Gig Review: The Bombpops at New Cross Inn 15/10/17

What's the best cure for feeling incredibly rough, full of cold, a banging headache, a sore throat and very little sleep? A punk all-dayer at the New Cross Inn is probably not the most obvious answer but it's the approach I went for. Fat Wreck Chords' The Bombpops were in South London as part of their European tour, so Be Sharp Promotions and Umlaut Records put on an all day show featuring another stacked line up – as a punk all-dayer at the New Cross always does.

Wayfairer was the first act of the day. This was my third time seeing Wayfairer this year and this was arguably the best I've seen him. As he played his acoustic punk tunes I found myself completely captivated by his songs. There is a fantastic storytelling element to his music that really works so well in a live setting. Playing songs from his two excellent EPs, Drifting and Losing My Cool, as well as a customary Alkaline Trio cover to finish things off. Wayfairer is always a great way to start the day.

Next up was Second In Line. I'll avoid the obvious joke about the second band on being named Second In Line, mostly because it's probably been made before and I'm probably the only person who finds it funny. Second In Line are a four piece from the Thames Valley area who have been around on and off since 2002. After the nice acoustics of Wayfairer, Second In Line really woke the New Cross up with their fast, gruff and grumbly punk rock tunes. They are clearly a band who don't take themselves too seriously judging by their song topics. The majority of the songs they played were about pop culture such as Saved By The Bell, Back To The Future, Golden Girls and one song named John Candy Is Dead where singer Gareth reeled off a list of dead celebrities. The final song was my favourite though, I'm not sure of its name but the chorus of "Raise A Beer For Me, Crack A Smile For Me" really put a smile on my face.

On A Hiding To Nothing are definitely one of mine and Emma's favourite new discoveries of 2017. Like Wayfairer this was our third time seeing them this year and again this was probably the best. This show at the New Cross was also the final date of their five date tour of the UK. This may have been why they felt so tight, they were in tour shape. Having seen them three times since May it was great to finally be able to really get the songs and be like "yeah, I know this one." Their incredibly fast skate punk is just a joy to watch live and it's clear that the band love what they do. Something I really love about On A Hiding To Nothing's music is how fresh it feels. There are plenty of bands who play fast skate punk but On A Hiding To Nothing make the genre feel like their own with lead singer Ali's distinctive vocals backed excellently by Hassan and Jack. If you've not seen On A Hiding To Nothing Live you must soon, if nothing else to watch bass player Jack's high energy high kicks. It was good to see him making sure he stretched properly before the set too!

Next up were a band that are very important to the history of Colin's Punk Rock World. I won't go into the story again but without Müg it's fair to say that this blog probably wouldn't exist and I'd have much more spare time. Having said that you may be surprised that I've actually only seen Müg play live once, way back in 2013 supporting Elway at the Black Heart in Camden. That night the band played an excellent cover of Lily Allen's Not Fair (I think, please correct me if I'm wrong). I was telling this story to Müg guitarist Mark Bell before their New Cross set and he told me that that was probably the only time they ever played that song to a crowd, so I guess I got very lucky on that night. I've also just discovered what that Lily Allen song is actually about - gosh it's rude!

Anyway, Müg. They were bloody great! Starting out with what is actually my favourite song of theirs, World Of Weirdos, their half an hour set went by far too quickly. It's always lovely to see a band who love what they're doing and enjoy having fun on stage together. It's easy to see the band are all great mates and not just people in a band together. This really helps create an excellent chemistry on the stage. Müg are another band who have taken the skate punk sound and found a way to make it sound distinctly their own. Lead singer Kingly's vocals soar brilliantly and he delivers with every single word. They played a selection of Müg favourites, a brand new song that isn't properly finished yet as well as throwing in covers of NOFX's It's My Job To Keep Punk Rock Elite and Lagwagon's Mr Coffee for good measure. It's a small crime that I went so long without seeing Müg live. They're a great band who do wonderful things for the punk scene in the UK via Umlaut Records.

Up next were in my opinion London's best band - The Burnt Tapes. I feel like I'm not alone in that opinion as while The Burnt Tapes were sound checking, Paul of Be Sharp Promotions came up and shouted in my ear "I fucking love these guys." The man is definitely not alone in those sentiments. The regret punk four piece are easily having the most successful year of their musical careers so far and are picking up new fans wherever they play. After their set finished we popped out for some food and I overheard a couple saying how much they enjoyed the band having never listened to them before. Whenever I write about The Burnt Tapes I feel like I gush a little too much about my love of the band so I will just stick with this was another brilliant set from the band. (Despite Pan breaking a guitar string early on - thank goodness Mark Bell was, as ever, on hand to act as guitar tech.) I've seen the band more than any other this year so I'm pretty used to their set by now so it was a lovely surprise to hear a new song that the band have been working on thrown into the mix. Their last EP was only released in June so I thought it was great to hear the band are still pressing on working on new stuff rather than resting on their laurels. The Burnt Tapes are the best. (Sorry, I gushed a little bit.)

We managed to get back from getting a bite to eat just in time to catch the beginning of Dowzer's set. The four piece pop punk band from the Netherlands are Umlaut's latest addition to an incredible roster of talent and have just put out the band's newest album, So Much For Silver Linings. Despite some technical difficulties, the Dutch quartet played a fast paced set of great pop punk tunes. The use of two lead vocalists is something I always enjoy when I listen to bands, it gives that great feeling of being included. Everyone likes to feel included. It's also always good to see band members with big smiles on their faces - at times bass player Sandra Heeren looked like she was close to laughter as they ploughed through their set. Unfortunately due to the technical difficulties the set had to be cut short but I have to say the last song of the set was my favourite. I think it was called Broken Record but I may be wrong.

Recently reformed pop punk band The Famous Class were on next. The four piece (who are potentially the tallest band I've ever seen) are a pop punk band who I'd previously seen supporting the Mad Caddies in Islington years ago. Now they're back with two new members basically because front man Stu saw Goober Patrol play the New Cross Inn stage and fancied a bit of it for himself. Judging from their set there was no performance rust as they played song after song and put in one hell of a performance. It was quite pleasing to hear they they've also been working on new songs so this isn't a one and done kind of deal - The Famous Class are back for good, for now. The real crowd pleasing moment was for their cover of Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up, joking that they did it way before the Foo Fighters ever did. There was a nice surprise towards the end of their set when a confetti bomb was let off and covered the crowd. It's cheesy but those things always create an awesome sight.

Adding something a bit different to the day's line up were Manchester's Dead Neck. The three piece play technical hardcore punk rock music opposed to the more pop punk sound that had dominated the much of the day. This was also the first time the band have played with this particular line up, with a new drummer joining singer and bassist Andy and guitarist Dan. Dead Neck are always a treat to watch live with their high octane songs sounding even better live than they do recorded. The crowd adored them with two folks in particular, who were obviously big fans and mostly there to see Dead Neck, really giving it some on the dance floor in front of the band. Midway through their set they played arguably their most well known song - the awesome Oriental I. Before starting the song Andy humorously said "if you know the words to this song, then good for you" rather than the usual "sing along if you know the words." This got a chuckle from me. He used the same line for their cover of NOFX's It's My Job To Keep Punk Rock Elite. I found this funny not just because I found the joke funny the first time but also because they were the second band of the day to cover the classic track. I'm very easily amused. Dead Neck finished their set with a hugely positive song named Cooking With Nunchucks, a song about trying things that you think are impossible - you never know, it might work put. Dead Neck were absolutely great and are a band I need to listen to much much more.

Finally it was time for The Bombpops. After quickly changing the amps and drum kit, with a little help from the Burnt Tapes' Tone (possibly the nicest guy in punk rock) the band were ready. Playing sugary sweet pop punk similar in style to bands such as Masked Intruder and Bad Cop Bad Cop, the band have been on a long European tour and were playing London for the first time. It's quite a big deal for New Cross to be putting them on. Something that always strikes me seeing these types of bands live is how much harder they play and sing than they do when recorded. This extra attitude really adds an element to the sound that makes me enjoy them even more. Co-front women Poli van Dam and Jen Razavi own the stage taking turns in singing and both completely slaying on their guitars. Poli in particular really stood out, having a great amount of charisma on the stage that made it hard to ignore her. At one point she began blowing kisses to a "cute boy" who was looking in to the New Cross Inn from the outside. As seems to be the rule with Fat Wreck Chords bands, there was plenty of stage banter between songs with the band covering topics of it being more acceptable to use the c word in the UK than back home, how much they enjoy cider and their own Californian accents. There was also a tribute to the late great Brandon Carlisle who wrote The Bombpops a song. As I watched the band and the day afterwards, I thought about what an inspirational band The Bombpops are. Sadly there are not enough women in punk rock at the moment so to see The Bombpops making a name for themselves not just in America but in Europe as well is fantastic. They are proof to anyone that you shouldn't let a thing like gender hold you back from what you want to do. Sadly we had to duck out of the gig a couple of songs before the end, as I was feeling increasingly rougher and we had a long journey home to Bedford but we did hang around long enough to see a great cover of The Beastie Boys - You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party. A fantastic way to finish another great day of punk rock at the New Cross Inn.

This gig review was written by Colin Clark. Photos taken by Emma Prew.