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| Glad I made this gig in the end as I wasn’t gonna bother after Mouthguard registered nothing on my personnel Richter scale. So I forgot all about this gig till the on the ball Sistercrow in her infinite mercy gimme a nudge 24 hours previous. There was also now talk of the Drongo’s making a special guest appearance, and 3rd and most important equation of this search and destroy mission, was it landed conveniently on a day when I was financially secure to escape the squalor of Wulfrunia. So I thought, why not and jumped the train to Brum with an eager trigger finger on my digital tenderness otherwise known as my camera.
In spite of this I think I should point out it very nearly didn’t happen. Rewind a few hours to around 2 0’clock in the afternoon. Whilst perusing a Wolvo Oxfam Shop for old men’s suits as you do, who should I bump into but Jay or ‘Plug’ as he was known to the Telford Constabulary. Jay (AKA James) was former lead singer with Telford’s cult punk guttersnipes from the 80’s, the insanely named Orinj And Yella Kurtin Railz and latterly the Mizrubal Barstuwards. These dayglo hordes terrorised Village halls throughout the UK back in the 80’s with their crazy take on punk. The talented Jay was also author/artist of the highly missed mid 80’s punk zine the Telfart Tibyoon and his hideously overlooked IKA-BOD-POO comic. He’s one of Punks long lost talents and as Rob Filth mentioned, “wasted on the punk scene“. Definitely one of those strange meetings in life you have now and then and im glad he‘s still around. Even more so coz I’d only recently put two covers up from the aforementioned publications in the Mag Gallery’s section of the site. I ain’t seen the cunt for probably 15 years so we inevitably had to hit a bar to catch up on old shenanigans, dirty deeds and current scurrilous acts of depravity. He’s now living in Waterford City in Eire paint spraying and was on a short visit back to Middle Earth to check out his old haunts when he bumped into moi! He’s still got all his punk attitude and point of view, even the paraphernalia, records, zines and charge sheets no doubt. They're stuck under the stairs of his sisters home in Madeley. And he was inspired enough by our meet to rummage through them when he gets back for old times sake. I’d have quite happily sat swapping tales of aggro, the state of punk today and other adventures on the punk rock all night. But he had to leave after 4 pints of Guinness to catch his bus back to Shropshire. We‘d have probably been stuck in the Goose till chucking out time so a wise move. I did try and tempt him to come over Brum to see tonight’s bands. But I somehow think 21st century punk has lost its major attraction to Jay these days. And lets face it, he probably knew we’d never have made it to the gig by the way the drink was flowing. Oh well here’s to blasts from the past! So if your reading this Jay, cheers mate and see you in 15! Well with that background story laid to rest in the confines of times gone by and all that bollocks, onto the present and the reason your probably reading this review. Tonight’s gig in question at the ominously named Gallows pub, sat beneath the dark, hedonistic venue called Edwards Number 8 is a prime time city centre Birmingham location. It was once upon a time home to neu metal, Napalm Death, Goffs, Metallers and the occasional punk gig, and probably still is for all I know? There’s a healthy smattering of punks lurking around its murky interior tonight. I spot Becca Puke (but with no new zine tut tut), Paul from Contempt who tells me they got a new album due out and Gaynor from the Cupid Stunts who was busy potting the black! Even caught a brief glimpse of Sistercrow before she had to skedaddle and prize her car from its much sought after space as the swarming theatre goers were starting to look nasty. Y’know something I was greeted by “I thought you were dead!” not once tonight, but fuckin’ twice! Has it really been that long since I last seen a gig in Brum? Well I hate to spoil a wake, but I ain’t got no intention of going nowhere just yet, apart from the bar!!! Wasn’t expecting such a good turnout prior to the Wasted festival, which everyone (apart from meself) seemed to be going to. And by everyone’s reckoning, this was the best turnout they’ve had at the Gallows since these Wednesday night punk gatherings have kicked off. So it’s looking good for punk in Brum at the moment with this new central location. The FREE entrance and CHEAP beer also make it an attractive proposition…. oh go on then you sussed me, they’re the REAL pull! My train ride was fuck all in comparison to the distance travelled by tonight’s opening band of dags called Mouthguard. This Queensland hardcore crew have come half way across the fucking planet from Brisbane in Australia to entertain us! They’re on a Euro tour and it has to be applauded for bands on a paltry DIY existence to manage such a feat. This was their second ever gig in England, having played London a few nights ago, to a lukewarm reception by the bands own account. But who the fuck has heard of Mouthguard anyway? They’re virtually unknown outside Lassiters till now. And a slot on the Wasted bill should further their status (they hope). So it was good Birmingham at least came out on a whim and in force to greet these indigenous Drongos face to face. I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of a punk band from Brisbane playing Brum since the Saints hit Barbarella’s in ‘77. However Mouthguard are a totally different concept. They look like they just broke outta the state prison and come from an early 80’s Black Flag persuasion, sound wise. Although im a big fan of early raging Black Flag, guitarist Darrin certainly ain‘t no Greg Ginn. They try their best but what they deliver ain’t very adventurous for a touring outfit. Its something we’ve heard a thousand times before. They deflect the sting in their punch with a tongue in cheek routine. Which although is funny on the night, I suspect it might be cloaking the bands musical boundaries. Although rowdy numbers like the memorable ‘Sasquatch’ were good. But considering they’ve been together for quite a while, on tonight’s performance alone they gotta give us a load more musical variety to leave us with a longer lasting impression of punk down under. We need more scuzzy riffs to kill for, more raging anthems to sing along to, and tons more impact all round. At least they didn’t annoy us with any of those wanky metal irritations some of these hardcore outfits hand out. Lead singer the hilariously named Otto Bin Loaded reminds me of a young Alexis Sayle crossed with Mensi as he prowls the front rows with bottle in hand, eyes bulging and bawling in your face. I was more impressed with their bar room attitude. These fuckers are as dry as a dead dingo’s donga! Giant bass player Viktor built like some Aussie rugby full back introduced the songs and keep the crowd entertained with one liners that could’ve come straight out the script of a ‘Chopper‘ movie. Their best songs were probably the gang chorus numbers like ‘Siege Mentality’ and one called ‘Brisbane Bitter’ which I’d like to sample meself one day round a Barbie if I win the lotto. They did however entertain us better than Neighbours and deserved whatever they made from Dek Drongo’s pint glass, which he diligently took round for donations towards his habit, whooops the band! I threw in a few quid and bought em a bottle of Grolsch each coz I actually felt sorry for em in a ‘Brizzie’ kinda way! So from one bunch of Drongo’s to the real thing. Local split breeds the confident looking Drongos For Europe took the floor next and considering they were only due to play a short ‘secret’ set, someone had definitely let the cat out the bag. They were on for a good 40 minutes at least? Well lets just say they were still playing when I had to leave to catch my last train. The Brummy Drongo’s fronted by Tommy sporting a peroxide spiky barnet with a black flash and in his favourite camouflaged army fatigues, certainly looked ready for deployment. Alongside bass player Dek Drongo in pinstripe mayhem and bleached jeans pumping his bass, which all adds to their punk rock presence. The Drongo’s at least make an effort to look different onstage and seem really into it, unlike a lotta the older punk bands who mundanely trot out their set, do their bland little routines then head back to the office. However when I spotted latest recruit Rob Drongo in some hilarious purple cowboy boots, it made for the most bizarre sight of the evening! It was the first time I’ve seen the Drongo’s play with the added beef of an extra guitarist. Rob drafted in from MDM seems to be fitting in well with Drongo life and does give the band a much needed new dimension to their sound. This together with the Gallows impressive sound system it made for a good solid collision of punk rock. The Drongo’s in case you didn’t already know are a band with at least a handful of punk rock anthems in their artillery and they soon got the whole place rockin’. Skudding the kids at the front whose arms are outstretched in the air and bombing the crowd as they sing along to their latest manifestos. Newer numbers like the catchy ‘Punk Rock Radio‘ were standouts alongside established faves like 'May Day‘, 'Destroy’ and ‘Barcode Generation’ . They stamped their mark on tonight’s proceedings with territorial flair and belief. As their best song ‘Wake Up Call’ with that neat chorus was delivered with anticipated glee. The Drongo’s deliver punk rock with a slight metallic edge these days pleasing old and new amongst us and guaranteeing an enthusiastic response in all quarters. However I’m not too passionate about their new found conscience in a Western World. It’s almost like they are expected to sing about corrupt governments and all the other well worn rants against punks favourite hate targets in order to please the new breed of punk these days. I prefer bands with a more nihilistic approach, but im a cunt anyway so who cares coz they’re taking their brand of high energy multi-coloured punk to all corners of the UK and abroad. They must be doing something right? I know I’ve said it before but if I was GBH id be looking to abdicate the Brummy punk throne coz the Drongo’s are about to stage a coup. Their insatiable gigging regime means they are now too big to play venues like the Market Tavern, so who said you can’t make a career outta death! PETER DON’T CARE |
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The Gallows Birmingham, UK
August 9th 2006 FREE!!! |