Not quite running on empty yet but it was a struggle to get up, check out and get round to drop my things at Cap'n and Ma's place after only a few hours’ sleep from a very late day 2 finish. I was crashing night 3 with them as I could only get a two-night booking in my hotel, and it was nice to see I wasn't the only one suffering (hangovers all round I'd say).
I think I've definitely fallen into the Rebellion newbie trap of trying to do everything/ too much / not miss a thing. A lot of pals were a bit more selective in fewer "must see's" and not necessarily all within the Winter Gardens (I didn't see Swedish Cockney Tommy or Scullly all weekend, reportedly "sat in the bloody pub all day" according to Maria) and others were taking in the fringe events as much as the main attraction.
I set a bit of a tone for the day by missing my first band, Pizzatramp (Loose Articles, Ruts DC also fell by the wayside) and managed to get up and in for Los Fastidios in the Empress for their main set. Literally two seconds after finding a standing spot I finally bumped into the Young Yins; Kevin, Karen and Auld Young Yin's young yin, Cammy. Finally nice to see them and get a quick blether in-between Los Fastidios main weekend set.
Next it was on to the RIS stage for Chemtrails who I had on my list for later in the year at Edinburgh but "that bloody band again" New Model Army have trumped them by announcing an Edinburgh show on the same night, so I'll probably go to their Glasgow show. Glad I went to this one as they are superb and will definitely catch them again.
Time for a bit of a chill ahead of a main event for me, in the almost acoustic room and one of the biggest surprises of the weekend was Oorya, who was on just ahead of Ghost Dance. I met up with Cap'n, Ma and Sam who luckily had seats at the back when I got there, and we settled down not expecting the whirlwind of Oorya. If you haven't seen her, put her on your list (bring spells, badges and dinosaurs).
As the legendary Ghost Dance were tuning up I headed to a surprisingly empty floor in front of them, but like any good sequel "is this where the goths hang out part 2" quickly followed with the usual suspects and more gathered for a great set from some absolute legends.
A quick bite to eat and bumping into a cast of characters from over the weekend for catch ups, swapping notes on who's been seen, who was good who not so good and I was spotted with a shout of "you must be fae Glasgow!" by a punk who recognised my distinct Hens Bens t shirt (think Heinz Beans, but spelled Hens Bens) and even though I explained not, and it was the other coast I came from he still stopped to chat and share a few stories and laughs with me.
Back onto the Opera House for punk legend and slightly leftfield from the theme of the festival with their recent incarnation, but no less legendary, Fay Fife's The Countess Of Fife, who were excellent. Great sound and even greater stage presence from their stellar cast.
I got a quick chat with Alan, the double bass player, before the next act and he confirmed that I was right that he used to play in Imelda Mays band, also looking forward to the next and possibly most unique artist on this weekend, Lene Lovich, who gave as great a performance as anyone I'd seen over the past three days.
I didn't realise it at the time but that was my last set of the weekend as (another) pitstop for refreshments in the bar turned into an extended stay and just kept going as I spent as enjoyable a few hours as I'd done all weekend with the lovely Carol and Andy, my co-creators of the vodka 99 and Tunnocks rum teacake last year at Whitby. Wonderful company, wonderful friends and wondering what state we'll all end up in next time we catch up (I've a fair idea already thought).
To round off the weekend with a fairly hefty encore when we left the Winter Gardens, we went to The Canadians B&B for after-party drinks. It was an unusual but enjoyable set up where we joined about 15 folk sitting around the B&B bar room which just looked like someone's front room. And a full bar, with four blokes called Jeff ? (all claiming to be Jeff number one).
We came into a conversation with a couple who were trying to Google if it's possible to kill a unicorn, perfectly normal chat and not out of place for that time of night, which got us talking about AI and we quickly set ChatGPT to task, asking for the lyrics of a song about killing a unicorn in a punk style. After more nonsense chat, some unusual /stupid/unnecessary drinks (Baby Guinness made with peanut butter whisky and baileys anyone?), we got the basics of a lyric sheet scribbled together. I think we're on to a winner here and to be set to music in time for Rebellion 2025 (you probably won't find me on the RIS stage with this one though).
Los Fastidios (Empress Ballroom)
Another great set, full of energy and upbeat tunes to set the (significantly bigger than yesterday’s Almost Acoustic) crowd off in a positive footing for the day. As I said in my Day 2 write up, go and see these Italian punks when they tour early next year for what will be a well needed boost of sunshine through music when it’s more than likely still going to be cold, wet and dark in February.
Chemtrails (RIS In Pavilion)
One of the best bands for me this weekend and a great set of what’s more post-punk than ‘old-school’ punk like most of the bands this weekend. I’d already bought tickets to see them in Edinburgh later this year, so I thought I’d check them out in their Day 3 afternoon slot and glad I did. A bit grungy, some great tunes, a bit garage band and much more – dare I say, reminded me of The Fall around their Your Clutter, Our Future era for the mix of energy, levels of musicianship and catchy, engaging tunes. Even a little Fall-esque chaos when a bass string broke mid-set. I’ve only found out about Chemtrails, who released their third album, The Joy Of Sects, this year but I will be keeping a close eye for new releases and more live dates. They’re playing a few shows around the country in October and November – again, go see these guys if you can.
Oorya (Almost Acoustic)
With over 300 acts over four days, it’s no mean feat to be one of the most unique performances of the whole festival, but Oorya is definitely in a medals place for this honour, and what an unexpected, fantastic set (complete with black devil horns)! I caught this one by luck in being at the Almost Acoustic early to catch up with the gang ahead of Ghost Dance. Her music is a mix of Goth, techno, poetic spoken word, a touch of western at times and all comes together in an entrancing, very enjoyable mix. What was even better than the great music was her in between songs chat and insight into her world. She was the only performer on stage but introduced some of her band mates (a spirit level and small plastic toy emotional support dinosaur) and was very welcoming, inviting people to come chat at the merch stall (“free badges and spells”), which I would have but it was straight to the front in preparation for Ghost Dance.
Ghost Dance (Almost Acoustic)
The floor in front of the stage for Ghost Dance was surprisingly empty when I got there (Sam, Ma and Cap’n disappointingly deciding to stay put in their seats for this one), but quickly filled with some familiar faces from the Touring Goth Gang like Ricardo & Wolf, Simon, Andy & Carol and others, all equally excited for this, which didn’t disappoint. It was a short set but note perfect and everything we were hoping it would be, Anne Marie Hurst’s vocals and just a couple of guitars. A good mix of tracks from last year’s The Silent Shout album and by contrast from Stop The World from 35 years ago (yikes!) including Falling Down, When I Call, Immortalised, Last Train, A Deeper Blue, It Rains, and I Will Wait (for anyone wanting to check these great tunes out). And a highlight by association later in the day when Peni Punk Sam sent me a selfie of her with Anne-Marie Hurst. Well jealous.
Countess Of Fife (Opera House)
Fay Fife is punk royalty, and her set was something very unexpected - not punk in sound, but still elements of punk in drive and sentiment. A strong line up of musicians, including Al Gare double bass (who I recognised early on by his unique style, having seen him a few times as previously part of Imelda May’s band. Got a chat after the set while we were waiting on Lene Lovich and he’s a lovely guy), Kirstin Adamson on guitar and excellent vocals, and rounding off the sound, two seasoned expert musicians in Brian McFie on guitar and Willie Molleson on drums. We were treated not only to almost a dozen of their fantastic upbeat, swinging Americana/punk tunes but some excellent chat in between songs from Fay about what the songs were written about, her time as a young singer (and still) with The Rezillos and what she had to deal with, which wasn’t easy, but I’m sure gave plenty inspiration to creating her music. A great set, which I won’t go into too much as I’ve a review for their Edinburgh Festival gig a couple of weeks after Rebellion to write up and share more detail of songs, chat and antics (a gig I didn’t know about until Fay mentioned this when I told her how great the set was later on in the bar).
Lene Lovich (Opera House)
Where to start with Leen Lovich! It’s difficult not to let unconscious bias come to mind, the well-known hits of the Seventies and Eighties and subsequent media fame, her striking look and unique style, but there is so much more than that. Having continued to record and perform through the years since then, she appeared to be as at home on stage as anyone else who I saw over the weekend. Her set felt almost as much performance art as much as the dozen great, well performed songs we were treated to (including Lucky Number, which was lost in amongst the other great songs, rather stand out as her big chart hit) and to have Stan Greenwood from Skeletal Family prowling around the stage on guitar to her right added to the quality of the show. This wasn’t my planned last set but after heading to the bar with Andy and Carol, our chat and laughter was (as always) good enough to trump going to see the Saturday headliners we planned to see - Ruts DC, but I’m catching them with The Undertones this month, so it wasn’t too big a loss.
Sunday’s journey home was battered with train cancellations, confusion (mine) and overcrowded journeys, but all worth it for three great days of punk, post-punk, not punk and lots of laughs with pals, old and new. See you next year Blackpool!
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