Marvellous Punk music made Monday night a fun night – Grade 2’s end-of-year tour is a must-see!
Tonight’s venue The Boileroom is a small venue – a very small venue – with a capacity of around 150. It’s a great venue for sound, and has been much improved by opening out the stage by removing the barrier from in front of it – what a difference this has made! It looks as if it’s had a good tidy and clean up too, with much more space for the musicians than I recall from previous visits – very good to see.
First support are Southampton’s excellent SkatePunk band Everyone Lies. I’ve seen these guys a few times, and they always put on a top performance, so it’s a lovely surprise to see them here supporting the headliners! Tonight they’re enjoying playing to a new crowd.
It’s their last show of 2024, and they’re shaping up remarkably well, having recently gone from a 4 to a 3-piece band. Ben on guitar shares lead vocal duties with Adam, who has moved to bass, while Locky drives the beat from the drum kit. Here’s a fast ‘n’ furious favourite from their set, ‘Biscuits’:
Hailing from just down the road in Petersfield, Hampshire, Pickled Dick are a Pop Punk trio. Irreverent, amusing and very good indeed, their banter with each other and the crowd is fun and refreshing. After I told them I’d be reviewing the gig, guitarist John kept checking in with me for my ratings! They told me they’re just playing for kicks, and that certainly comes across well. I have a huge grin on my face throughout their set!
Lead vocalist and bassist Dom impressed me with the range of his voice, and the band achieved an impressive 3-part harmony with their drummer also singing backing vocals! Quote of the night from John; “I’ve never seen anyone cleaning a pillar during our set before!” No, I don’t know why the venue manager had his cloth out either..?!
Grade 2 are a band we have always championed here at Punktuation, and with good reason! A tingle runs down my spine as Jack, Sid and Jacob take to the stage, ready to unleash the full force of Punk nature that they encompass. Sid’s bass and Jack’s guitar are interchangeable, the melody flowing seamlessly from one to the other, then back again. Sharing vocal duties and hopping between microphones, their 11 years together as a band have made them one of the tightest units around. They are energetic and lively as always, encouraging the crowd to come forward and sing along – I didn’t need any prompting!
Jacob’s drumming is as always wonderfully complimentary to his bandmates up front – his patterns and rhythms dynamic and intricate. The way these guys blend together musically is an absolute joy to behold. Grade 2 are promoting their most recent, self-titled, album, so it’s no surprise that we hear several numbers from it tonight, including ‘Judgement Day’, ‘Celine’, ‘Doing Time’, ‘Brassic’, ‘Gaslight’ and ‘Midnight Ferry’. One of my favourites ‘Fast Pace’ also made the set list:
The serious matter of cliff erosion on Grade 2’s native Isle of Wight was alluded to earlier by Pickled Dick – ‘Bowling Green Lane’ from 2019 album ‘Graveyard Island’ being about this very issue. Picking up the already rapid pace, one of four tracks played from 2018’s ‘Break The Routine’ album, ‘Turning The Tide’ saw the band accelerate even faster:
A cracking cover of Misfits ‘Where Eagles Dare’, followed by Grade 2’s ‘Only Ones I Trust’ and a joyous and celebratory ‘Under The Streetlight’ sung at full throttle by both band and crowd concluded a wonderful Monday evening of music in Guildford.
Grade 2 are currently touring across the UK – check out the dates below, and make sure you see them if you possibly can! They’re heading for Germany and The Netherlands later this month – get info and tickets for all shows HERE
Main Photo Credit / All Photos: RUTH RAE
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Usually found jumping around down the front at gigs, I also relish taking photos and videos, singing, speaking with fellow music fans, and asking musicians the questions nobody else does. Writing about my favourite bands and connecting with people who love music too keeps me more-or-less sane! I’ve worked for over 25 years at a video production company, mainly filming live music events, therefore I have an additional backstage perspective on the scene.
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