Rebellion Festival 2023: Part II – Friday 4th August

Surprisingly the rain remains absent and an early stagger into Blackpool for caffeine, food and a hair of the dog, not necessarily in that order, sees us encounter punks in the early sunshine and music on the streets of Blackpool with buskers embracing the punk invasion, with even full bands knocking out punk covers on the main shopping street. Our start to Rebellion 2023 is of course delayed by further reunions, but as the people are as much a part of the weekend as the music, and the inevitable excesses that some off us enjoy, this doesn’t mean you are missing out, but we still make it into the Winter Gardens in time to see what early afternoon in Rebellion has to offer on day two.

From humble beginnings in the North East of England and after the sad loss of their original lead singer Craig, Slalom D have done him and their Sunderland base proud. Last year saw them at Rebellion for the first time, an early slot on the Introducing Stage was just a precursor to getting their rightful place on the big Club Casbah stage this year, and they did not disappoint. If you need something politically charged and yet socially aware on an early Friday afternoon, then this was just a match made in heaven, but if you were also a virgin to this band, then what a way to be introduced. Songs like their Chelsea Bonfire, Final Girl and Step Out Of Line all get right to the heart of some of the problems in the UK, but they save the best for last as they finish with the haunting and rousing Jerusalem and receive the riotous reception their set deserved.

Another North East band hits the best main stage in the Winter Gardens after we all have had time to top up with the refreshments on offer, Zero Tolerance are a Angelic Upstarts kind of band who stand for what they believe and never back down, this is apparent within the music, songs that create an anthemic like atmosphere in this huge room. Their songs are mostly inspired from their own experiences living in the impoverished North East of England, with religion and politicians never far from the firing line. The stand out song for many in the audience had to be the heartfelt Too Young To Die, from the album of the same name.

And here’s an unexpected and early surprise to kick off day two in the Empress Ballroom. The Attack are like coiled springs in their soundcheck, prowling the stage as levels are tweaked. You can tell from their demeanour that this is going to be a feisty one, and boy, they don’t disappoint. What we get is a short and sharp set of sparky melodic punk from this accomplished band from Orlando. It’s appreciated and well-received by a surprisingly packed Empress Ballroom too. Energetic, great showmanship. Full-on American hardcore with bags of hooky melodies. A slick and polished masterclass. No solos. Just solid, anthemic punk flawlessly executed.

Rum Lad returned to the Rebellion stage as a two piece despite only a few months back gigging a new album as a 4 piece band. Well anyone who knows Richie Rum Lad knows not to write him off as today we witnessed a powerful performances in the 2600 capacity Casbah. Playing tracks from their latest album, Rude Awakening, Rum Lad opened the set with UK Violence that saw crowd stood mouths agape as Rum Lad paced the stage like a caged tiger, with drummer James ‘Finny’ Finlayson anchoring a set that was largely culled from their latest album. Despite their new album being freshly released, they also delivered a handful of brand new tracks and a few older favourites, including the crowd pleasing closer Council Estate Scum. Rum Lad are not back because they never went away and the rammed Casbah knew it. Rum Lad is a force to be reckoned with, they don’t beat about the bush. You’d better get used to it.

But it can’t be full tilt all day and variety is the spice of Rebellion. The Outcasts are Belfast’s unsung heroes, often in the shade of the better known bands from that city, but they have become a fixture on the punk circuit in recent years and are enjoying a renaissance. Now with Ian “Buck” Murdock (The Defects) on guitar they hit the Almost Acoustic Stage. The appeal isn’t just the music but also the informal nature of the set, their natural interaction with the crowd and their self deprecating humour that is as much a part of their set as their vintage back catalogue. There’s a charm, wit and attitude to The Outcasts that defies the decades, and it turns out we’ll be seeing them again later today.

Post pizza and cocktails, (the now compulsory espresso martini) we catch Minatore in the Introducing Stage, purely on the basis of their creative and truly random marketing campaign for todays appearance. We arrive as the duo are joined by members of Healthy Junkies. The finale to their set is more akin to primative jam session that sits somewhere between The Stooges and the The Lovely Eggs rather than a punk rallying cry, but no one is complaining as the their set draws to a captivating and chaotic end. Afterwards in one of the many bars The Stranglers‘ Golden Brown is being played on the bar’s Grand Piano as we consider our next move over a jack and coke. 

Fresh from their almost acoustic set, The Outcasts have packed out the Opera House and their authentic brand of original Northern Irish punk is going down a storm, as usual. Unusually for this venue, it’s standing room only. Greg is in great form  and his trademark between-song banter is as entertaining as the set. Great sound, which hasn’t always been the case, is making this a joyous occasion. As seems to be the case with Irish bands, there’s a vital sense of musicality and musical roots in these songs, pulling in old school rock n’ roll and blues sensibilities. Mighty. A bonus  is a lovely cover of Belfast contemporaries Rudi‘s The Pressure’s On, itself released as part of a single on Paul Weller‘s short-lived Jamming! Records label in 1981 (we think).

Perennial favourite and unashamed punk showman, Spizzenergi is guaranteed to put on a great show. His band are as tight as can be, and Spizz gives us his usual masterclass in how to manage an audience. Does everything have to be meaningful and layered? No, it does not, and Spizz understands this – he’s about fun, it’s showbiz after all. It’s also loud and brash enough to amuse the Spizz-curious punk crowd and, frankly, those who just need a nice sit down after a day and a half on the punk rock hamster wheel. Quality assured entertainment that’s simultaneously fresh and modern and reassuringly quirkily nostalgic.

There’s an oddly corporate feel to this event, which is a hosted Q&A with Campino and drummer Vom from German punk royalty Die Toten Hosen. It’s an oddly endearing session, an intimate and amusing meander through some stories of the early days of Die Toten Hosen that bring a welcome touch of humanity and charm to the whole process of being in a punk band. They’re a great contrasting couple, Campino is measured and brings an authority to the proceedings, Vom is wickedly charming and effusive. It’s necessarily a whistlestop tour through the band’s origins, seasoned with some cheeky asides and funny anecdotes. A lovely insight into the workings of this major piece of the German punk establishment.

If you need a shameful, shameless right wing government excoriated, Attila The Stockbroker is the man to do it. A rapt and onboard audience are fully behind his sharp and venomous barbs. Nothing is sacred, and his rhymes slash and burn through the rotten jungle of Tory Britain. But it’s not just a flaming sword of social justice that he’s wielding. Attila has that genius knack of finding metaphors for the big messages in the small things; his dry, sometimes almost wistful delivery emphasises that the personal is political. He hasn’t lost his fire. It’s almost regrettable that he needs to remain a vital and necessary part of our alternative culture. No sermons, just finely observed and beautifully crafted and very human commentary on a society that has not found the courage to put things properly right yet through all the decades of his activism.

Dummy Toys were a band not on originally on our list to see, but the Introducing Stage always has an allure for those who wants to hear the unsigned and the up and coming, and lets just say it was packed, packed and very sweaty. The Chinese all girl quartet hit the stage with no fear, how can we describe this set?, well let’s just say it seemed to be over as quickly as it had begun, fast and furious is putting it mildly. This was pure Chinese hardcore punk with added fury, and let’s face it, if you lived in a state run country wouldn’t you be this angry?

At the opposite end of the spectrum are Dirt Box Disco who are making their annual crowd pleasing appearance on the Casbah Stage, the cartoonish quartet deliver straight up punk rock with huge off colour choruses that encourages a sea of arms and singalongs, Dirt Box Disco aren’t going to change for anyone and those present in the tonight wouldn’t have it any other way. They include an increasing number of stage guests as their set of chugging punk rock approaches its culmination, which is of a course a bezerk My Life Is Shit. Plans to catch Neville Staple, formerly of two tone legends The Specials, is thwarted by stage confusion and queues, but all is not lost as we are instead reacquainted with a favourite from last year and an act that has been on our must see list for a while. 

Jo-Jo And The Teeth are a band we would have hoped to have seen on a bigger stage than the one In the Introducing Stage, but you gotta start somewhere. Today’s set follows their set as the backing band Eater yesterday in the Opera House. The audience has turned out thought, and its a very colourful one for this band, this is after all the flamboyant side of glam punk we are about to witness. Jo-Jo has to put her eight or nine inch heeled red boots in situ on the front of the stage, as this is not a time to kill yourself. Sound aside, this band have all the makings of a main stage entry next year, the quality of play and vocals are just sublime, songs from the album No More Good News ring out around the room and plenty of the audience sing the lyrics right back, always a great thing to witness. The energy is full on, the vocals soar, the guitars sing perfectly and Jo-Jo gives everything into a spectacle of a stage show.

A Punk Site highlight of last year’s Rebellion, Mannequin Death Squad were genuinely and touchingly moved by their reception in the Pavilion then. They’re back again, in a later slot. Maybe they deserved a bigger stage this time. Maybe next time. A few Mannequin Death Squad  t-shirts have been spotted around the Winter Gardens ahead of this performance, hinting at the impact they made last time out. What are Mannequin Death Squad? They’re a vitally fierce instrument-swapping drum and guitar two-piece, part heavy rock, part bubblegum pop and they’ll blow your fucking head off. Imagine a sweetly smiling but angry Ting Tings with 110% more sass and you’re starting to get the vibe. First class and utterly, utterly captivating – you can’t look away. Hopefully destined for much, much bigger things.

This was another of our not sure what to do moments of the festival, a billed three hours of spoken word from the legend that is Henry Rollins (Black Flag), he came on to a rapturous applause, from here on it was totally riveting and you just could not catch breath, and he didn’t seem to either, in between his stories, stories of life and how music has brought him to where he is now, and definitely 100% no Black Flag reunion. One of the stories that stood out as so poignant, was the story that Joey Ramone called him up one night and asked him over to view the finished edit of the End Of The Century documentary, he went over to find Joey hooked up to drips and the like, at deaths door, they sat and watch this amazing film and Joey signed it off, two days later he was dead, this to Henry was obviously a moment he would never forget, but is also went to show how music can bring such things into your life.

By now we are clinging onto reality by our fingernails but we aren’t done yet. However, there is no sign of Rebellion fatigue in the Pavilion where Desperate Measures are serving up a meaty, raucous slab of their bluesy punk to an enthusiastic and sizeable late night crowd. A high energy and faithful call back to punk’s origins in the pub rock scene of the mid-70s, Desperate Measures strip away the cartoon elements of punk and simply tell it straight like it is and without artifice. It’s late, it’s sweaty and it’s loud. I can’t think of a better way than this to end a punk rock day. Joyous, glorious and confidently authentic. A triumph and with ringing ears we set off out back into the night vaguely in the direction of our hotel.

Photography by Phinky, Mark Cartwright, Scott Bradley (Phukin Photos), Julie King (Julie King Photography), Darren Shipman (dpix Creative Photography), Lyndz Lonsdale & Sheila Violet Black

Words by Peter Hough, Phinky, Mark Catwright & Gary Hough