A vibrant night of Pop Punk by two amazing bands!
For this evening’s gig we had the pleasure of Voodoo Radio followed by Shonen Knife at The Facebar in Reading. Many thanks to Steven Siddle and Nigel Poole from Club Velocity for what turned out to be a brilliant evening of Punk. It was great to see a packed room full of people, all there to see these two great bands. A fantastic crowd for a Thursday evening!
The support band tonight was Voodoo Radio. The band is made up of a Pop/Punk daughter-father duo from Cumbria; drummer/singer Paige Cook and guitarist Tony Cook. I’m lucky enough to have seen them before a few times so I made sure I didn’t miss them and their great punk/pop show and their thunderous beats. I first saw Voodoo Radio at Facebar a few years ago and fell in love with what they do then. You’ll also see them at Rebellion Festival.
They began with ‘Eat Your Words‘, and the interaction was fantastic between Tony, who stood to one side rocking out, and Paige taking centre stage, giving the killer beats. I have noticed they do like to involve the crowd when given a chance, it’s not just about them but the crowd as well. That brings us on nicely to ‘Pretty Boy‘ where Paige picks an unsuspecting ‘victim’ in the crowd and informs us that this track is about him..
Throughout Voodoo Radio’s set, the crunching guitar riffs from Tony and the snare drum beat from Paige, along with her powerful vocals, really work, pumping out loads of energy. During ‘Basic Bitch‘ Tony hit us with a solo that was just magic and really did get the crowd going.
It was a fist pumping, leg stomping show, that was full of banter, cheer and sheer quality. Thank you, Paige and Tony, for the great start to the evening!
With the crowd now suitably warmed up (it would be rude to call us hot and sweaty!), it was time for Japanese Punk Rock veterans Shonen Knife. An all-women band who I hadn’t seen before, comprised of sisters Naoko (lead vocal/guitar) and Atsuko Yamano (bass/vocals) along with Risa Kawano (drums/vocals).
The happiest and most charming band I’ve seen for a long time! They don’t sing about the bad things, they sing about the things they like, which is mainly delicious food along with what makes life worth living, while playing power chords and drums along with all three of them taking turns to sing. They have their own unique style, dressed in coordinated retro outfits.
Shonen Knife have been going for over 40 years and are still making a great noise and jumping around on the stage. They have played before in Reading, originally at the Reading Festival in the early 90’s.
With song titles like ‘Ice Cream City’, ‘Afternoon Tea’ and ‘Banana Chips’ which were on the set list tonight, it gives you the overall vibe of the show. The tracks rolled on and Naoko confirmed to everybody their love for delicious food with ‘Sweet Candy Power’, including a singalong chant of “Candy! Candy!” which had everybody joining in. They rattled through their set with little or no break in between songs. A couple of songs later saw them saying their goodbyes before leaving the stage.
With a huge cheer from the crowd, Shonen Knife returned for their encore, all of them wearing the band’s tour T-shirts. A great way to advertise their well-stocked merch stall! The first song was ‘Sushi Bar Song‘, with the chorus “Sushi, sushi, sushi bar! Going to a sushi bar!” They finished with their tribute to the Ramones with a cover of the 1976 hit ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’, a great track that was a very fitting end to a great evening.
Having never seen Shonen Knife before, I was a little sceptical about them at first, but it turns out I had nothing to worry about – I was so glad I went and they are a band I would highly recommend. If you get the chance, go and see them! A good, fun and happy Punk band.
What a brilliant evening of live music in a very busy and hot room, with everybody enjoying listening to two excellent bands! It was nice that the members of both bands stayed around after the show, which gave their fans (some new, some old) a chance to meet them. Something I’ve always appreciated, when band members make time for their fans.
Last and by no means least, not forgetting the sound engineer – many thanks to Aaron Iley, the audio was ace! I liked the note on the set list that he was given by Shonen Knife; it said “We need LOUD HARD ROCK sound”. Well, that is exactly what we got!!
Catch Shonen Knife on their ‘Have A Knife Day‘ 2025 UK tour:
Jun 3rd – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
Jun 5th – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Jun 6th – The Crescent, York
Jun 7th – Pop Recs, Sunderland
Jun 8th – Oran Mor, Glasgow
Jun 9th – Cavern Club, Liverpool
Jun 10th – Night & Day, Manchester
Jun 11th – Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath
Jun 12th – Fuel Rock Club, Cardiff
Jun14th – Garage, London
Jun 15th – Esquires, Bedford
Main Photo Credit / All Photos: IAN LADLOW
- Buttercup
- Twist Barbie
- Jump into the New World
- MUJINTO ROCK
- Vamous Taquitos
- Afternoon Tea
- Ice Cream City
- Ghost Train
- Bad Luck Song
- I Am A Cat
- Cookie Day
- Wasabi
- Green Tea
- Tomato Head
- Party
- Sweet Candy Power
- Banana Chips
- Riding The Rocket
Encore:
- Sushi Bar Song
- Top of the World
Follow Shonen Knife on Their Socials:
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