When it comes to deciding on my gig of the year in December I already have a few strong contenders. I have a feeling that the majority of my favourite gigs of 2018 will have been put on by Be Sharp Promotions at the New Cross Inn. They are on such a hot streak of putting on incredible shows at the moment. The latest came this past Tuesday night when they had Canadian pop punks Pkew Pkew Pkew playing their first ever show in the UK. That was enough for me to quickly buy my ticket and then I saw the incredible line-up booked for the entire night. The Burnt Tapes, The Run Up and Our Lives In Cinema were supporting Pkew Pkew Pkew and I couldn't have been more excited. This was going to be one of those special punk rock nights that will forever have me smiling when I think about it.
First up were Bristol's The Run Up who were supporting Pkew Pkew Pkew on a few of their European tour dates. The guys in The Run Up have had a tricky couple of months when it comes to touring, with their van breaking down in Europe twice on their last two trips to the mainland resulting in a few missed shows. Watching them on stage, I sensed there was a bit of relief at being able to be playing a gig and not still hanging out in a Mercedes garage in Germany. This was my third time seeing The Run Up this year, having caught them twice in January on their tour with Quitters, and they just get better and better. It's always great to see people who genuinely love being on stage together and playing their songs. You could see that playing the show has made all of the troubles they've had of late worth it. The band played mostly songs from last year's self-titled full length but they did also manage to squeeze in a couple of older tunes as well as a brand new one. Learning Loss was a particular highlight for me – I love that song! What a great way to start the night.
London's Our Live In Cinema are relatively new to the London punk scene but are quickly making a name for themselves. The five piece have released two superb EPs within the last year and have been steadily getting themselves booked on more and more shows. Lead singer Mark Bartlett is also a huge Pkew Pkew Pkew fan and was so unbelievably excited to be on this bill, saying during the set that it was a dream come true. The enthusiasm that Our Lives In Cinema play with is infectious with Mark in particular standing out as he dances around the front of the stage whilst displaying some seriously impressive vocals. This was my first time seeing OLIC but had heard about Mark's high energy performances and I wondered if he'd be able to maintain the great vocals I'd heard on their EPs. He nailed it. I especially enjoyed the songs from the recently released All Talk. EP opener It's Always Sunny In Paterson Park is a superb live song. There was also a funny point during the song where Mark randomly broke into some classic Whitney Houston. I thought OLIC were absolutely great and this wasn't even them at full strength as they had a stand in guitarist in the form of Eat Dirt's Richie Cooper filling in for them. I wonder how good they are normally? Our Lives In Cinema are a band I will be keeping an extra special eye on.
For me, The Burnt Tapes are the best band in the UK at the moment and I'm always so excited whenever I get to see them. I hadn't seen them live since October 2017 when they supported The Bombpops at the New Cross. Nine months is way too long! Being a New Cross show, it was kind of a home turf situation with plenty of people there to support the four piece. We were treated to an extra special set full of all our favourites and some brand new songs that sound absolutely incredible. Their last EP, Alterations, was my favourite release of 2017 and the handful of new songs they played during this set sounded better than all of songs from the aforementioned EP. That's saying something! Naturally there were some great singalongs for the older songs. The Burnt Tapes have made many friends over the past few years so it was perhaps no surprise when Hassan Afaneh (of Triple Sundae) joined them on stage to sing part of their opening song. I later found out that this wasn't planned which made me laugh as Hassan so coolly walked onto the stage, sang and walked off again as if they've done it 100 times. To be fair they probably have. The main highlights for me were Go Home. You’re Drunk and Things Get Weird. The Burnt Tapes just get better and better every time I see them and I can't say enough positive things about them. I'm quite convinced that soon it will be them selling lots of tickets for headline shows at the New Cross. I hope I'm right because it's what this incredibly talented band and these wonderful people deserve.
Last but certainly not least were Pkew Pkew Pkew. You know it's going to be an extra special night when a band is playing their first UK show ever and have sold over 100 advanced tickets for a Tuesday night show in South London. That's an incredible achievement. Pkew x3 play fast, singalong pop punk tracks that are mostly about partying, drinking and having a great time with your friends – so they're perfect for a live show. The front of the stage was now packed as everyone in the New Cross instantly joined in with the singing of opening track The Prime Minister Of The Defence. During the track, a member of the crowd had brought the band jagerbombs and soon enough the party got wilder and wilder. Playing the entirety of their debut self-titled album as well as a brilliantly sounding new song, Pkew x3 were loved throughout. It seemed as if everyone in the pub knew the words to each and every song they played and sung it at the top of their voice with fists permanently punching the air. Pkew x3 seem to have this incredible ability to connect with the crowd with relatable songs and a charming nature on stage – it's hard not to love the band. I'm not sure who was more stoked, the band to be playing to such a great crowd on their first UK show or the crowd to have them. It was just smiles all round for everyone. It's hard to pick stand out songs from the set because, genuinely, every single one was just so well received. Finishing their main set with the awesome Glory Days and its many whoa-ohs would have easily been a great a way to finish the night but the boys had a couple of surprise cover songs up their sleeves for an encore. Claiming to be the only two songs by UK acts that they knew how to play, the first song of the encore was The Clash's version of Police On My Back and then, to really send the crowd home happy, they played a hilarious cover of I Believe In A Thing Called Love by The Darkness.
I was right, this was an extra special night. Of course Pkew Pkew Pkew were the highlight but the whole night in general was just perfect. The Run Up, Our Lives In Cinema and The Burnt Tapes were all fantastic and were a perfect advertisement for the UK's underground scene. And as always at Be Sharp shows, the atmosphere was brilliant with plenty of old friends, new friends and future friends coming together to share a great time.
This review was written by
Colin Clark. Photos by
Emma Prew.
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