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It’s been three months since we last caught up with Shake Some Acton, and they’ve clearly hit the ground running after the Christmas break. Five quality punk and rock n’ roll bands for only a tenner? At one of east London’s best venues, no less? How could we NOT show up?
Family Of Strangers don’t seem at all fazed by having to go on first, and nor should they be, as the likes of ‘Dressed To Kill’ and ‘Disintegration Nation’ rank among the best of pogo-worthy punk tunes. The band only formed in 2023, but they’ve got plenty of punk rock service under their belts, and everything they play is delivered with the confidence and panache you’d expect of a headline band. A great start to the evening, all told.
More than any other band tonight, The Phobics look like a collection of random misfits – and that’s just one reason why we love them. After all, isn’t punk meant to be outsiders’ music? Here at Punktuation, we’re in danger of becoming something of an unofficial Phobics fan site, but what else are we to do when they keep turning in sets of this quality?
Tonight, ‘Don’t Lay Your Flowers On My Grave’ is dedicated to David Johansen and Brian James, and you get the feeling that the New York Dolls and The Damned legends are looking down and nodding approvingly at how well the Deptford quintet channel the spirit of punk’s early days on ‘Path Of Love’ and ‘Brand New Jag’. Superb stuff.
Glitter Kick bring a welcome dose of glam rock stomp and swagger to proceedings, along with vocalist Roxi’s captivating stage presence. Like most of their songs, ‘Blow Jane’ is fuelled by a beast of a riff and deservedly gets a few people sashaying away down the front. Their set seems to fly by all too quickly, and by the they close with ‘Now You Can’t’, they’ve marked themselves out as ones to watch.
Many bands impress, only a few electrify. Many bands play rock n’ roll, only a few embody it. Guess which camp Spanish quartet Deaf Devils are in? Halfway through their set of full-tilt rock n’ roll, their guitarist Pipe Dead climbs onto a table in the middle of the crowd, unleashes a squalling guitar solo and then pauses to drink a beer whilst still soloing away with one hand. Suffice to say, it’s rare that we see such dedication to showmanship!
Frontwoman Lucyfer was clearly born to do this, leading the band through a furious ‘Boom’ and ‘The Witch’ with seemingly limitless energy. They desconstruct their drum kit and rebuild it in the crowd for a final blast through The Sweet’s ‘Ballroom Blitz’, and leave us with our collective jaw dropped roughly level with our ankles. Put simply, if you truly love rock n’ roll, you NEED to see this band before they spontaneously implode onstage (or something like that). Essential.
“You’ve probably noticed we’re a man down!” That’s Menace frontman Noel, and indeed, the headliners’ guitarist Pete is currently out of action for health reasons. The band are 1977 punk veterans, though, and they’re survivors to the core – pressing ahead as a trio tonight, and deliver straight-up punk bangers like ‘Criminals In Uniform’ and ‘Leave Me Alone’ with all the vitriol of the old days. The crowd may have thinned out a bit, but those who remain are clearly a dedicated bunch, singing along raucously to a band who reward their patience in fine style.
A great evening, all told, and thanks as always to Shake Some Acton for having us! They’ve got plenty more gigs in the pipeline; be sure to keep up to date via the social links below:
Main Photo Credit / All Photos And Videos: RUTH RAE
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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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