Gig Review: Manchester Punk Festival 2022: Day Three (by Colin and Emma)

(Emma’s parts are in italics.)

The third and final day of Manchester Punk Festival was here and promised to be just as busy as the previous couple of days. To start our day, we met up with our lovely pals Dan and Jess, the Vegan Punks for some delicious vegan fast food before heading to The Union for our first band of the day – the mighty Crazy Arm!

Crazy Arm hold a special place in my punk heart, since they were probably the first truly DIY punk band I ever saw live (around 12 years ago) and I have loved them ever since. Over the years their line-up has changed, as has their sound to a certain extent but the fact remains that they always put on a brilliant live show. We arrived in the room just as the band were kicking off their set and I quickly found my way to the front of the stage as the band churned out tracks from last year’s album, Dark Hands Thunderbolts, alongside classics such as Tribes, Still To Keep and Broken By The Wheel. Another top notch performance and the perfect start to the day.

Photo by Charlotte Corry

After Crazy Arm I rushed to Zombie Shack (via dropping some records off at the Air BNB) for Clayface. This was another of those times where I didn’t look at the schedule properly and thought I had a lot less time than I realised. Because of this I had to quickly say hi and bye to some friends because in my head I was running late. I felt bad about that. After dropping off the records, I bumped into some fine folk I know from New Cross Inn. They had said they didn’t really have a plan so I suggested they come and check out Clayface with me, which they did. Clayface were another late addition to the festival and brought their own style of gruff melodic punk to the stage. Clayface are a band I discovered on Bandcamp a few years ago and had yet to get the chance to see them live, much like every other band of the weekend they did not disappoint. Being a local band they seemed to have a good amount of pals in the crowd to support them and it created a wonderful atmosphere. This was one of those times I wish I’d have known more songs and I would’ve loved to have a proper sing-along but thoroughly enjoyed myself anyway. I spoke to the NXI folk afterwards and they said they had also enjoyed the set which pleased me. Then I had to dash off for my next set which was starting at The Union

After Crazy Arm, I met up with Robyn elsewhere in the crowd and we made a quick exit to head to Gorilla for the first band of the day there and one Robyn was especially excited to see – Signals Midwest. Signals Midwest are a four-piece from Ohio, USA, who play punk rock in a similar vein to Spanish Love Songs or The Menzingers. From the instant the band stepped foot on stage it was clear they were enthused to be there and it really showed throughout their energetic performance as they happily jumped around the stage. The set was mostly comprised of tracks from the album Dent, which had only been released a week or so prior so I was mostly unfamiliar, but it was all great. Emotionally charged pop punk music is definitely a big hit with me.

Photo by Emma Prew

The Infested were one of my biggest surprises of the day. I had heard of them previously but hadn’t ever bothered to check them out. What a big mistake that was. Before the festival the band announced they would be calling it a day this year so, after checking some songs before the festival, I decided I had to take this opportunity to see them as I might not get another chance. When I arrived back at The Union the band had already started their set. In that opening they had had some trouble with guitars and amps so the singer had decided to ditch his guitar and that they would just have to power through with one guitar. This didn’t stop them putting on a very energetic show with the band’s frontman taking the opportunity to dance around the stage and jump down to the barrier to join the crowd. Sadly they had to cut the set short as they ran out of songs they could play with one guitar but you have to commend The Infested for powering on and still delivering a fantastic set. After the set I had a chat with Ell from Baldhead And The Dreads where I asked why had I not been to see them before as they were so good.

Speaking of emotionally charged pop punk, up next at Gorilla it was time for the return of the sorely missed (by me personally but also, I’m sure, by many others) Shit Present. I’m not even going to tone it down, this was the set of the weekend that I was most looking forward to and as soon as I was singing and bopping along to familiar favourites such as Anxious Type and Melbourne it was like nothing else in the world mattered. Isn’t it great when music makes you feel like that? The band were obviously a bit nervous to be making their ‘come back’ after several years without playing live but the smiles on their faces showed just how stoked they were to be there. It wasn’t all old songs that Shit Present treated us to, they also shared that they’d just finished recording their debut album and played a couple of songs from it – oh my gosh, they sound absolutely amazing. I simply cannot wait for this album and for the next time I get to see this band live. PS. Iona, Robyn and I are both a bit in love with you. 

 

Photo by Emma Prew

Next I made my way to Zombie Shack for the final ever set for Don Blake. I arrived there quite early so I could sit and watch the beginning of the Crystal Palace vs Chelsea FA Cup Semi Final. As the beginning of the Don Blake set drew nearer, Zombie Shack began to fill very quickly. It soon got to capacity which was great for the band but a shame for any folk who wanted to see them one last time. We’ve been following the Bolton foursome since the beginning of CPRW but had only seen them one time before, at MPF 2016, so this was well overdue. Don Blake are one of the finest pop punk bands in the UK, always impressing me with their relentless hooks and some of the best vocal harmonies around. As this was their last ever set, they clearly tried to squeeze as many songs in as possible. It was nice to hear tracks from across their discography, this was a real best of and a great send off for the band. They’re a talented bunch and I’m keen to see what the guys do next.

Photo by Emma Prew

It’s been a good few years (maybe five?) since Colin and I first, and last, saw Northern Irish punk rockers Good Friend live. I know I enjoyed them that time but it was nothing compared to seeing them make their MPF – and Manchester – debut in Zombie Shack. This was DIY punk rock at its finest and the pure raw energy that the trio seemed to exude as they tore through their set was brilliant to watch. There was a bit of an endearing scrappiness to their performance and they kept us entertained between songs with jokes and banter. We were also treated to a guest appearance from everyone’s favourite UK-based acoustic punk troubadour, Sam Russo, who added guest vocals to one track. I expected to enjoy Good Friend but I didn’t expect to enjoy them quite as much as I did. One of the highlights of the weekend for sure and I hope to catch them live again soon.  

Photo by Emma Prew

Jaya The Cat were well into their set when we arrived after watching Good Friend. We only managed to catch three songs – Fake Carreras, Amsterdam and closer Here Come The Drums. Much like when we arrived late for The JB Conspiracy the day before, The Union was packed and the room was bouncing. During the part in Fake Carreras when they get everyone to sit down the whole room obliged, apart from the guy in front of us who had a patch claiming he didn’t like dogs, and then jumped back up in unison. I hope someone caught that moment on camera as that many people doing that must have made an awesome visual. I felt moved by this and made my way closer to the pit for final track Here Come The Drums. It was at this point I noticed the floor had gotten extremely sticky and was glad I hadn’t had to crouch down there for Fake Carreras. As I mentioned, I only got to see three songs for Jaya The Cat but what a fantastic three songs it was.

In quite a distinct shift in musical styles, next to take to the stage at The Union were London-based indie punks, Fresh. I’ve been lucky enough to see the band live more than a few times over the last couple of years and they always put on a fine show that is a lot of fun to be part of. This was Robyn’s first time seeing the band live after missing out the last few times they played (or were supposed to play) MPF and, so for that reason alone, this was going to be pretty special. The energy that this band generates on stage, especially that from Kathryn, is just wonderful to behold and it soon spreads into the crowd. Songs such as Girl Clout, Get Bent and Revenge were so cathartic to sing along to and I loved every second of Fresh’s set. Plus, it’s safe to say that Robyn thoroughly enjoyed finally getting to see Fresh live as well. What a band.

Photo by Emma Prew

After Fresh we made our way to Bread Shed for our choice of headliner, Roughneck Riot. As we arrived we discovered popular grime punks Riskee And The Ridicule still had some time left in their set. Like they have done every single time I’ve seen them, Riskee had the crowd in a wild frenzy, baying on every word that frontman Scott spat. Riskee are one of the hardest working DIY bands in the scene and it’s pleasing to see them get such rewards from all of their grafting. It was great to catch a bonus bit of their set.

Before the night’s headline band at The Bread Shed, Roughneck Riot, were ready to kick off their set, a familiar face appeared on stage to introduce the band. You may know Chris Lowry as being the face of the Warrington Ska Punk blog and podcast, but for this weekend he was serving as a sort of announcer before bands at the Bread Shed. I just must quote what he said before fellow Warrington punks Roughneck Riot, as his words were so poignant – "Today I realised the thing that makes MPF different from any other festival. At other festivals, the bands are these amazing distant heroes. At MPF, your friends are your heroes, and your heroes are your friends." And with that, the six-piece raucous folk punk troupe burst into a raw and passionate performance. It was my first time seeing the band since they went on hiatus before the pandemic as well as my first time hearing songs from their new album, Burn It To The Ground, played live. Of course, the set featured a selection of those newer tracks alongside older Roughneck classics. Everything was met with much enthusiasm from the crowd with people dancing, moshing, singing, crowdsurfing and just generally having a jolly old time. It was a tough choice between Sunday night’s headliners with Jeff Rosenstock and A Wilhelm Scream both playing at the same time but I don’t think that anyone in The Bread Shed at that moment regretted their decision for a second. Knowing how apprehensively excited Colin was to get in to see Plot 32 at Zombie Shack after the headline sets, we ducked out of Roughneck’s set a little early but had a lovely time while we were there nonetheless. 

Photo by Mark Farthing

The one set I was most anxious about getting in to for the whole weekend was Plot 32’s. The Leeds based ska punks were opening the after party at the tiny Zombie Shack and I expected it to quickly reach capacity. I, along with the New Cross Inn ska punk scene, all seemed to leave whatever headliners we were watching and arrived at the Zombie Shack about half an hour early just to make sure we got in. This proved to be a good idea as Zombie Shack quickly reached capacity. As the band squeezed onto the tiny stage there was a feeling of anticipation in the air and as soon as they opened their set (with Favourite Things, I think) the room began to move in an excited fashion. I quickly finished my pint of coke, partly as I was concerned about getting knocked and spilling it everywhere and partly because I wanted to join in with the party. Plot 32 were the perfect choice to open this party as there was so much joy and enthusiasm in the room. It had been a long weekend and we were feeling tired but having such a joyous dance with so many friends to a band that have become one of my favourites in the ska scene over the past couple of years was the best. Songs such as Issues, Remission, Save The World, their cover of the Vengaboys’ Boom Boom Boom and set closer Go Hard Or Go Home were all just perfect and made the choice to leave Roughneck Riot early even more worth it. Plot 32 are another band playing Level Up Festival in July and I can’t wait to see them again.

Photo by Mike Smith

As it had started raining for the first time ever at MPF, Emma and I arrived early at the Bread Shed for what was our planned final band, our friends from Denmark, Forever Unclean. As we arrived though, California act Corrupt Vision were just starting their set. As we arrived and I initially listened to the band, I was pretty sure this wouldn’t be for me. The thrashy grindcore nature of songs aren’t usually for me but then they started to add some ska up-stokes here and there and this was when they really won me over. I’m actually really easy to please – just play ska. Corrupt Vision turned out to be one of my biggest surprises and major highlights of the whole weekend. This is why it’s important to check out bands you’re not aware of at festivals and gigs in general, you will come across some absolutely cracking stuff.

And just like that it was time for the final band of our Manchester Punk Festival 2022 – Copenhagen’s Forever Unclean. You probably know, if you’ve read this blog before, that this Danish trio are one of our favourite bands and we are also lucky enough to call them our friends and so seeing them do their thing at the MPF 2022 after party was an absolutely pleasure. If you are unfamiliar with the band (where have you been?!) then let me tell you that they play short, fast-paced indie punk songs with a wonderfully cathartic and raw energy that can best be experienced in a live setting… and so, at the very front of the crowd, that is what we did. Spirits were high down the front and we all had a joyful time singing along to our favourite songs, new and old. This was the first time for many people, us included, to hear songs from the band’s debut album, Best, which was released earlier this year and they blended in perfectly alongside songs from EPs Float and Woof. Every last bit of energy remaining in the band – who I know had been enjoying the weekend as punters up until this point – and crowd was exuded here. The mass singalongs for Waves and Worthless were one of those truly special moments that make us realise just how much we love this scene and everyone in it. The perfect ending to the perfect weekend. 

Photo by Emma Prew

Manchester Punk Festival was the absolute best time. I can’t even fathom how much hard work and stress the organisers went through putting the event on and for everything to run as smoothly as it did is a real testament to the legends that put the festival on. Every set I saw was absolutely superb. Over the four days, I personally saw thirty eight different bands and if CPRW was the sort of site that dished out ratings based on a criteria that seems pretty random I’d be handing out a lot of tens. Something I always really appreciate about the work that MPF do is how they actually listen to their crowd and take on comments about things that haven’t been as good as they could be in previous years. For instance, when they first used the Union venue in 2019 it did feel a bit lifeless; however in 2022 The Union became one of my favourite venues of the whole festival. I don’t know what they did but there was always such a special atmosphere whenever I saw a band there, no matter what size the crowd was.

I feel like the whole overriding emotion that the majority of people had at the end of MPF 2022 was love. I loved being able to see so many great bands again. I loved seeing so many friends I haven’t been able to see for years. I loved being in the environment where the punk community could come together once again and celebrate this movement that has been built over the years. The wonderful Matt Speer of Ear Nutrition described the weekend as Nutritional. I couldn’t agree more. It’s been a tough few years for many reasons and to be back at MPF really felt like a bit of healing process had started. I can’t thank everyone from the organisers, volunteers, bar staff, sound people, (most of) the security, the friends and the strangers and the food places we visited enough for what was the most wonderful weekend.

Something I’ve just remembered and I’m going to add on here is about the amount of MPF first timers I spoke to who had the best time. It feels like once you go to the festival once you’re definitely going to make it an annual event if possible. This has got to be down to the incredible community spirit that surrounds the festival, along with the incredible amount of talent that gets booked to play. I’m already so excited for MPF 2023. Tickets are already so sale, get one now and don’t miss out.

This review was written by Colin Clark and Emma Prew.

Interview: Plot 32 Interview For Manchester Punk Festival

Ahead of their performance at Manchester Punk Festival, Colin caught up with Plot 32 for a lovely chat.

How did Plot 32 start?

Gaz: Myself, lead guitarist Adam and Stash were at Rebellion 2016 and we just watched Bar Stool Preachers play an acoustic set and were all feeling very emotional and said “there doesn’t seem to be that much ska punk going on in Leeds at the moment besides the usual suspects, how about we form a band.” Then Stash said “well aye man, that sounds cannae.”

Liz: I remember recruiting Rachel, we were on a Rocky Horror night out, we dressed up, and I was like “you’d be the perfect person to join our brass section and then you agreed so that was nice.”

Rachel: “I somehow ended up accidentally in a ska band when I was at school and I randomly mentioned that to you on a night out.

Liz: I Had to learn drums for this band, Gaz had to learn the bass.

Stash: A few had to start from scratch.

Liz: We started in February and we had our first gig in May which was very soon as I’d never played any drums before.

Stash: That’s pretty punk rock that, innit.

Who are the members of Plot 32?

Liz: I’m Liz and I play the drums, shall we tell you our favourite vegetable as well?

If you want, the answer is broccoli.

Liz: Yeah, my answers broccoli.

Gaz: I’m Gaz, I play bass guitar and my favourite vegetable is a beetroot.

Stash: My name is Stash, I’m 42 years old, my favourite vegetable is mushroom and I’m the singer.

Cat S: I’m Cat, I’m the rhythm guitarist and my favourite vegetable is a carrot.

Rachel: I’m Rachel, I play saxophone and my favourite vegetable is fresh peas.

Liz: We’ve got Adam, he plays guitar and his favourite vegetable is sweetcorn because he’s a sweet person and he’s pretty corny and then there’s Cat Robbins, she plays the trumpet, she love an aubergine apparently.

Who are your influences?

Stash: I think we’ve all got different influences. The bands probably influenced by bands like Operation Ivy, Bosstones, ska punk….

Cat S: I listen to a lot of Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake, also I love anything a bit pop punky like New Found Glory as well.

Liz: Cat and Adam tend to write most of our songs but then other people chip in, Gaz and Rachel and Stash have all written some things, I haven’t written anything so I guess my influences wouldn’t come out that strongly but I love things like drum n bass, dance music but all of my favourite gigs growing up were Reel Big Fish. I think me and Cat spent years going to every single Reel Big Fish gig. I used to love King Prawn and saw lots of ska punk in Leeds back in the day.

This is your first time playing MPF, have you been before as attendees?

Stash: I’ve volunteered there before. We’ve been there as punters.

Liz: I’ve been almost every year. Infact I met Cat Robbins at the thing that was before MPF. There was some sort of anniversary show that the same people put on the year before MPF and I met Cat Robbins in the queue so we wouldn’t even have her as a friend or band member if it wasn’t for MPF. This sounds like a proper geeky thing to say but my drum teachers reminded me of it last week. I was talking about playing MPF and the stuff I wanted to work on and they were like “ooh, they said last year that playing MPF was your dream” and I was like “I wouldn’t of said that would I?” but clearly I did.

Gaz: You say it all the time Liz, when you’re drunk.

Cat S: I’ve never been, I’m really looking forward to it. It’s normally difficult for me to get time off work to get to it. But we’re playing some I’m forced to get time of work for it so it’s great. I can’t wait! It’ll be a good opportunity to see loads of bands that I’ve never seen before and get introduced to new stuff  and seeing some old friends as well.

Stash: It’s nice when all you’re mates are there from all different cities coming together. You can spend a lot of time chatting to people with people you’ve not seen for a while.

Liz: It’s one of those few festivals where you know that everyone you know from across the country will be in the same place and you’ll bump into them at some point over the weekend. And they always have an amazing line up too.

Stash: I normally miss a lot of bands just through nattering and smoking.

Who are all you looking forward to seeing?

Liz: I have been doing so much research on this, I’ve got a playlist that I made myself. They do have an MPF playlist but I wanted to extra curate it. Shai Hulud, I know they’re quite famous but I’ve never listened to them before I knew they were playing MPF. Really love them. Really love Belvedere, Elephant March is a great song, just love all that relentless, fast pop punk stuff. And then there’s some really nice ska like Popes, JB Conspiracy, all the people that we love seeing and have maybe played with before. I quite like Riskee, some of that rappy stuff, Karl Phillips, we’ve played with him before haven’t we. Jeff Rosenstock. I’m trying not get my hopes up too much with anybody because you don’t know who’s gonna clash and you don’t know who’s going to have to pull out.

Cat S: We’ve had Brassick at Nice As Pie before so I’m looking forward to seeing them.

Liz: There’s all of our friends bands as well. Smoking Gives You Big Tits, I love them. Great name, great band. Monolithian, that’s Simon from Rash Decision’s band with that lady in Bobby Funk. They’re gonna be great.

What can people expect to see from your live set?

Stash: They’re probably see seven drunkards falling about all over the stage.

Liz: We’re not a polished performance but we’ll be very friendly.

Stash: If we’re anything we’re friendly.

Cat S: We want everyone to have fun and we’ll be having fun and hopefully that’s all that matters.

Liz: There might be some cheesy, bad jokes. You might get some very light political and environmental messaging  but the overriding theme will be fun.

What’s your best experience at a Plot 32 gig?

Stash: Outciders always a good thing.

Liz: Remember when we played that really weird festival and then somebody came up to us and told us and told us that she was Miss Chesire 2018. I don’t know if this was the same person or I’ve got it confused in my head…

Stash: Didn’t she call us weirdos?

Liz: She said you’re the weirdest bunch of weirdos that I’ve seen in the same place at the same time and I thought to myself that I really understand what you mean; we are all quite different to each other, we’ve got quite different opinions and we act quite differently and I just loved that she thought we were so strange.

Cat S: Illusive Festival was dead good as well.

Liz: That was definitely the weirdest festival that I’ve ever been too.

Stash: It was like a drum n bass festival with a random ska stage.

Liz: Everyobdy was off their face to the point where they’ve built little sort of caves under the stage for people to go and hide if they want to have some private time.

Stash: That sounds rude.

Gaz: We played two sets that weekend. We played one of the first sets on the Friday and we were all fresh and energetic and there weren’t that many people watching us. Then on Sunday we were all a bit worse for wear, we were depleted with serotonin and dopamine and I think the majority of us were hung over and we played the other set and people were absolutely loving it.

Stash: I think between us we probably introduced ourselves to everybody at the festival by that point .

Liz: They really had no choice but to come and watch us after we bombarded them with our friendship for the whole weekend.

That’s a solid plan, are you going to do that in Manchester as well?

Liz: We’ve already said that we really hope we play the Sunday so we get so we get to make friends with absolutely everybody at the festival and then relentless pressure them into coming to see us.

Do you know where you’re playing yet?

Liz: It doesn’t really matter. Early is good, late is good, middle is good. They’ve all got there advantages.

Have you got a venue that you particularly want to play?

Liz: I love the Zombie Shack which I guess might be where we play as it’s a bit of a small one. It’ll be lovely to play in a smaller venue that’s packed out.

Stash: I’d rather play a smaller venue with more people in than a bigger venue with the same amount of people.

Cat S: Somewhere with a big enough stage to fit seven of us.

Liz: Yeah, so basically we want a venue where the stage is half as big as the crowd space so we’ve got room but no-one else does.

Stash: Not too high though, as I’m prone to falling off.

Liz: I would like a drum riser so we could have a combination of those things.

Cat S: Are you going to build our ideal stage here Colin?

I will send Tree a message and ask him very nicely.

Stash: It would be good if the drum rose over from the floor, that would be good.

Liz: We played for Tree the other day didn’t we and the drums were on a bit of a riser. It was the first time that I thought people could see me and I loved it.

Stash: I mean coming up from the floor as you’re playing.

Just fly across the room.

Liz: Who is it that does that?

Cat S: Do Slipknot do that?

Stash: A zip wire would be good. A good entrance on a zip wire.

Liz: Nobody had done zip wire drumming have they? Perhaps I could be the first.

That would be a lot of wires that you would have to time very precisely to make sure all the kit is in the same place.

Stash: You’d imagine that the kit would already be on stage and you’d just arrive and land on the chair.

Liz: Oh no, I imagine you’re going to zipwire a platform with the drums set up already.

Gaz: This is just sounding like a death clock out of metalopolis with the ridiculous stage set up.

Stash: When people book us we should start requesting these things and see what we can get.

Liz: We must be halfway between getting nothing on a rider and getting some flying drums. Perhaps if we aim high we might get a crate of beer.

Stash: We’ll take £20 if we can get a zipwire.

Is there anything you’d like to add?

Gaz: I guess we could say we’d like people to come along and make friends with us. We’ve been told we either get the party started or we keep the party going or we end the party really well so really your choice is across the board.

Stash: Take care of yourself and each other.

Plot 32 play at Zombie Shack at 22.15 tonight!

Check out Plot 32 on Facebook here and Bandcamp here.

Gig Review: Popes Of Chillitown at The Bread Shed, Manchester 11/12/21

Manchester is one of our favourite places to go to punk rock gigs. It’s a wonderful city with such a great scene. Unfortunately, due to reasons that we all know about and are bored of talking about now, we hadn’t been since April 2019. When Anarchistic Undertones announced a show at The Bread Shed featuring Popes Of Chillitown, Call Me Malcolm, Just Say Nay, Plot 32 and Wadeye, Emma and I jumped at the chance to return to Manchester.

Sadly in between the time of the gig being announced and the day of the show, Just Say Nay announced that they were splitting up and wouldn’t be playing any more shows. This meant that Broken 3 Ways were a late addition to the line-up. We had spent a couple of hours hanging out across the road in the lovely Sandbar before the gig started and entered The Bread Shed just after Broken 3 Ways had started their set. The six piece immediately captured my attention with their two frontmen each wielding trumpets. I mentioned to a friend that I didn’t think I’d ever seen a ska band whose entire brass section was made up of trumpets. It made a great sound! The dual vocalists also added a huge amount of energy to the band’s stage show, which I really enjoyed. I wasn’t super familiar with Broken 3 Ways before the gig but after their set they can consider me a new fan.

Leeds ska punks Plot 32 are a band I’ve been keen to see for a few years now. I thought I was going to finally get the chance at MPF 2020 but we all know what happened there. The six piece (usually seven, but one member is currently on maternity leave) took to the stage in their finest Christmas wears and proceeded to have a party. Kicking off the set with the awesome Favourite Things and then going into See You Next Tuesday (the song that put Plot 32 on my radar) was a great way to start things off. I felt like it really showcased what Plot 32 are all about. It’s fun ska punk music that doesn’t take itself too seriously, whilst also managing to speak about some important social problems. The best way to learn is by having fun and fun is something Plot 32 are experts at. I always love seeing a band who look like they are having the best time on stage as it often spills into the crowd. The band’s drummer Liz in particular looked like they were having the time of their lives, smiling with joy throughout the entire set. Midway through the set, the band played a fun cover of Shaking Stevens classic Merry Christmas Everyone which went down a treat. Plot 32 may be one of my new favourite live bands and I can’t wait to see them again at MPF 2022 next year.

Next were Manchester favourites Wadeye. This was the band’s first show back since all that stuff happened and it seemed as if they were very keen to dust off the cobwebs. The five piece were the only band on the line-up without a horn section. This helped add to the varied styles of ska that were showcased throughout the night. Wadeye’s own political brand of ska felt all the more apt given everything that’s been happening in the UK in recent years and I’m always super keen to hear bands speak out for what they believe in. The more we talk about the issues that are happening, not just in the UK but throughout the world, the more we can educate each other and try and make positive changes. In the absence of brass, Wadeye use bass guitar to add the bounce to their songs alongside some ska upstrokes. The band’s lead vocalist basically raps a lot of the lyrics which adds to the energy and urgency of the set. I was amused by the claims that they were exhausted after a couple of songs, something I’m pretty sure that every band has said during their first set back.

The final two acts were ones I also had the pleasure of seeing (along with Faintest Idea) at the Underworld in Camden the night before. As always they were both on top form and I was looking forward to seeing them again. The penultimate act was the politest band in punk rock, Call Me Malcolm. These guys have been earning themselves a dedicated Northern following since playing Manchester Punk Festival in 2019 and it was clear that a lot of people were excited to see them. One such person excited to see them was Warrington Ska Punk’s Chris who insisted Emma and I join him right down the front for the set. To be honest, I’m a bit stuck for new things to write about Call Me Malcolm. Once again they blew me away with their set. They are always very, very good and prove why they seem to gain more and more fans wherever they play. I’ve gotten so used to seeing the band play at the New Cross Inn, it was nice to see them play at a couple of different venues and to a different crowd – who of course still got super excited to sing and dance along with the band. The half hour set was mostly comprised of tracks from the latest album, Me, Myself And Something Else, but they did also play Restore Factory Settings and All My Nameless Friends. There was also an extra special Christmas treat in the form of the song All I Want For Christmas Is A Pony With A Jetpack. I need to update my super cool spreadsheet but I’m pretty sure Call Me Malcolm should be up there with the bands I’ve now seen the most times. This was my fourth time in 2021 alone.

 

The headline act for the evening were the irrepressible Popes Of Chillitown. This would be my first time seeing them live (apart from the night before) since Slam Dunk Festival in September where they opened one of the stages. The Popes are another band I’ve seen a lot of times over the years and this set at The Bread Shed may well have been the best I’ve seen them. Anyone who has seen the six piece before will know about the amount of energy that the band bring to the stage each and every time they perform. This makes them one of the top live acts in the UK – and I don’t just mean in the punk and ska scene. The band are so in sync with each other. I do wonder how much work goes into their stage show or if it’s just a thing that has developed as they have played together more and more. The Popes have had a few line-up changes over the years and I have to say that I think this current form of the band is the strongest yet. All are clearly incredible musicians but each member is also incredibly watchable. You can’t spend too much time watching one member as you’ll miss something someone else has done on stage. The set was comprised with a mix of songs from To The Moon and Work Hard, Play Hard, See You In The Graveyard but they did also treat The Bread Shed to a new song that I assume is from something they hope to release in 2022. The Popes are excellent at working a crowd into a wild frenzy and this happened once again. The hour long set absolutely flew by and even when they reached the climax everyone in the Bread Shed seemed desperate for more, so after a little convincing the band returned to the stage for a well deserved encore. A incredible set from Popes Of Chillitown once again.

This gig has turned out to be my final one of 2021. Big thanks to Tree and the rest of the AU crew for putting on such a big line-up and making us feel so welcome. If you’re based in Manchester or the North West of England make sure you get following Anarchistic Undertones as I’m sure they have plenty more exciting gigs happening in the area in 2022. What a great night was had by all.

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