Transport woes be damned, there's rock n' roll fun to be had!
Troopers. That’s probably the best word to describe everyone involved in putting on tonight’s gig. Even a great rock n’ roll show can struggle to draw a mid-week crowd, but this week’s tube strike has brought the capital to a near standstill, and the usual colourful Shake Some Acton crowd is a bit, shall we say, depleted. But the shared view tonight seems to be that the show must go on, & the vibe at the Hope & Anchor is as upbeat and friendly as ever.
Jonny Moses And The Electric Motherfuckers play with all the verve of a band headlining their own sold-out show, and as the opening notes of ‘No Satisfaction’ burst into life, we’re instantly convinced we made the right decision to show up. Like all the best bands, they make playing gut-level punk rock n’ roll look a hell of a lot easier than it actually is, and the reality hits home during a bass and guitar mini-duel on ‘Where We Come From’. These guys have certainly got the chops to be tediously self-indulgent prog rock merchants, but they’ve also got the good taste to keep things taut, concise and gloriously catchy. A great (and sharply-dressed!) start to the evening.
Dealing With Damage are soon going to need a bigger stage. Not just because of the way vocalist/guitarist Ed and bassist Owen bounce around (keep an eye on each other’s headstocks, guys!), but because if the couple of new songs aired tonight are anything to go by, their forthcoming third album is going to be the definitive DWD record. In particular, new single ‘Wrong Sometimes’ is shot through with punk rock fury and a sense of urgency; middle-aged complacency is very much not on the horizon, it seems. The London quintet seem to get ever more fired-up and agitated with every show they play, so take our advice, and go see them before they do themselves an injury and decide to reinvent themselves as an acoustic folk-pop act. Or something like that, anyway.
Teo Wise and his band have come all the way from Italy, and from the start, it’s clear that they’re having a ball, with the main man brandishing his Flying V guitar like some kind of rock n roll rifle. Self-described as ‘spaghetti rock n’ roll’, he blends elements of punk, rock n’ roll and new wave with Italian-language lyrics, plus a generous helping of cowbell to boot. If the likes of ‘Morto Di Caldo’ and ‘Confusionale’ don’t lift your spirits and get you dancing along, we fear there’s not much hope for you; goodness knows we’re having fun, and it all feels more like a gathering of friends than a gig in the traditional sense. Teo, London loves you, and we promise we’ll be out in force to show it next time.
A triumph for music over transport-related adversity, then! Cheers to Shake Some Acton for having us, and check out details of their future gigs on the links below.
Main Photo Credit: CLARE DOWSE
Follow Shake Some Acton on Their Socials:
Need more Punk In Your Life?
Interview: Alex catches up with Mel of hardcore stalwarts Emergency Broadcast
It’s been a while since we heard hardcore that combines brawn and brains as well as London-based quartet Emergency Broadcast do on new EP ‘Make
Album review: Darkwave crew Fotocrime release ‘Security’
Harnessing the fury of Killing Joke and the man-vs-machine churn of Ministry for a new era, Fotocrime release their fifth album ‘Security’ on Friday 13th
Baz Warne’s autobiography – ‘No Grass Grows On A Busy Street: 25 Years On The Road With The Stranglers’
An intriguing, in-depth portal into Baz’s experience as guitarist and singer of one of the world’s best known bands, we become absorbed by tales of
Live review: Screeching Weasel / El Sancho / Square Shapes / The Noids, Honolulu, 28/2/26
Screeching Weasel recently played their first ever shows in Hawaii, with The Noidz, Square Shapes, and El Sancho in support on the Saturday. Our newest
EP review: Boneshakers self-titled debut release
In need of some short, sharp bursts of in-yer-face punk’n’blues, with some added scares? Then Belgium’s Boneshakers have the perfect recipe for you with their
Album review: Molly Vulpyne Band’s debut LP ‘Houndstooth and the Hum’
I was super excited to get a review copy of the Molly Vulpyne Band’s first album, ‘Houndstooth and the Hum’, having loved her previous EP
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.
Did you know that we are 100% DIY? We run our own game. No one dictates to us, and no one drives what we can or cannot put on our pages – and this is how we plan to continue!
