Wednesday 11 August 2010

CALVINBALL Has Anyone Seen My Self Respect?

Kingston Fighting Cocks
July 28th 2010



Calvinball have become one of the UK punk scene's favourite gruff punk bands and they haven't let the fact that they live in different places now stop them releasing great records and playing loads of gigs. This headline slot at the Fighting Cocks was the last show of their UK tour with Leagues Apart and Cynics and had a typical Calvinball party atmosphere!

This song is taken (I think) from the upcoming split 7" with Madison Bloodbath, out soon on All In Vinyl.

myspace.com/thisiscalvinball

BANGERS New Villains

Leeds Royal Park Cellars
July 30th 2010



First off, sorry you can't really hear any guitar here. Don't know why. It's obvious that Bangers had been on tour for a few weeks in Europe, they've got ridiculously tight and even more awesome. This was their first show with Good Luck and this opening song set the tone for the night with band and crowd going off. Amazing.

This song is from their sold out split LP with Break The Habit and is also available on their new compilation/debut CD 'Dude Trips', which you can get on CD here or as a download here.

myspace.com/bangersbangers

THE DON RAMOS PLAYERS As The Sparrow

Leeds Royal Park Cellars
July 30th 2010



The new EP from The Don Ramos Players shows the band evolving and spreading their wings and this sprawling, atmospheric track is the perfect example of that. Bringing to mind Small Brown Bike, it's a powerful post-hardcore track. With their new line-up (Lloyd shifting from drums to guitar/vocals and Addy from Bastad! Rats! joining as their new sticksman)and a denser sound, their live sound is more impressive than ever.

This song is taken from the band's new six-track EP 'History And Geography' on BH9!

myspace.com/thedonramosplayers

PACER Circles Around A Square

Leeds Royal Park Cellars
July 30th 2010



Okay, so I've already filmed this song and I did film another one too but I deleted it by accident so pipe down. Anyway, this song, which they opened with, is a belter! Featuring ex-members of The Steal and influenced by everything from Osker and The Bouncing Souls to Guildford Heat and The West Wing, their hardcore-infused pop punk is a damn good time. They're playing some shows with Off With Their Heads then are off to play The Fest in Florida in October. Party!

This song is going to be (I'm pretty sure) on their upcoming debut 10" EP, due out on Chunksaah in September. Can't wait!

myspace.com/wearepacer

WELL WISHER Party Emotional

Leeds Royal Park Cellars
July 30th 2010



Well Wisher are a band from Manchester that I think have been going for a bit but I've only heard of since my friend Sean joined them on bass. They play energetic and intricate emo punk that's stunning live and, in fact, is quite well described by the name of this song. This was my (and quite a few people I know) first time seeing them and I was really impressed. The way all the band seem to shout and give it everything is pretty powerful. They've been in a load of other bands but now Well Wisher are set to become one of your new favourites. Just check it out!

This song is unreleased but the band have a couple of 7"s (and next year a 12") on the way.

myspace.com/wellwisher10

CYNICS Stones I've Thrown

Kingston Fighting Cocks
July 28th 2010



It's the title track of his EP but it's not on his EP. Weird. Pure Giles. Love him. This is a great acoustic punk song. He said of the song:

"Where I used to live there was a Royal Mail at the end of my road which is where I used to meet Tom Hawes to skating in Waitrose carpark and chat shit."

Bromantic. This song is unreleased but already seems to be a live favourite.

myspace.com/ihatecynics

Monday 9 August 2010

DIVIDERS Reckless Is My Middle Name

Kingston Fighting Cocks
July 28th 2010



First up, thanks so much to Dividers and Angela (who put on this awesome show - check out Poprocks And Coke shows) for getting this exciting new band over to Kingston so quickly. One of the best new bands I've heard for a while, this song is a big sing-along with shared vocals, awesome guitar and bass lines, a perfectly timed 'woo!' and getting Scott up in the air crowdsurfing while playing guitar! This Swansea quartet all seem like really great dudes too and partied hard at the New Noise club night with us after the show. Fun times! Someone called Ben apparently described them as "Get Bent meets Gavin and Stacey". That is brilliant... as was their Get Bent cover! Roll on Punk N' Bowl 5 in Bristol next weekend!

This song is taken from the band's awesome 'Demo 2010', which you can download for free from their MySpace page. They might still have a couple of the second batch of CDs left too. They have a slow lorris stretching on the cover. Nice.

myspace.com/dividersuk

LEAGUES APART I Thought You Meant Wales The Country

Kingston Fighting Cocks
July 28th 2010



The Salford party punks are clearly loving playing in Kingston, but then it seems that they love playing full stop. What more can I say? Catch them at No Fest in late August in Peterborough, with Off With Their Heads in Derby in September and on tour with The Menzingers around the UK in November! Good times...

They have a new CD out called 'To Anywhere' but this track from the rousing four-piece is from the Sea Shepherd benefit 4-way split 7" with This Business Is Closed, Rooftops and Sammy's Fatal Mistake. Order your copy now from the band's online shop and help save whales (but not Wales. Maybe whales in Wales. I don't know).

myspace.com/leaguesapartmusic

THE DAUNTLESS ELITE Energy Kids Rule Forever

Kingston Fighting Cocks
July 23rd 2010



In my eyes, this song is a UK punk future classic. I hope that makes sense. A rousing song that tells it like it is and was the thrilling highlight of The Elite's triumphant 2004 debut EP 'Security?', anyone who has seen Dauntless (especially in their hometown of Leeds at the much missed Out Of Spite festival) numerous times can probably understand why I love this song. Everyone else down the front at this gig probably feels exactly the same, if the air punching and singing is anything to go by. It's punchy and the dual vocals are amazing. Also, it makes me want to grab Mike and sing every word in his ear...

This song is taken from the EP 'Security?', which was released through Plan-It-X but is now out of print. It was awesome. Hopefully Steve can get it up as a download on his This Music Is My Life blog!

thedauntlesselite.com

SSSSNAKES Fuck This Place

Kingston Fighting Cocks
July 23rd 2010



Featuring members of The Arteries switching instruments and the legend that is Pugs on bass, Ssssnakes are Descendents, Dead Milkmen and The Marked Men lovin' garage/pop punk straight outta Swansea! This was the last song of an energetic set that included a song dedicated to Steve called 'Microphone Head', a summer 'hit' called 'Pina Colada' (a video to be posted in the near future) and lots of leaping around. Jamie clearly loves taking on the frontman role and this song - full of microphone eating, crowd surfing and Steve helping out with vocals - shows the fun and chaos of their set. Fuck this place, this place sucks!

This song is probably from their split CD with Bangers but you can't get it anymore. Everything sucks. Apparently their debut LP is on the way very soon...

myspace.com/thessssnakes

CAVES The Sad Year

Kingston Fighting Cocks
July 23rd 2010



Bristol's finest hit Kingston to support the mighty Good Luck, along with The Dauntless Elite and Ssssnakes, making it one of Steve's best gigs to date. Getting the night off to an anthemic start, the three-piece blasted through their Discount-esque tunes and were clearly having fun.

This song is taken from their four-way split 10" with Pure Graft, Big City Plan and Calvinball, out now on ROIDH. It's sold out now on the label's website, although the bands might still have some. Happy hunting!

myspace.com/wearecaves