Rebellion Festival / R Fest – Blackpool, UK, Friday 5th August 2022

After much grumbling about everything hurting, especially for those of us who were here from Wednesday and attended some of the warm up fringe events, we make our way back into Blackpool town centre, after several hits of caffeine and a return to our favourite breakfast haunt, The Compass Cafe, we are vaguely back on an even keel and ready to go for day two as we head back into Rebellion, and R-Fest, for the second day of the UK’s largest, and arguably best, punk festival.

Well it IS Almost Acoustic. Bite Me are a fierce, sassy four-piece whose huge, wailing sound should not work in this more intimate setting. But it does, even though everything is vying to be louder than everything else. Tight, bluesy rock topped with a soaring vocal. We’re not sure if Pauline Murray is nearby, but she would surely be thrilled with Bite Me’s spunky cover of Don’t Dictate. Compelling in every sense, if a bit scary, and definitely ones to watch out for.

Like walking into a huge underground car park (well it is a garage area under normal circumstances), the Club Casbah stage was host to a band that leads by its name. Tiger Sex are sexy as hell punk rock package that have the roar of a Tiger and the music to back it up, from an Iggy Pop cover to their own raucous rock n roll. Whilst this was not just a one person show, lead singer Kelly definitely launches the attack on your ears and mind, getting out and crowd surfing is brave, but not as brave as clambering up the stage metalwork whilst enthralling the audience with songs that drip with edgy garage rock. 

After checking out a full on hangover busting set by Tiger Sex in the steamy Casbah we head over for iDestroy who were on early in the Empress Ballroom, not a band we’ve caught before but this awesome trio from Bristol blew away the cobwebs.  They were on it with clever and witty songs that were paired with the ferocity of the Ramones. An impressive first visit of the day to the main stage .

Meanwhile, it’s a masterclass in pop punk from perennial New Wave favourites The Vapors over at R-Fest, it’s received enthusiastically by another large and engaged outdoor crowd. Not just the old-school-curious either. The crowd is a good mix of back in the day punks and youngsters grooving to this set of masterful guitar pop. Catch them if you can – this ain’t no nostalgia trip. The Vapors set gets the weekend’s one and only downpour that sees those on the fringes of the crowd scurrying for cover. Next up on R Fest is the original one hit wonder Jilted John, which we catch from the comfort of the beach adjacent bar we sought shelter in, and we watch the crowd steadily making their way into R-Fest all happily singing along to his eponymous hit single. 

Change Persona were bang in the middle of their set when we joined them, but it was a set that kept us and the audience hooked, a good old rock n roll guitar band, yet with all that young energy they were far from being overwhelmed by the prospect of being at the biggest punk rock show on earth. They were swiftly followed by Bite Me following up on the Almost Acoustic appearance earlier today. This is a band who let loose with the spirit of the New York Dolls, with a huge slice of Alice Cooper maybe. A show to behold and vocals to drive this train all the way to a bigger spot next year maybe.

Back down in the sweaty darkness of Club Casbah a sizeable crowd are bidding a fond farewell to Spunk Volcano & The Eruptions at their final gig, whether this is permanent remains to be seen but for now this was the last opportunity to catch them. This was Spunk Volcano & The Eruptions at their best with the venue was rammed with their loyal fan base catching a final glimpse of their balaclava clad hero, at least in this incarnation, but as with any punk band that announces their split, you find yourself cynically thinking, is this really the end?

The R-Fest arena is well-filled for genuine punk royalty, Toyah but she’s not taking proceedings too seriously. A furious ball of energy in sparkly gold, Toyah’s personality makes up for the fact that it’s big stage and she’s a tiny speck on it. Thunder in the Mountains is followed by her cover of Echo Beach and then Neon Womb from her debut album, Sheep Farming In Barnet. This eclecticism is all good  and a timely reminder of her long and diverse career. It’s all fresh and sounding great, so many years on, the group behind us bellowing It’s A Mystery at full volume only adds to the good vibes. A true performer playing up to an adoring crowd.

We return to the present with Carol Hodge on the Almost Acoustic Stage, stripped down personal and introspective songs sang from the heart. Whilst many will know Carol from her work with Steve Ignorant, this for me is perfection and proves that punk does not always mean decibels and power chords. The Witch Is Dead, which was dedicated to Margaret Thatcher, where the chorus is greeted with a rousing cheer. This is textbook rabble rousing, but it’s the opposite approach to her work with the former Crass frontman, and for me it’s all the stronger for it’s subtlety.

We blame a previous gig by The Professionals for Peter Hough‘s tinnitus in a lighthearted way. The sound in the Empress Ballroom has improved to allow a proper appreciation of this band’s melodic mastery. Yes, the ghost of Jonesy lingers but the guitars chug and wail and it’s all thunderous and uplifting as you’d expect from these masters of polished punk pop. Paul Cook’s pedigree will always make The Professionals a draw, but they’re quality-assured and never disappoint. Silly Thing is slid in and receives a rapturous response. It’s close as some of these punks are going to get to the original. The set ends with Stepping Stone and Problems. Probably not the worst Sex Pistols tribute you’ll see, and maybe a nod to the audience, but this band can probably, actually, do better.

We briefly caught up with Edweena Banger up in the art gallery where she was happy to reminicse about those early Pistols gigs in Manchester. Edweena was a roadie for Slaughter And The Dogs but now she’s back with Slaughter Bite Back in the Empress Ballroom. This was rock and Roll personified. Running through a set that included most of the original Bite Back album with a respectful peppering of Slaughter And The Dogs classics. Authentic old school punk rock in it’s undiluted form.

The next act is decided by the fact that one of our number nicked The Au Pairs debut album from his brother a long long time ago. Given the time span since then this is a band we never thought we’d get to see, and this is the closest you’re likely to get. Lesley Woods arrived armed with a guitar and an iPad and, after some initial technical difficulties, we get a set that harks back to her past. She evokes the spirit of her former outfit, think of a kind of post punk Stevie Nicks coupled with Peter Perret and you’re about there. 

The Introducing Stage beckoned again, as a place to find bands you may not have heard or seen before, on this occasion ARXX were said band, a duo from Brighton who played there hearts out through every single beat and whine of guitar, along with a vocal that filled the room from top to bottom and back again!  Yet between songs, this was a French & Saunders or AB/Fab chat, happy to be here, happy to be entertaining and very happy to get the crowds approval. If you ever get a chance to see or hear this band, don’t hesitate!

It’s hard to believe this mighty racket is emanating from the Pavilion stage comes from just two instruments. Mannequin Death Squad are an Australian duo that thunder and wail like … I don’t know what. We genuinely have no idea where this huge, glorious noise is coming from. There are no comparisons, no reference points because this band sound like everything you know and love in melodic, brutal punk and are totally thrilling and unique at the same time. When you think it can’t get any bewilderingly better, the pair swap instruments and do it all again. Ridiculously good, outrageously talented. Stupendously brilliant. Brilliant, angry, joyous riffing. They are, and should be, enormous. 

After some light refreshment (hic) it was again back to Club Casbah to watch TV Smith, the founding member and front man of The Adverts. He kicked off his set with a blistering No Time To Be 21 and remains an omnipresent figure over the Rebellion weekend, and is to the only artist to perform at every Rebellion Festival. He is swiftly followed by The Blockheads in the Empress Ballroom, with their new singer Mike Bennet, who were on fine form albeit with Nathan King standing in for Norman Watt Roy. They kicked off with Sex & Drugs and Rock & Roll and faithfully ran through a set of classics from their back catalogue.  Mike appeared to lose his way slightly, no surprise given the complexity of those lyrics, and you could see his band mates smiling as they tried to get Mike back on track, but that aside he made up for it with his Dury like stage presence.  A classic Blockheads performance, and better for it with the addition of Mike Bennett.

We fulfil another teenage ambition of finally seeing The Stupids, as we first encountered them first on the late eighties Hardcore Holocaust Peel Sessions compilation. They have lost none of their furiously good natured hardcore blast and remain unrepentant. By the time most bands reach the vintage that The Stupids have achieved they have mellowed, this is definitely not the case today as you get the same soundtrack, only the mild confusion between songs is seems to be taking a bit longer to resolve! From the packed Pavilion stage we move to the Almost Acoustic stage, for what must be the biggest crowd so far today on this stage. Ruts DC kick off with Something That I Said, which is received rapturously. It’s a set that’s tried and tested, moving seamlessly from The Crack album to the more recent Music Must Destroy. Crowd pleasers every one. Oddly, what worked so well sonically in the much larger Opera House in 2019 does not translate so well to this more intimate venue. Maybe it’s the acoustics of the room or the sheer volume of the crowd but it sounds simultaneously reverberant and muddy. No matter, Ruts DC are amongst friends and can do no wrong. Masters of their craft and beloved by this crowd.

It’s back to Club Casbah for Steve Ignorant and Carol Hodge. we’d looked forward to this after seeing their astounding performance at the Great British Alternative Festival in Skegness last year. Sadly this performance while still great was marred by the sound issues and Carol’s mic being too low that you lost the impact of her vocals on tracks like Shaved Women. Still, all the Crass classics were here and the crowd loved it as we did. A late start for The Lovely Eggs, caused by the previous act overrunning, means we catch their (almost) full set. The Pavilion was packed and initially the crowd stood rigid, but not for too long. After earlier hearing the band being interviewed by John Robb, this was a late night expectation of partying and joyful frivolity that is also dappled with the weird and wonderful, music that follows its own course, music that has been thrown out of the room and then welcomed back in like an old friend. They never disappoint, as they elude to during the earlier interview, they are not here to entertain the audience, this is a Lovely Eggs party and you’re all welcome to contribute.

Every venue seems to empty simultaneously and there is a sheer confusion for a few minutes, not helped by alcohol and a few stages moving from their traditional sites. We finally catch Deadbeat At Dawn, a collision of rock, punk, ska and hip hop that briefly resurrects the crowd after another full on day, and like no one else today they actually get my aching feet moving again. On sheer energy and attitude you can’t fault them, couple that with the pounding beats and the good natured audience baiting and you get the perfect end to Friday, and a contender for one of our favourites of the weekend, and quite possibly the loudest. 

Words by Phinky, Gary Hough, Mark Cartwright and Peter Hough with photography via Phinky, Julie King, Gary Hough, Mark Cartwright and Violet Black. You can read The Punk Site review of Thursday at Rebellion Festival / R Fest here