Gig Review: Burnt Tapes at Old Blue Last, London 13/11/21

I was thinking the other day, something nice that has come from the all the bands not being able to play gigs for so long is that they’re all now back doing comeback shows. Every gig has felt like a big reunion with everyone in great spirits. It was now time for London’s Burnt Tapes to make their long awaited return to the stage with the help of Be Sharp Promotions. The whole gig felt like it would be a great big friends fest and that feeling was amplified with the addition of Triple Sundae and Katie MF.

The gig would be taking place at the Old Blue Last in Shoreditch, a venue I hadn’t been to in years. Leaving Liverpool Street Station we were really taken aback by just how many people there were everywhere. You don’t get this many people in New Cross. After getting some food in Spitalfields market, we made our way to the venue and once we were inside there was a nice feeling of familiarity to be surrounded by all the pals from the New Cross scene rather than all those pesky Shoreditch trendy types.

The always absolutely delightful Katie MF would be opening the night. Katie was playing solo acoustic this evening and amazingly, despite seeing her play a lot over the past couple of years, this was my first time seeing her without the band. Something I believe Katie is very good at is tailoring her songs for the type of gig she’s playing. On this occasion, she played more of an upbeat and rowdy set of songs than she would perhaps would at a folkier type of gig. The set mostly consisted of unrecorded songs that are getting me super hyped about her next release, whenever it may be. Something I’ve noticed in her songwriting is that her songs are getting more uplifiting. Her previous release Everything Trouble Meant was an EP full of sad break up songs but the direction she’s going now seems to suggest there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel where everything will be fine. It’s a message I love. She finished a glorious set with a song that Emma thinks is titled Set It Alight which got such a fantastic reaction from the Old Blue Last crowd. The best way to start the night.

Next to take to the stage were Triple Sundae. Before the supports for the gig were even announced I think most people would have assumed that Triple Sundae would be playing. The two bands have been playing together in the same London DIY scene since their beginnings and have become great friends over the years. It was only right that Triple Sundae played this gig. The band themselves had already played their triumphant comeback show a month earlier at Till The Fest but this didn’t dampen anyone’s excitement to see them take to the stage. I said after the Till The Fest show that it was perhaps my favourite time ever seeing them. I take that back. This was my favourite time seeing Triple Sundae. Since coming back, there seems to be a new found enthusiasm within Hassan, Zandro, Mike and Andy and they have really smashed their sets. The smiles on each member of the band’s faces was just lovely to see and they were putting everything they had into the performance. I can’t think of many bands that get the kind of reaction from their fans as Triple Sundae do. It really is a case of everyone in the room is in it together. So many times during the set Hassan just stepped away from the microphone and let the crowd take the lead vocals. It’s something you love to see. Something I always enjoy when I see Triple Sundae play is how they make a point to shout out everyone in the room who has helped and supported them over the years. The love that comes from the crowd is always reciprocated right back by the band. It’s how it should be. Another stunning set by Triple Sundae

It was now time for Burnt Tapes and the room was absolutely buzzing. This was their first London headline show since their album launch show for Never Better back in 2019. After setting up their gear, they then left the stage and some traditional Greek music began to blare over the Old Blue Last speakers. It really gave the set a big-time feeling and really added to the level excitement throughout the room. The band soon returned to the stage and kicked off their set with Getitgotitgood and Drift Champ ’16. From then on, the next forty five minutes was filled with big sing-alongs, crowd surfs and stage dives – and I couldn’t have asked for anything more. The set was full of songs from Never Better and their 2020 release Grower as well as a couple of special covers. With each song the reaction seemed to get better and better. I fully expected them to finish their set with Yuzi but they decided to include it early in the set. I got extra excited when they played Dirt Roads, as I’ve been asking them to play it for months and was it great to finally see them play it again. The two pronged vocal assault from Phil and Pan throughout the set sounded as good as ever and Tone and Jordan’s rhythm section proves once again that they are one of the best in the scene. After Dirt Roads, the band slowed things down with Lost In Transit. Midway through the song Phil decided to put down his guitar and jumped into the crowd to be surfed around the room before getting put safely back down on the stage. The Burnt Tapes have played a few Menzingers cover sets in the past and treated the Old Blue Last to renditions of I Don’t Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore (where Zandro of Triple Sundae sang lead vocals) and After The Party. Both went down an absolute storm. After the covers, the band finished the set off with Things Get Weird where Tone joined the crowd on the floor to start the song and then Don’t Make Me Play Bocelli. What an epic ending to not just an incredible set but a wonderful night.

I think that when I look back at this gig in the weeks, months and years to come, it will be one of my favourites ever. With everything that’s gone on over the past eighteen months this gig seemed to mean so much to so many people. The level of love in the room was something truly special to be a part of. As we left the venue (and walked awkwardly through the weird hip hop clone swaying dance party that was happening downstairs) we were on a massive high, absolutely buzzing with a night of brilliant moments replaying in our minds. I couldn’t help but think about how much the Tapes, as well as Triple Sundae, would’ve smashed The Fest if things had worked out better. These two bands, as well as Katie MF, deserve all the success in the world, not just because of their brilliant music but because they are amazing people.

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

Gig Review: Till The Fest Day One 8/10/21

As rewarding as being a DIY punk gig promoter can be it can often be thankless, frustrating and hit you very heavily financially. Speaking to many friends who have promoted gigs over the years, they have often become jaded and disillusioned and leave promoting gigs to the other people. To reach twenty years in the game is an incredible achievement and that’s something the legend that is Ollie Ward of Till The Wheels recently achieved. To celebrate the big milestone, Ollie decided to put on a three day festival in New Cross named Till The Fest.

Ollie originally announced Till The Fest whilst the UK was in the midst of a lockdown and, if I’m 100% honest with you, I was very sceptical on whether or not the weekend would be allowed to go ahead. As time went on and restrictions gradually began to ease, my confidence in the festival actually happening began to grow. I quickly bought weekend tickets and even began to get very excited. As the months went on, more and more amazing bands continued to get added to the line-up and it soon became a three day, three venue, over 50 bands behemoth of an event.

Till The Fest would be taking place at the New Cross Inn, The Amersham Arms and Matchstick Piehouse. There would also be a record fair happening upstairs in the New Cross House pub and a five aside tournament happening at Fordham Park. There was absolutely loads going on! It was also a wonderful opportunity to have a punk rock family reunion, with friends from all over the UK making the pilgrimage to South East London. As the weekend grew closer, I was just as excited to see people I hadn’t seen for nearly two years as I was to see some of my favourite bands. It was due to be an emotional weekend.

We arrived in New Cross, dropped our bags off at our Air BnB, freshened up and made our way to Matchstick Piehouse. This was our first time going to Matchstick Piehouse and Emma and I were very grateful to bump in to our pal Tommy of BaldHead And The Dreads to help show us the way. We arrived at the Piehouse and immediately bumped into loads of friends and it was a bloody lovely feeling. Music hadn’t even begun yet and we were already having a magical time.

After saying lots of hellos to lots of people, we needed to get some food before the bands began. We met up with CPRW member Lara and her husband Nicky, who had travelled from South Wales for Till The Fest, and took them to our favourite falafel spot, Beirut. Unfortunately I got us lost on the way there, shout out to Tommy for helping out again, so we sadly missed SKIV. I’m sure they put on a 10/10 show to open up the festival at The Amersham Arms.

Thankfully we did get to New Cross Inn in plenty of time to see the band tasked with opening the festival there, our lovely friends Goodbye Blue Monday. Despite it not even being 7pm, a very decent sized crowd had turned out for the Scottish boys and were treated to another superb GBM set. Graham noted that they would be opening with a brand new song for their first show back since the lockdown. This new song, along with the couple of others, sound amazing and has me even more excited for their debut album, whenever they’re able to get it recorded and released out in to the world. Of course there was also big sing-alongs for favourites such as Misery-Punk Ruined My Life, Love Is A Noose For Two, Trigger Alert, Take Your Pills and Exile (which was my first time seeing it live since it was released). Seeing Goodbye Blue Monday always fills me with the warm, fuzzy feeling and leaves me with a sore throat. What a band. What a time.

We didn’t get a chance to hang around NXI and have a proper chat with the GBM boys as another of our lovely friends, Katie MF was taking to the stage at Amersham as soon as they finished. After a power walk for the five minute journey between the venues, we made it with a couple of minutes to spare. This was somehow our very first time in the Amersham Arms and I was immediately impressed with it as a venue. There was a nice wide stage, with no pesky pillar blocking the view of the stage. In fact, you could probably get a decent view of the stage from anywhere in the venue. Before the band started, Katie announced that the band hadn’t been in a room together since March 2020 so hadn’t practiced their set. If Katie hadn’t have said that I don’t anyone would’ve noticed as they played a cracking set. Playing the more uptempo tracks in the band’s catalogue, really tailoring for the punk crowd, for me it was another set of sing-alongs. I’ve said many times over the years that Katie has this magnetic quality on stage that cannot be ignored. Backed by one of the best rhythm sections in punk rock, this was another superb performance. Just like GBM before them, Katie MF have a load of high quality songs that are yet to be recorded and I can’t wait for them to get released.

Unfortunately we had to leave Katie’s set one song early as Just Say Nay were starting back at NXI. I always say that it’s a sign of a good festival to have clashes but, for me at least, this was a stinger. We arrived back at very full looking NXI to see Just Say Nay already well into their set. Sadly during lockdown trombone playing goblin king Mikey T decided to leave the band, so on this occasion they were only playing as a seven piece. Yes, seven members is the fewest amount of people I’ve ever seen on stage when I’ve watched Just Say Nay perform. This did allow lead singer Jak to move around the stage more freely and he did a magnificent job in getting the crowd amped up. Not that Just Say Nay need to do much to get a NXI crowd warmed up as they are much loved at the venue. We arrived back at the venue as the band were playing Tempted from their debut EP Shit Out Of Luck before moving on to crowd favourite, With A Twist Of Lemon. With A Twist Of Lemon has a great ending that gets the entire crowd chanting along with the band. It always goes down well but on this occasion it went down so well that the crowd did their own extra verse of the song. They probably would’ve done another one if the band hadn’t have moved on to the next song, Pass Me A Cloud. The band finished with Low Blow which earned another huge sing-along. Just Say Nay are one of the best live bands in the country – make sure you see them as soon as you have the chance!

We hung around at New Cross for the next band, The JB Conspiracy. We’d recently been able to see JB in Bristol for Fishstock but that didn’t dampen any excitement for seeing them again. I said in my review of Fishstock that JB get better each and every time I see them live and this trend continued once again. Playing a mix of old favourites and new ones from 2021’s Beginnings, this was the band’s second London gig since Beginnings’ release and it was clear that the crowd had spent plenty of time with it. It’s always tricky for a band releasing new music so long after they released two absolute beloved albums. Will people care about the new stuff or do they just want the classics? It really says a lot about just how good Beginnings is as songs like The Long Road To Zurich (one of my favourite songs of 2021) and Guiding Lights got just as good receptions as The Escape or This Machine did. It’s always nice to see a band on stage, who’ve been doing this for so many years, still clearly having the time of their lives. Between songs there was always a big smile on lead singer Lank’s face. I was sad that the band only had a forty minute set because I would have happily watched, sung and danced along with the band for much longer. Every time I see JB they prove that they are one of the very best ska punk bands that the UK has ever produced.

 

The choice of the night’s headliner through up another tricky decision on who to see. It was between The Bar Stool Preachers and The Filaments. Both are phenomenal live acts so I shouldn’t complain about having to pick between two fantastic bands. We decided to go with The Filaments at Amersham Arms. The choice was made because BSP were the last band we saw before lockdown started and we hadn’t seen The Filaments for years. Plus I always love seeing Pook bounce around on stage and he was playing in The Filaments. We made the walk back to Amersham with our new friend and NXI legend Fred The Punk. If you’ve not made friends with him yet, this is something I recommend you do. He’s a lovely man who really understands what this whole punk community thing is about. Amersham was already pretty full when we reached the venue but we managed to find a good spot from the side of the stage. The Filaments were a little late to take to the stage, I didn’t mind this though as it gave us time to have a little chat with pals. When the band did get on the stage they quickly began to tear the roof off the venue. The set was mostly comprised of the band’s more ferocious songs which got the mosh pit going hard. Unfortunately there was one person in the pit who was going too hard and ended up causing a fight. This lead to the band stopping a song midway through and jumping in to the crowd to sort it out. I believe that the instigator of the fight was then removed from the venue. It’s a shame that after almost two years of not having nice things like Till The Fest there was an idiot who didn’t know how to behave but big love and respect to the band and venue for making sure everyone was safe and the show could continue. I feel like this incident could’ve put a lot of bands off their stride but not The Filaments who stormed through the rest of their set. The highlight for me was a rare run out of Trevor, a song I’ve not seen the band play for years and it remains my favourite Filaments song. This was a great way to finish off night one of Till The Fest.

Night one of Till The Fest had been a massive success and all around us there were big smiles everywhere. There were positive vibes all around and there was much excitement for what was to come for the rest of the weekend.

This review was written by Colin Clark. Photos by Colin and Emma Prew.

Gig Review: MPF Presents Bands In A Brewery at Signature Brew, London (by Dan#2)

When I saw the line-up for "MPF Presents: Bands In A Brewery" had two of my current favourite UK bands in Just Say Nay and Drones, it was a no brainer. I had to go to this warm-up event for the fest! When I got there, I quickly learnt that some of the MPF crew had been at the Signature Brewery for the whole day, brewing the exclusive MPF 2020 signature beer. Furthermore, they had tied it in with International Women's Day, by inviting some of the women playing at MPF, along with the female members of the MPF crew, to be the ones to brew this year's signature beer for the festival. This in itself is very cool, but the afternoon's booze-up also kicked off the show with a nice, friendly, warm vibe, despite being in a freezing cold warehouse!

I walked into the main room in the warehouse and was instantly impressed by the massive brewing equipment, which made for an awesome backdrop to the night. As I entered, Chloe Glover was just beginning her set of lovely acoustic songs in a folky punk style. It was really cool to hear Chloe's powerful voice filling the room and bouncing off the walls, making the most of the echo. I found myself closing my eyes and soaking in the complex sound above the noise of people chatting (as pretentious as that sounds). Chloe's songs struck a real emotional chord with me, and I found myself smiling at her lyrics about being a disappointment to your parents – sounds as though we're in the same boat. She has an EP called "Dark Matter" coming out on 20th March which I'm now really looking forward to picking up!

I was stoked to see Follow Your Dreams once again deliver on their brand of ferocious hardcore. The room's aforementioned echo had a really interesting effect during this set, adding to the intensity of the drums in the hard-hitting sections, but also adding to the moments of respite as the echo of the guitars faded. They played some great new songs from their upcoming album which was really cool, but the definite highlight was them treating a little girl (vocalist Kaz’s niece) on her birthday – first, they had her announce them after their first song, then treated her to some crowdsurfing later on in the set. It was magical to see some wholesome hardcore with Follow Your Dreams living up to their name by helping a little girl follow hers!

The next act was Katie MF, and this was actually my second time seeing her perform this week. Despite the band’s drummer, Tobias, playing the entire set one-armed due to an injured shoulder, the whole set still sounded great: Katie's vocals filled the room beautifully, giving the songs a nice extra kick. One of Katie's new songs, "Clusterfuck", really stuck out from the rest. After the set, I caught up with Colin and we discussed Katie's knack for writing great political songs you can get behind – not to mention her kick-ass-Against-Me-rock-and-roll vibes.

I was really worried about how Just Say Nay would sound, being a ska band in such a big room with their staggering 8 members. It really worked for them, though – the room's acoustics really drew out the brass and flute. I love watching these guys perform every time: their chemistry on stage, their songs and the energy they give out is just the best – they're always a pleasure to watch. My personal highlight of their set was getting to hear the new single "You Embarrassed Me in Front of Jamie Lenman" live, it was a lovely addition to the set against some of the old songs like "Pass Me A Cloud".

Drones don't play that frequently, but every time I see them perform I find myself wishing I get to see them more often. Their political, blood-pumping anthems make them one hell-raiser of a headline band. Their new material sent shivers down my spine, and I was super happy to finally get to hear "Graves" (my favourite Drones song!) along with "Shells Fall, Pins Pulled" which sounded absolutely fantastic with Lois singing it. Midway through the set, Lois was handed two crates of beer from Signature Brew to give out to the crowd. The beer was quickly placed into the crowd and was immediately circle-pitted, then danced around like an idol! Drones also sparked a very drunken human pyramid which ended up collapsing in on itself in a cascade of laughs! They closed with "Inferno" which was the perfect end to a great night.

Seeing so many friends from the UK scene in the same place reminded me of last year's MPF’s vibe and got me excited for the fest in April. A lovely, boozy warm up show!

This gig review was written by Dan Kilvert. Photos by Emma Prew.

Column: Katie MF's Manchester Punk Festival Preview

I’m a relative newcomer to the ‘scene’ – I’ve only been hanging around NXI begging Paul for gigs for a couple of years, which is nothing compared to what I’ll refer to, with love and respect, as the Punk Elders. So I hadn’t even heard of MPF until shortly before last year’s iteration, when suddenly my entire Facebook timeline consisted of 1) grainy shots of bands I love, and 2) breakfast pints (and my cousin’s kid dressed as the Easter bunny – unrelated).

Fuck, I thought, that looks awesome. Why am I not there?

Well, I dislike regrets so as soon as this year’s tickets were released I snaffled one up (thank you, super early bird prices) and set about trying to persuade my girlfriend to join me. Unsuccessfully, as it happens. But no matter – a couple of years ago, I would never have gone to a 3 day festival outside my home city on my own, but after my steady (welcome) indoctrination into the punk scene I’ve realised that you’re never on your own. Unless you want to be. Which I probably will around 11am on the 27th April.

Anyway, long-time CPRW readers will know that THEY LOVE A LIST. So here, in no particular order, is a selection of the things I’m most excited about for MPF2020:

- Chewy. That’s it. That’s the list.

(kidding, mostly). Let’s continue:

- Buying a pair of MPF branded sunglasses then wearing them on my head whilst sat outside a bar drinking pints with people I didn’t know until 24 hours previously and talking about how we wish Shit Present would play more shows. Too specific?

- Seeing Fresh for the first time (I know it’s ridiculous I haven’t seen them yet, don’t @ me).

- Crying to Ducking Punches.

- Completely, totally and utterly losing my voice for at least a week afterwards.

- Finally getting to see The JB Conspiracy after missing the Friday of Do It Together Fest for reasons my bassist definitely doesn’t want me to make public.

- Hanging with Chloe and Sam after inevitably becoming the very best of friends while on tour at the end of March (PLUG PLUG PLUG).

- Catching Popes of Chillitown again – I first saw them by accident when I was drunk in Camden with a friend maybe 7 years ago, and we decided to go to the first gig we came across. It was at the Barfly – Millie Manders opening, then Popes, then Riskee & The Ridicule. There were maybe 12 people there and it was BANGING.

- Being myself, wearing what I want to wear and going crazy down the front without fear of being judged. Sounds simple but ‘real life’ all too often involves having to pretend or amplify parts of myself and it just gets… tiring. So 3 days of not worrying about anything beyond schedule clashes cannot come quickly enough.

- Chewy.

I’m going to have to stop myself here as there are at least 63 other things I could write about (including seeing hometown faves Triple Sundae and chilling out with some acoustic goodness from Chloe Glover), so let’s take a look at the things I’m worried about:

- The hangover.

See you there. I’ll be the one in the sunglasses banging on about Shit Present.

In March, Katie is doing an acoustic tour with Chloe Hawes and Sam Maloney of Mixtape Saints. Check out the dates below and pop along to a show – it's going to be great.

This column was written by Katie MF.

Do It Together Diary: Part Two

Saturday 25th January: Day Two of Do It Together Fest 2020

I felt absolutely horrific when was I woken up by the back garden train. So much so I wondered if I would even be able to get through the day. However, Emma and I gradually dragged ourselves out of bed and got ready for the day. First job was to have a shower. Then we went and found somewhere to have breakfast. Knowing that I wouldn't have much chance to eat properly throughout the day, I had the biggest breakfast possible in the hope that it help keep me going. Massive breakfast devoured, we then made our way to the local Sainsbury’s to stock up on painkillers, blister plasters (Emma had a massive blister on her heel) and some snacks. We then made our way to New Cross to meet with Sarah and Paul.

When we arrived, Sarah was already there and getting the tombola ready. Her parents, who were attending all weekend, were also there and it was lovely to be able to meet them. Very nice people! I'd made myself a promise to try and be more helpful with things today as I had a nagging guilt that I really hadn't done enough the day before and was determined to try and pull my weight. This meant learning how a tombola works. Basically it's a raffle but instead of waiting to see what you've won, you draw a ticket and see if the number matches to any of the prizes. Pretty simple stuff.

The next job was to organise where the eleven acts playing would have their merch and where the record fair would be set up. Part of this involved waiting for Paul to arrive as he knows how to set up the venue better than we do. When he FINALLY arrived it was decided to let the bands sell their merch upstairs and that the record fair would go downstairs. After hastily moving some tables around, we were ready! Day two of Do It Together was about to start and we were happy to see lots of people had arrived in plenty of time for the first band – NXI favourites Our Lives In Cinema.

Our Lives In Cinema haven't been playing that many shows lately whilst they work on their first full length album but, when putting the line-up together, we all agreed they were a must for Do It Together. Lead singer Mark is one of the most enthusiastic and dedicated people we know in the DIY scene, always passionate about helping bands and spreading the punk related news. He's also an absolute sweetheart. OLIC are such a fun band to watch live and continue to go from strength to strength whenever I see them. I have to assume that the folk who hadn't seen them before came away really impressed.

Continuing with my promise to myself to try and help out more today I headed to the tombola stand so Sarah and Freddy could have a break and go and enjoy Fabled Mind. I have to admit I actually enjoyed doing the tombola much more than I thought that I would. I got to talk to people as well as welcome friends and bands as they arrived at NXI. I also got a pretty decent view of the crowd and the band that was playing – Fabled Mind in this case. The Danish quartet are a fairly new band and this was their first time in London. I think we were all pleasantly surprised by the size of the crowd that they got to play to at 3 in the afternoon. I know a lot of people really enjoyed their set and are looking forward to seeing them again soon.

Up next were one of the bands I was most excited to see and one I was even allowed, personally, to book – Bristol's Toodles & The Hectic Pity. We basically decided to book them because Sarah and I both loved their first EP Call In Sick but neither of us had ever seen them live. Our own festival seemed like the perfect opportunity. In a beautiful coincidence, Do It Together coincided with the release of their phenomenal new EP Ghosts, Guilts & Grandparents. They then decided to book a little tour with their friends in Triple Sundae around Do It Together to help promote the EP even further. Before they even started their set, Sarah and I had claimed places at the front of the crowd and there was a great sense of anticipation for the upcoming set. What came next was a highlight of the whole day for me and quite a few people I spoke to afterwards. It's always lovely to see a relatively new band make their first appearance, at a venue that is so important to the scene that it houses, and play a truly magical set. Toodles & The Hectic Pity are going places, be sure to get on the bandwagon immediately.

Following Toodles were another band that I was in charge of booking. The one and only Katie MF. If you've been a regular reader of CPRW then you will know how much Emma and myself have been really championing the three piece and it was only right that they played this show. Talking to Katie earlier in the day, she remarked how this would probably be the biggest crowd they have played to at the New Cross Inn and I think it's really well deserved. They are one of the best bands in London at the moment and deserve to be heard by more people. It had actually been about six months since I last saw Katie MF perform – far too long, –so it was nice to be blown away by how good they are once again. Clearly not a band that rest on their laurels either, as they had three new songs in their set list. They all were superb and I can't wait until they get them recorded and released!

After Katie MF had finished their set I went in search of a job. Paul sent me off to pay Katie, whilst doing so I congratulated them on a smashing set and met bass player Ben for the first time. Lovely guy, great hair, really fast fingers.

Dundee's Uniforms took to the stage next. It's not often Uniforms make the long trip down to London, so any chance to see them is always exciting. Uniforms lead singer Deeker is also a member of the Make-That-A-Take Records collective, one of the most respected groups in the UK's DIY scene, so having them at Do It Together only felt right. Of course, they played a storming set – they always do! Uniforms have this unique quality to really get me amped up. I think this is due to the raw, no thrills approach they take to their music. I don't think there are many better punk bands in the UK than Uniforms and it was an absolute pleasure to see them as always.

After Uniforms, I headed towards the tombola stand again to do another shift there. I decided it was okay to be at the back of the room for Triple Sundae as I'm lucky enough to see them what feels like every other week and I knew that Sarah was super excited to see them herself. I actually really enjoyed being at the back of the room and seeing them playing to such a big and loving crowd. I also took the time to get some food down me as I was beginning to flag slightly. I again enjoyed my stint at the tombola, having the opportunity to talk to folk who were in attendance, meeting plenty of folk and being asked a few times "are you THE Colin?" I always get pretty awkward being recognised for doing CPRW but it's lovely when people come say hi.

At this point, I took the opportunity to go and stand outside as it was getting pretty stuffy inside. Outside I got chatting with the legend that is Chris Fishlock and the guys from Toodles who I'd met earlier in the day. It's always lovely to see Fishlock. We spoke about the day as well as Toodles’ tour and new EP (out today!) and it was an extremely pleasant time. It made me want to visit Bristol more. If all the Bristol punks are a nice as these gentlemen, then it must be a pretty wonderful scene.

Goodbye Blue Monday have become big favourites at NXI over the past couple of years and had driven down from Scotland very early in the morning to get to New Cross in plenty of time for their set. I'm pretty sure that every time I've seen Goodbye Blue Monday play they've managed to get all their gear set up and soundchecked before they are due to start – the ultimate professionals. This lead to five minutes of awkwardly standing around and making jokes between one another before launching into Love Is A Noose For Two. Talking of being ready – pretty much every band managed to start and finish their sets at the right time throughout the day, this meant very little stage managing had to be done by Paul, Sarah or myself. Huge credit has to go to all the bands for this. Goodbye Blue Monday were in full on party mood for their set. Playing favourites such as the aforementioned Love Is A Noose For Two, The Sickness The Shame, Take Your Pills and Misery-Punk Ruined My Life (which included a small stage invasion from Uniforms and Forever Unclean), they also took the time to play a new song from their upcoming full length as well as playing three covers of songs by their favourite Scottish act, The Garry Biscuits Band. It was all a bit lost on me and I imagine a lot of the crowd but it was an awful lot of fun.

Completing a run of sing-along punk rock were the Burnt Tapes. The collective love in the room for these four guys was like nothing else. As soon as their set started, the majority of the room launched into a big sing-along. The best moment for Paul and I was when they went old school and played Go Drunk for us. It's both of our favourite Tapes song and it's probably one of my favourite songs ever. The moment where Tone shouts "IS THIS GROWING UP?!" felt so incredibly apt at this moment. I often question what I'm doing with my life and see so many of my friends settled down with families and proper grown up responsibilities and I wonder should I be doing the same? Then I go to the New Cross Inn, am surrounded by many people I love and respect and decide this is exactly how I want to be living my life at this moment. If this is growing up then I'm having a bloody good time doing it. I sung myself so hoarse during this set I wondered if my voice would make to the end of the day.

By this point of the day, I was absolutely starving so popped a couple of doors down to grab a snack. I surprised myself by not just grabbing a chocolate bar but also a banana. This isn't my usual behaviour, I guess this is growing up? It was a slightly chilled and a really tasty banana and I was pleased I broke my usual dietary habits to buy it.

It was soon time for the first ska band of the day. One of the things I was most proud of about the Do It Together line-up was how we managed to put together a varied mix a lot of our favourite bands from different punk genres and it all seemed to work. It was nice for the punk fans and the ska fans and the pop fans and the folk fans to all have the opportunity to gather together and appreciate each other's different favourites. You can't have a New Cross party without Call Me Malcolm, it's basically the rules. It wasn't long before Malcolm had the crowd down the front in full swing, plenty of dancing, plenty of singing along to many favourites from I Was Broken When You Got Here. As the set progressed the amount of dancing in the crowd began to increase and it wasn't long before most of the room were skanking. During the song Jacob, Lucias asked the crowd to lock arms with the person next to them. Not expecting the next request to be create as many mini circle pits as possible, myself, Emma, Mark from OLIC, Dan #2, Paul and Taj joined together and made one long line. Needless to say, our attempt at a circle pit failed quite miserably but I did find it pretty funny. Obviously they finished with All My Nameless Friends. On this day it didn't feel as if the room was full of nameless friends though, it felt like I knew everyone in it and it was lovely.

Danish indie skatey poppy punks Forever Unclean were on next and I have to admit I was a bit worried for them. It's not easy to follow Call Me Malcolm. Particularly coming towards the end of a long day and when you sound nothing like them. If it did phase the Danish trio however then it didn't show. They started out with some new songs, which I thought was pretty ballsy, before playing the old favourites. This is when the crowd began to get pretty rowdy, but in the best way possible. Possibly encouraged by three members of Goodbye Blue Monday taking the opportunity to jump into the crowd, the rest of the set became an abundance of stage dives and crowd surfs whilst singing along to Forever Unclean. A couple of days after Do It Together, I had a memory of Sean from GBM giving me a kiss after I caught him coming down from a crowd surf. The three guys in Forever Unclean must have been blown away by the reception they got and how they can come so far from Denmark and still feel like they're at home. They finished their set by taking it in turns to crowd surf, despite the fact there was no music playing – it was a fun way to finish their set for sure.

After taking another little break outside, I came in and I was feeling so pumped to see Lightyear. I think I may have excitedly mentioned it to a few people on my way to getting a decent spot at the front of the crowd. I'd taken up many spots at the front throughout the weekend, claiming it was for the purpose of "stage management". This, however ,was full on fanboying because I love Lightyear. This was a pretty special Lightyear set for a couple of reasons. Firstly because we were lucky enough to have a pretty much proper Lightyear band. On the last tour they did in November the band were filled with mostly stand ins along with Chas, Neil and Jim. The only stand in for Lightyear tonight was drummer Bob Barrett. Who also played with JB Conspiracy the night before, so he headlined both nights which is cool. The other thing that made it special was that they announced that this would probably by the last ever Lightyear show. I would assume it probably won't be but, if it was, they made sure they went out in the only way that Lightyear know how. In the silliest way possible. I think it's pretty hard to really put into words and it make any actual sense of what went on during this set but it was exactly what you would expect from Lightyear. All around me there were people singing, dancing and smiling away. Whether you were a long time fan or you'd never seen them before, you went away knowing you had seen quite the spectacle.

The night wasn’t ending there though. For the hardcore souls who remained at NXI, we had another after party to enjoy. This time brought to us by our good pals the Burnt Tapes who would be performing their brilliant Menzingers cover set. I'd joked with guitarist Pan that I assumed that they would be playing The Menzingers’ newest album Hello Exile in full. To my complete surprise, they opened with the song Anna from that album before working their way through a handful of older Menzingers favourites. This was the perfect way to finish the weekend. Being surrounded by lots of friends, old and new singing many modern punk rock classics at the top of our lungs. Massive thanks to the Burntzingers for sticking around so late and entertaining us in this wonderful way.

I spent the rest of the night wandering around the room, hugging and thanking everyone I knew. It was during this time when Burnt Tone said "I just enjoy seeing everyone having a good time." I think this was the quote of the entire weekend and it summed it all up beautifully. That's all we wanted from the weekend, our pals to have a good time. We definitely achieved that.

I felt so unbelievably blessed and lucky to be surrounded by so many of the best people you could ever wish to meet and to be so involved in such a special event is something I'll be proud of for a long time. I can't thank the people who came, the bands, and especially Paul and Sarah for inviting me to be a part of this event, enough. It couldn't have been more perfect.

Monday 27th January

Back to work and going over the weekend again in my head. A lot of lovely things were said about Do It Together and people seem to be hoping for a Do It Togther Fest 2021. Will it happen and will I be involved with it? I have no idea. Originally, the idea was for it to be a one and done thing and I spent the whole weekend telling people that I will be retiring from the promoting game after this because I certainly won't be able to top it. But Do It Together was a bigger success than any of us could have possibly imagined so who knows. I kind of think we won't be able to recreate the magic of the 2020 edition and we should leave it there. That's also my thoughts on The Matrix trilogy, they should have stopped after one and not gotten greedy! That being said, it was nice to be able to do this amazing thing with two of my best friends and try something new. Either way, I think the weekend proved Doing It Together is much better than Doing It Yourself.

DIT or die!

This Do It Together Diary was written by Colin Clark. Photos by Emma Prew.

Top Tens: Top Ten Bands Emma Is Excited About In 2020

As January comes to an end, I can safely say that it’s been a rather good start to 2020 – at least from a personal and CPRW perspective. Colin launched CPRW Records on New Year’s Day and I had some involvement, designing the logo and the artwork for the first comp of the year (check out the Bandcamp page here). We also welcomed a few new faces to the CPRW team with Dan Kilvert, Marcus Pond and Chris Bishton joining the gang – I will be updating the Meet The Team page at some point! Then, last weekend we had Do It Together Fest which quite simply exceeded all of our expectations. The bands were, of course, great – we helped to pick them – but the atmosphere at the New Cross Inn was just so wonderful for the whole weekend as well. It was very much a pals fest with friends old and new all in one place. So, it’s been a good start to the year and I’m excited to see what the rest of 2020 brings, especially in terms of new music.

Without further ado, here are ten bands I’m particularly excited about in 2020:

Aerial Salad

There is a distinct buzz surrounding this Mancunian threesome ahead their second album, Dirt Mall, which is due for release in the Spring. Earlier this week Aerial Salad released Romance?, the first single from the album which is very, very good. Colin and I saw the band in Hamburg last year at Booze Cruise Festival, having not seen them for a year or so prior, and were very impressed by how they’d progressed as a band. I can definitely see Aerial Salad being much, much bigger by this time next year.

Answering Machine

I’ve only recently got around to checking out Answering Machine, a five-piece power pop band from Brooklyn, New York City. The fact that Craig Shay of Cold Wrecks (who released my favourite album of 2019) also plays in this band is what prompted me to check them out but it was lead vocalist Samantha who hooked me into their sound – what a voice! Now seems like as good a time as any to be getting into Answering Machine as sources (Craig) inform me that there’s a new album on the way this year.

Erica Freas

I’m sure readers of this blog will be very familiar with Erica Freas for being a member of the awesome American punk rock band RVIVR. You may not be quite so familiar with the solo music of Erica Freas however. Fear not, now is the perfect time to get acquainted as Erica is releasing a brand new solo album on Specialist Subject Records – which also happens to be where Erica works (thank you for sending us lots of early releases!) – on 28th February. I’m looking forward to hopefully catching both the Erica Freas and SOMNIA (a group formed of Erica alongside members of Spoonboy and Martha) sets at Manchester Punk Festival this year.

Goodbye Blue Monday

Vocalist and guitarist Graham said, on Saturday night at DITFest during an incredible if a bit silly set, that he has finished writing songs for Goodbye Blue Monday’s debut album. As one of CPRW’s favourite UK DIY punk bands, we are understandably very excited about this. I, for one, just can’t get enough of this miserable yet poppy punk rock. The new songs are sounding great live and, although we don’t know when the songs will actually be recorded, I do hope that something will be released this year.

Katie MF

From one CPRW favourite to another! Katie MF released a brilliantly emotional second EP last year, as well as playing some killer gigs – both full band and solo – and no doubt gaining many new fans along the way. It’s been so wonderful to watch Katie MF’s sound and songwriting evolve over the past year or so and, judging by the three new songs we heard at the weekend, the band just keep getting better and better. I don’t know if they have plans to record the new songs anytime soon so I can’t wait to see Katie MF live soon to hear them again.

Modern Shakes

Gruff punks Modern Shakes are a relatively new band in the South London punk rock scene. Despite technically forming a couple of years ago, they only released their first EP, Murmur, last year – which Colin named his no.1 EP of the year no less (number five in mine). 2020 looks set to be Modern Shakes’ year as, after a line-up change, they are gearing up to release the follow-up to Murmur. The band will be playing Triple Sundae’s big gig on 28th March at the Amersham Arms which will be a lot of fun – not least because it’s my birthday. 

Proper.

Okay, so I probably should have been raving about Proper. last year when they released their album I Spent The Winter Writing Songs About Getting Better on Big Scary Monsters but, as is often the way, I was late to the party. Having been announced as playing MPF this year, I decided to check out this three-piece afro-punk band from New York City. Damn, I’m glad I haven’t slept on this band any longer – they’re so, so good with incredibly powerful and moving lyrics. Proper. are top of my must-see-at-MPF list and April can’t come soon enough.

Sincere Engineer

I feel like I read somewhere that Chicago-based band Sincere Engineer would be releasing a new album in 2020 but, now that it’s come to actually writing about it, I can’t find anything specific about this. It’s been three years since Rhombithian was released so I reckon we’re due another album! I’m also hoping that, much like fellow Red Scare Industries band Ramona, this might be the year that Sincere Engineer make it over to the UK. I’d certainly snap up tickets in no time at all.  

Stöj Snak

There is no release date set in stone, as far as I’m aware, but Danish folk punks Stöj Snak finished recording their new album, after what they described as the longest recording session since Chinese Democracy, in November last year. It’s honestly the album that I am most eagerly anticipating in 2020 and I don’t have much more to say than that. I. Can’t. Wait. 

Sunliner

Formerly known as Jake & The Jellyfish, the band announced earlier this week that they would not only be changing their name but are also joining the Lockjaw Records family. Having been a fan of J&TJ for several years and following their progression from a very much folk punk-sounding band to something a little more akin to Hot Water Music or Red City Radio, I’m very excited to see what Sunliner do next. 

This top ten was written by Emma Prew.

Do It Together: Meet Just Say Nay, Toodles & The Hectic Pity and Katie MF

Do It Together 2020 is just one week away and we wanted to help you get to know some of the amazing acts that are playing the weekend. Thanks to Jak from Just Say Nay, Callum from Toodles & The Hectic Pity and Katie from Katie MF for answering our questions.

Callum from Toodles & The Hectic Pity

Hello, who are you and what band do you play in?
Hey! I am Callum and I played in Toodles & the Hectic Pity.

Can you describe your band please?
Toodles are a three-piece folk punk band from Bristol, taking influences from bands like AJJ, Neutral Milk Hotel and The Mountain Goats. Honestly, it’s mostly pretty up-beat stuff but the themes are very much not and I think some of the songs we’ve been writing recently owe an awful lot to emo  and pop punk as well – which is a fun space to be in, sat in between a lot of interesting genres.

The three of us have known each other since we were teenagers and started a band when we were leaving school, but because we went to different unis it was a bit of a slow-burning start and for the most part I was sending demos that I recorded on my phone over to the other two. We got to practice maybe once every few months and then I went to Canada for six months – but we very slowly wrote the songs that would be part of our first record, Call In Sick, which our close friend and indispensable collaborator Iwan of Invisible Llama Music released for us in 2017. We have a new release due from Specialist Subject Records in February which is called Ghosts, Guilt & Grandparents. Hopefully we will have copies in time for Do It Together!

How was your 2019?
We started off 2019 by playing a rare Bristol show with Chewing on Tinfoil, then touring around the UK with my brother’s band, (then Jake & the Jellyfish, now known as Sunliner) which was super fun. We played a whole bunch of places we’d never been before. Then we also got the chance to play with Spanish Love Songs and Microwave, and we did two shows with Jeffrey Lewis in Bristol and London, which was nuts – and then got to play Specialist Subject’s birthday all-dayer to celebrate 2 years in Bristol, which was honestly such a fantastic show with the likes of ONSIND, Garden Centre, Grand Pop and Me Rex.

To be honest, we’ve been laying low a little bit since then and working on writing and recording the new EP, Ghosts, Guilt & Grandparents. We recorded with Tim Rowing-Parker of WOAHNOWS and Dogeyed fame over the summer and had an absolutely lovely time with it, too. Since then we’ve been working with Specialist Subject on planning this release and focusing more on 2020 – which is going to be a busy one.

What was your first exposure to DIY punk rock?
To be honest my first exposure was my brother’s band, Sunliner (formerly Jake & the Jellyfish). Jake is about five years older than me and was, naturally, involved in DIY punk music way before I was – organising gigs for himself and other bands at The Croft in Bristol and around the country – and introducing me (through the fact he was simply playing them in the car or wherever else) to a whole bunch of bands.

Also, weirdly enough, it came from the other direction too. My sister who is two years younger than me is an avid music-discoverer in a way that I am definitely not. When I hear something that I love, I’m into it and I’ll listen to it to death. I go to gigs a lot too but I don’t spend time browsing Bandcamp or Spotify in search of new things. But my sister really does spend a lot of time discovering new music and, to be honest, most bands I’ve ever liked have come through her recommending them to me. From late in school and then at uni, I started to attend DIY shows more regularly in Cardiff and Bristol – most formatively at the Deadpunk Alldayers. I think that’s when we all realised that we wanted to make music but also that, unlike some young musicians, we didn’t have our eyes on stardom or anything: we really did have our vision of success as being part of the DIY scene. So in that sense, we’ve essentially achieved our dreams.

What does “Do It Together” mean to you?
To me, it’s really about the fact that the DIY scene really is about collaboration. It’s not just “Do It Yourself” in an individualistic sense, it is about “Do It Yourselves” – plural. Essentially it’s an anti-gatekeeper, anti-industry-insider, anti-fame-and-fortune approach to creativity. DIY punk is, or should be, a real fuck you to certain ideas about musicianship and creativity – who’s allowed to do it and what that means. It should attempt to break down fan/artist divides and accept that people making and organising are part of the same project as people who are participating. And basically, a fuck you to the marketisation of everything in our lives including music. In fact, bands, musicians, creators, consumers, participators – we’re not in competition with each other and we’re not trying to get ahead. We’re trying to build shit together and promote solidarity and community.

Tell us about the DIY scene where you’re based?
Bristol has a thriving music scene and DIY scene – which goes without saying. But that’s not to say that everything’s ok and everything’s easy. Venues are still closing down, for one thing. For another, DIY promoting is a pretty thankless task. We could do with more smaller DIY spaces for cheaper, smaller shows. We’ve got a lot of mid-size venues in Bristol which can be a daunting prospect for most bands. Plus, promoters are taking big financial risks putting on shows and have more bands looking for shows than they can reasonably organise. It’s a rough game! I wouldn’t want to do it, but I’m thankful for those hardworking people who spend time and energy doing it.

We’ve gotta find a better model for supporting DIY shows all over the UK, because right now the weight falls heavily on the shoulders of those with real drive and passion and there’s always a danger of burnout and financial trouble. In Bristol, I’ve got massive respect in particular for Eat Up and Eat Up For Starters who are doing some of the best, most inclusive, most radical work carving out room for feminist, queer, trans and non-binary friendly spaces in the DIY music scene. But it’s also on us, the music-lovers, to cherish what we have and go out and participate and pay in and buy merch and support bands and promoters. Otherwise there’s a decent chance we could lose them. People give up every day and even more decide not to get involved to begin with. And that’s a real shame.

How would you sell Do It Together to someone who’s on the fence about coming?
I think that Do It Together seems like a real labour of love. There’s plenty of all-dayers and weekenders and gigs going on but, again, it’s really worth supporting the people who are putting the love into it. Be Sharp, Lockjaw Records, Colin’s Punk Rock World and Shout Louder are all projects born out of enthusiasm for live music. They’re not soulless profit making agencies looking for the next band to blow up. Otherwise they wouldn’t have booked us! Not saying this to sound up ourselves, but I know that we were put on this bill because the people involved really like us. And I think sometimes as a gig-goer you’ve got to put your faith in the hands of the mega-enthusiasts and say “Hey I’m going to trust your recommendation and see where it takes me.” And that’s rarely something you regret.

What other act are you most looking forward to seeing at Do It Together?
Triple Sundae. But also, to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever had the chance to see any of the other bands on the line-up live before – so I’m really excited for that. Just a bunch of lovely new faces and new music to enjoy.

What song from another band on the line-up do you wish you had written?
Pollution by Triple Sundae. It’s just a perfect punk song, start to finish. And what a riff!

What does the band have planned for the rest of 2020?
So, us and Triple Sundae are playing some shows either side of Do It Together Fest – in Cardiff on the Friday and Oxford on the Sunday. Then February 7th sees us put out our second EP, Ghosts, Guilt & Grandparents, which is out from Specialist Subject Records. Really stoked for that! We should be doing a Bristol launch show in February, and then a UK tour in March on the week leading up to Chris Fishlock’s annual all-dayer at the Exchange in Bristol, “Fishstock”, which is on the 28th of March. That tour is almost fully booked now – playing a whole bunch of places we haven’t been before which is really fun. Then it’s a bit of an open book. We’re hoping to get over the Europe, too. But right now we’re just focusing on the immediate shows around the release.

As I said, we had a fairly quiet 2019 but I think 2020 is going to be a big year for us.

Speaking of Europe – we’ve never been over as a band so if you are reading this and you want us to play your town or have any recommendations please send us a message!


Jak from Just Say Nay

Hello, who are you and what band do you play in?
Hello, I’m Jak and I sing and prance around in Just Say Nay.

Can you describe your band please?
Nonsense. It’s all just complete sugary, head bopping, tongue twisting nonsense.

How was your 2019?
For the most part it was pretty bloody amazing. JSN finally got our album out and for a while we all felt like nothing bad was ever going to happen again in the world ever.

What was your first exposure to DIY punk rock?
My first experience was when there use to be local gigs in Dartford town. This was around 2003 perhaps. A band called My Dad Is Big. Amazing fun they were. Paul Smith will know, he was there.

What does “Do It Together” mean to you?
Everyone’s stronger together right?

“It’s dangerous to go alone.”

Tell us about the DIY scene where you’re based?
JSN are based right in the heart of Be Sharp country. The scene we’re in is the best. Other bands don’t believe me when I tell them about how good we have it.

How would you sell Do It Together to someone who’s on the fence about coming?
You mean there would be people on the fence about coming?

I’d say, you can walk in knowing nobody and leave knowing the finest humans you can ever wish to know.

What other act are you most looking forward to seeing at Do It Together?
Lightyear always. Our boyfriends in Call Me Malcolm and Triple Sundae. And Our Lives In Cinema too, their bass player is so mysterious and moody it just makes me go all giddy.

What song from another band on the line-up do you wish you had written?
That’s easy, For years and years I have always wished that I had written “Life Jacket Water Wings” by Lightyear.

What does the band have planned for the rest of 2020?
Playing this album to death everywhere we can. I can’t imagine it’d be too long before you start hearing a bit of new music from us either, I say, I say.


Katie from Katie MF

Hello, who are you and what band do you play in?
Oh hey. I’m Katie MF and I play in, erm, Katie MF. We’re working on the name…

Can you describe your band please?
We are beyond description – a folk/punk reckoning for our times; an explosive force of nature, a… god sorry, I’ve had a coffee. We play poppy/folky/punky/angry stuff and have a bit of fun with it – think break-ups and Brexit. And dancing. Bad dancing.

How was your 2019?
Pretty great to be honest. We went on our first tour (3 nights counts) and started to feel really solid as a band – we don’t get to play full band shows that often (I do a lot of acoustic stuff), so it’s taken a little while to really gel but I think we’re there now and it feels GOOD. Ben (bass) and Tobias (drums) are infinitely better musicians than I am so it’s a consistent pleasure to play with them.

Plus we/I supported a few personal heroes, released another EP and, importantly, made a bunch of new friends.

What was your first exposure to DIY punk rock?
That is a difficult question. Probably when I was 16/17 – my friends ran a few (mostly metal) nights at The White Horse in Wycombe (where I grew up) and I’d hang around not really knowing what was going on but hoping someone else did. Then my punk side lay dormant until about 3 years ago when I starting ‘doing the music thing properly’ – my songs got faster and louder then, as a band, we got booked to support Wolves & Wolves & Wolves & Wolves at New Cross Inn, got written up on CPRW and found a whole new community. So thanks CPRW!

What does “Do It Together” mean to you?
I could write an essay on this, but in sum: family, community and sharing equally in the disappointments and successes. The whole is bigger than the sum of the parts. It’s taken me too many years to really appreciate that.

Tell us about the DIY scene where you’re based?
In a nutshell, it’s about being able to go down to NXI (or anywhere else putting on a punk show) and always seeing a friendly face or five – whether they’re on stage or in the crowd. It’s supportive and inclusive, and holy shit there’s a lot of talent.

How would you sell Do It Together to someone who’s on the fence about coming?
You’ll meet some of the best people there are and have a chance to see a few bands who are unlikely to still be playing local shows this time next year. It’ll be a guaranteed tonic to all the shit that’s going on in the world right now. Plus, Lightyear.

What other act are you most looking forward to seeing at Do It Together?
Eat Defeat. Always and forever. And Call Me Malcolm because, somewhat unbelievably, it’ll be my first time. And Goodbye Blue Monday. And Uniforms.

What song from another band on the line-up do you wish you had written?
Shortcuts [by Eat Defeat] – it’s in my head at least 5 times a week.

What does the band have planned for the rest of 2020?
More of the same, but better. I’m going to be announcing a little solo run with some pals soon and have a few louder and longer things in the works…

Check out the Facebook event page for Do It Together here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1260074194165046/

You can buy tickets here: https://newcrossinn.com/tickets/events/do-it-together-fest