An international punk special courtesy of Shake Some Acton and three ace bands!
Shake Some Acton is unstoppable! Crazy to think that it was seven years ago that the first ever SSA gig took place, and now we’re fast approaching the big one hundred – with about thirty gigs in the last year alone. Here’s to many more from Mannie, and make no mistake, with bills of this quality, we’ll always be back.
This is only the second time we’ve seen Family Of Strangers, but we feel like we’ve known them for ages – an appropriate band name indeed! Lou and co are dyed-in-the-wool punk fans with plenty of stories to tell, and plenty of great tunes to back them up. They blast through the likes of ‘Predator’ and ‘Shoot Nazis’ (the latter introduced with a heartfelt dedication to the sadly recently-departed Colin Jerwood of Conflict) to the delight of a crowd that really should be bigger, but who ultimately recognise a band who still very much believe in what they do. A triumph.
Hmm, what praise can we heap upon The Phobics that we haven’t already? Well, our favourite Phobic (tonight, anyway) is bassist Tony, for various reasons. He has the longest hair; he seems to favour Ramones-style downstrokes; he kind of leans over his instrument as if it might suddenly sprout legs and run off; and despite being the only member without a microphone, he sings along anyway. Mate, we salute you!
Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that his band play some of the finest punked-up rock n’ roll these ears have heard in a long time; with the Stooges-esque ‘Brand New Jag’ and a rollicking ‘Get Your Act Together’ sounding especially formidable tonight. Do we really need to tell you to check out new album ‘Gimme Cyanide’ AGAIN?!
South Korean trio Rumkicks are armed with short, fast and infectious songs, plus an amusingly deadpan sense of humour. All good punk bands should be pissed off about something, and in Rumkicks’ case, it’s the price of British cigarettes. Dismiss them as a novelty at your peril, though, because they’ve set themselves one of the most punishing tour schedules we’ve seen in ages, and frankly, we’re in awe as to how they deliver gloriously snotty-nosed mini anthems like ‘Mosquito Fighter’ and ‘Drinking Everyday’ with such energy after so many shows. Shame we couldn’t manage a semi-decent pogo-pit in response, but the sea of grins and raucous applause are testament to a job well done.
Another great reason to have got off the sofa midweek, then, and at what is arguably THE great London punk pub! Cheers to all involved, and check out the details of future Shake Some Acton shindigs on the links below.
All Photos: ALEX GOOSE
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I spend my days teaching English to foreign students, and my evenings attending as many gigs as possible. Raised mainly on a diet of 90s third-wave punk, my tastes have grown to include just about anything from trad ska to thrash metal. The Ramones are my musical gods.
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