Manchester Punk Festival (Saturday 8th April 2023)

With aching limbs we rise after yesterday’s excesses and return to Manchester for day two of Manchester Punk Festival, but first up there are sporting rivalries to be taken care of, which has conveniently been arranged for an early kick off so it doesn’t interfere with catching any bands on today’s absolutely stacked line up, as ever we make out selections knowing full well we won’t see most of them due to the sheer volume of acts appearing across seven of Manchester’s independent venues.

With sporting matters resolved satisfactorily, yeah we won, we are back in the punk business, after a brief stop for an awesome pizza at the Sandbar as we’re three pints down by this point. First stop sees us heading back to the Zombie Shack for Other Half. The venue is rammed shoulder to shoulder, something that appeared to come as a surprise to the band, not that this should have done on the strength of their recent release, 2022’s Soft Action, and their blend of post everything alternative, that sees them warmly received by a the crowd packed into the Zombie Shack. 

Not realising there was an overlap with the Other Half sees us undertaking a forced march up Oxford Road to catch Pkew Pkew Pkew in The Union. Their brand of beer fuelled punk rock seems appropriate for many here today, in particular those who have have ordered a pizza due to overdoing things and not wanting to throw up. This is a master class in good natured pop punk that, judging by how rammed The Union is mid afternoon, and how busy the bar is, has captured the mood of many of the weekend’s attendees. 

The Canadian invasion continues on the sun soaked Manchester weekend with the feisty duo of Mobina Galore, stripped down raw punk rock that is almost overpowered by the solitary guitar. Given this is the main stage you could be forgiven for thinking that a duo would be overwhelmed by the space, but sheer stage presence, and sheer volume, dismiss any such concerns. Mobina Galore have long been on our must see list and part of the joy of Manchester Punk Festival is the catching acts from around the world that you wouldn’t normally catch, or have just managed to miss due to life happening, that and that for my money there is no finer punk fest out there right now. 

Around since 2009, French garage-punks Youth Avoiders bring a seasoned air of mastery to their Manchester Punk Festival appearance in Gorilla. From the get-go, they rip through an intense clutch of tracks from their back catalogue without pause. Vocalist Christopher Gaultier sets the tone, leaping with every chord change, and bending his frame over into the crowd and baying his abrasive diatribe, like on the “A.C.A.B, I ate the fruit from the poisonous tree!” exclamation of Street Violence. Behind him, the band are no frills, not ‘basic’, but doing rudimentary right. Wide-legged, their chords jangle more than buzz, and the snare is relentless. For a band ‘avoiding’ youth, they are absolutely tireless.

After a brief return to the Sandbar, a place that has become the HQ for the punk site this weekend due to excellent beer and even better pizza, we catch the soundcheck of For I Am, before they launch into a set furious of furious melodic pop punk, yea I know that’s an oxymoron, but For I Am stand alone, yes their pop punk elements are present  but there’s an intensity that underpins their sound, and then there’s Hanne Terweduwe‘s vocals that soar above everything. This is not just another pop punk band, there’s something truly beguiling about For I Am live, this is their second appearance in Manchester, at least to the best of my knowledge, and if anything they have surpassed my first encounter with them at Salford’s The Eagle. And how can you not love a band that are all wearing TNSrecords‘ infamous Boris Johnson t shirt. This was a highlight of Manchester Punk Festival and one of our favourite live sets of the weekend, an undeniably perfect moment. 

Manchester’s favourite furballs, The Sewer Cats, have moved up from last years appearance in The Zombie Shack to the bigger space of Gorilla this year, but it only takes seconds for the unostentatious duo to fill the room with hip-swinging and pit-swirling. The likes of English Spaghetti is pure disco fury with Josh peeling sleazy riffs off the fretboard, fuzzing them up and stacking them against Cass’s clattering beats and caterwaul. Their debut album, Cute Aggression, has just celebrated its first anniversary, and with an extensive touring schedule behind them, The Sewer Cats benefit from audience familiarity and friendliness. Everyone wants to join in, and they do on Delilah, where we get a stage invaders and a human pyramid, which foreshadows the later ‘parting of the sea’ dancefloor dust-up.

There’s a real perceptible sense of heritage enveloping The Bread Shed. The Bank Holiday weather has been kind, and while there might not much to have pride in about the state of the country at the moment, punk statesman Duncan Redmond and his crew are flying the flag for Blighty. Snuff are now nto their third decade, and showing no signs of slowing (though Duncan admits he’s knackered after just the first song), the band banter, bash, and blow the bloody doors off a selection of cuts that tie whimsy, nostalgia and tenderness, with skipping snares, buoyant basslines and beaming brass. At one point there’s a conga line. While there’s a few tracks from latest album, Crepuscolo..’, it’s the tried & tested anthems of Walk, Dippy Egg and twin ‘Nicks’ (Motown / Northern) that raise the roof, with closer Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads commanding a huge singalong: “What happened to me, what happened to you?” – well, we all had a jolly good time, didn’t we?

After this the weekend heads south, at least in terms of getting anything done, we meet up with The Punk Site’s very own Cherry B who is in town ahead of her Sunday set and as you can expect things went off kilter and we staggered homeward ahead of the final day with no regrets, well maybe a few. But a festival is not just the music. We might only be at the half way point but the people I’ve met over the last two days reminded me that society is not as divided you think, you have a lot more in common with your neighbours, both local and from Europe and beyond, than you think. All that is required is not to be a dick and to smile, features that are not in short supply this weekend, the only downside is the realisation that the final day is already almost upon us.

Live photography courtesy of Gary M Hough of Shot From Both Sides. Words by Phinky and Adam Pytro

Tickets for the 2024 Manchester Punk Festival can be purchased here.