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Review: 'Rebellion Festival 2018 Day four'
'Winter Gardens Blackpool'   

-  Album: 'P.I.L. Michael Monroe The Vibrators Nightingales' -  Label: 'Crisis The Struggle The Derellas Resistance 77'
-  Genre: 'Punk/New Wave' -  Release Date: '5.8.18.'-  Catalogue No: 'Batallion Of Saints Brassknuckle Boys Glittertrash'

Our Rating:
Yes the last day of another great Rebellion had arrived and as tired as we felt it was time for one more great days music that we thought might start with Radiostorm but I found them so annoying that I had to leave the Club Casbah after about a song and a half of their dumb sounding US Hard Core I just didn't get it.

So instead we went to the Rebellion Introducing stage for the first time this weekend to find White Ribbons who are a band who formed to help spread the word on behalf of www.whiteribbon.org.uk to help to stand up to bullying and sexism and male violence sadly inspired by the tragic murder of Sophie Lancaster for being Goth. Now that all said and done the bands Singer Brian Mitchell is wearing what looks like his mums skirt while playing angsty punk with a good message and the best bit was they closed with a very funny version of Making Your Mind up Buck Fizz's legendary Punk single, blimey they made singing for a good cause great fun!

We then nipped over to the Empress Ballroom for the incredible Glittertrash to keep us smiling as they are a brilliant cross breed of the Electric Chairs meets White Trash Debutantes and the Toilet Boys in a dodgy Detroit Club ready to crucify us on a Sunday with street walking guitars Hustling singing Jenna Talia's Chopper's and her Monkey Man who was nothing like Neville Staples Monkey Man!

Did we believe Jenna Talia's claims it's Only You no but damn neither did she as they rampaged over the stage while claiming that baby was PCP star and closing with a great version of the barbarians classic Are You A Boy Or Are you A Girl done more in the style of Jayne Country but with a dose of Ginger Coyote thrown in for good measure they were loads of fun.

We then caught the last two songs the Brassknuckle Boys played in The Pavilion and yes as you can probably guess they play skinhead Oi! street punk and did a good version of The Ramones I Believe In Miracles.

We then went back into the Empress Ballroom for a real random choice and Battalion Of Saints to make us laugh at their oh so serious Thrash AAARRRRGGHH screamo gender neutral Hardcore from San Diego after a couple of songs we retreated to the balcony seats at the back of the ballroom so we could sit taking the piss out of how seriously they took themselves while just making us laugh which I'm sure isn't the bands intention but by this point of the festival they just made us laugh and at the same time we couldn't leave.

It was then time for Resistance 77 to play there annual stormer of an afternoon set of power pop street punk that's often been misunderstood by all sorts of people who hopefully find out that they are not what you might think they are and they suggest we All Do Something about it. I did I changed my mind the first time I saw them live and finally got that they are all about making the world a better place to be a Thoroughbred Man and letting Stuart Meadows prove what a great drummer he is for the second time this weekend as he'll Always Be A Punk and they'll always be chasing that Chelsea Girl while getting everyone singing along to Long time Dead and the closer We'll Never Die.

Then via the Cafe and the sweet shop we ended up in The Opera house just in time for The Derellas to bring some good London Adrenaline fuelled glam punk with new singer Joe Maddox fitting in well as they blasted through Strung Out Sin City as they were still well aware She's A Pistol and damn it was like we were being strafed with Guitar shards from Luca. Still it's great to hear Soho Hotel blasting out in Blackpool like the proper Freakshow it needs to be as they plead that they wanna Be Your Baby of course they do as they rip it up like the Highrise Superstars that they are. All that left time for was to make sure that Looking For You could be played nice and fast and damn they were good fun.

We then went to The Pavilion to give The Struggle a second chance as the first time I saw them was I think the band's first London show and it was in a toilet with terrible sound problems and they hadn’t quite got it together. Well this time round a couple of years later and no worries about that as the 2 Chris Wrights and pals have their angry street punk with almost leaflet style lyrics Wake Us all up and get us banging our heads and singing while we wonder if the pretty Chris is asking do You Wanna War before telling us you Bore Me to Death and damn they now have total Self Control and are as tight as can be as we all get going to Expose The Truth of What It's All About as they can't help noticing Tension rising. This was a great set and glad to hear them sounding proper good.

Well as we were well knackered by this point the appeal of the seats in the Opera House were growing so we went and caught the last three songs by Anarcho Squat Punk legends Crisis who sounded pretty much as crusty as expected and they finished with a song about Concentration camps during which Lloyd the singer names the camps it's a powerful tune.

Next Up in the Opera House are The Nightingales whose new album Perish the Thought arrived for review just before we came to Rebellion so I hadn't had a chance to listen to it yet, but have time as it's not out till October. Now as usual with Nightingales no matter how many times I see them I can never name any of the songs that Robert Lloyd mumbles moans and barks through it's like he's Hypnotised me or the bands intense rhythms and Fliss Kitson's powerhouse drums have us shouting Hey Alligator and Jesus Christ was a refugee while wondering how great Dirtbox Disco are who are also on at the same time. And the only kind of Fight this lot are really ready for it the fight to keep lyrics and music obtuse and make us want to keep hearing what they are up to a cool set.

Still slumped in the opera House The Vibrators are on next to try to get us moving this is the current 3 pieced line up and as usual they are great fun Automatic Lover is the first song that really gets everyone perking up and ready for Troops Of Tomorrow and the wonderful garage punk of Have Love Will Travel and the best version of Sound Of The Suburbs we heard all weekend. Yes I think the whole room sang along to Baby Baby, although a few of us worried when they sang Judy Says as being Knocked In The Head is the last thing we need this far Into a festival, still they closed with a great version of Disco in Moscow to leave us wanting more.

We then went down the front to wait for Michael Monroe and to wait some more as he was the only act of the weekend to come on more than 15 minutes late that was only acceptable as he was the last act of the weekend in The Opera House. Still when they finally did come on they opened with a primal blast through Nothing's Alright that saw him standing on the barrier and running all over the place and then on 78 it looked like Sami Yaffa and Steve Conte were trying to out manoeuvre each other as this band couldn't stop or stand still. Yes it's a Modern Day Miracle that people still doubt the bands punk credentials but really they are Not Fakin' it this was the real 1000 mile an hour deal.

Michael had the odd grumble between songs about what we are rebelling against and being forced to play to time but When The Ship Goes down he'll still be raging and playing it up and making us all thing as he does on the Ballad Of The Lower East Side a song about what made New York perfect for Punk back in the 70's. Trick Of The Wrist was as frantic as it gets and Hammersmith Palais rocked us all. Before they slowed it down for Don't You Ever Leave Me Baby that was momentary pause before we all had another Malibu Beach Nightmare that you could also have on Blackpool pleasure beach this weekend.

Up Around The Bend sounded almost like it was out of control before they closed with Dead Jail Rock & Roll and despite running over they still came back for an well-deserved encore that fused The Heartbreakers I Wanna Be Loved into a good chunk of The Stooges 1970 (Feel Alright) to leave us all smiling and happy.

We really should have called it a day and left but decided we had to make the effort of go and see P.I.L. close the Empress Ballroom and the festival and John Lydon was on truly rotten form opening the bands set with a Tirade against Jeremy Corbyn and claiming that John Is Jew whatever that means before playing a truly turgid set that from the opening Warrior seemed set to one pace and that the drummer and bass player only had one pace while John look like an 1980's butch dyke who didn't know who to bitch at first.

It only took about 3 songs of this torpor for the crowd to start to thin and gaps begin to open up as people drifted off in search of a Kebab or some chips anything but this dead on arrival Death Disco yes we all agree when John sings I'm Not Satisfied as it sounds so boring. Even getting to the greatest hits section of the set didn't improve things as you could barely tell they were murdering This Is Not A Love Song and the closing Rise just seemed ready to sink without trace.

They had lost over half the audience and almost no one shouted for more and yet they still came back for an unearned encore that featured a decent go at Public Image before they mauled Open Up and then finished with his tribute to Beavis and Butthead the childish and crap swearathon of Shoom that just made sure any of us that stayed till the end knew he's lost it.

It was a sad way to end a great festival and the chips on the way back to the B & B had more class that Johnny boy did but I'd still like to thank everyone who worked to make Rebellion once again one of the best weekends I could imagine having.


  author: simonovitch

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