socials
Need more Punk In Your Life?
Brazilian punks Fantazmaz launch debut album with ferocious single ‘Dead On The Way Home’
We’ve reviewed Fantazmaz’s incendiary live shows at least twice in these pages, so we were delighted to discover that the Brazilian (but UK-based) quartet will
Album review: Liliths Army release third album ‘Doll’
From Northampton, UK, Liliths Army are a trio band best known for touring, including in the US. Their music is a mix of lo-fi punk,
Supersuckers, London New Cross Inn, 10th April 2025
Yes, for the umpteenth time, the Supersuckers are still going! Cynics might say that’s because the veteran Seattle rock n’ roll trio have no plan
The Chords UK, helmed by Chris Pope, release the mammoth 44-track ‘But Then Again: The Best of The Chords UK’
Designed to truly tell the tale of The Chords UK, ‘But Then Again’ is an ambitious and inventive collection, featuring new and previously unreleased tracks,
Ronker, London New Cross Inn, 8th April 2024
We’ve just passed the 31st anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death, and it’s safe to say that the much-missed Nirvana frontman would approve heartily of tonight’s
Scarborough Punk Festival: Still Punk’s Best Kept Secret
A killer lineup, coastal views, historic setting and one stage of pure punk energy delivering another unforgettable weekend of music, mates, and mayhem – Scarborough
I spend my days teaching English to foreign students, and my evenings attending as many gigs as possible. Raised mainly on a diet of 90s third-wave punk, my tastes have grown to include just about anything from trad ska to thrash metal. The Ramones are my musical gods.
Did you know that we are 100% DIY? We run our own game. No one dictates to us, and no one drives what we can or cannot put on our pages – and this is how we plan to continue!
