Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Learn To Skank (again)…
More ska down at the Craufurd, but this time a little more up to date with the likes of Sonic Boom Six making an appearance that seems to have attracted a lot of fans down. They might have experimented and evolved a bit, but offbeats still beat at the heart. The same goes for the support too, Knock Out, our own Anti Vigilante and War Against Sound drop down to warm things up.
Aug.21.09
Back to normal at AMPjam HQ, or my room at least anyway. After a flurry of big local events it’s time to settle back into the normal gigs, starting with a visit from Skaville UK at the Craufurd Arms, featuring a lot of old school talent that have had experience from The Specials, The Selecter and Bad Manners, among others. And let’s not forget the vocal talents of Rhoda Dakar of The Bodysnatchers lending a hand too. Support on the night was originally to be from Titan System, but complications led to local offbeat purveyors, Anti Vigilante, taking up the support slot in their stead.
Aug.08.09
It feels a bit weird now as I’ve realised that a year of AMPjam really has come full-circle, Live!zone was one of the first “proper” articles I covered and I find myself back at the event once more. Last year cut it close, but this time I was ready for a long day with an actual battery pack and plenty of money for some mochas or any other source of the caffiene I needed. When I finally get myself sorted and waiting for the day to start, there’s not much to do but have a laugh at Oz and the crew going through soundcheck like a band about to play at Wembley, good times.
Apr. 23. 2009
Backstage Productions return once again to put a couple more bands on in the halls of Stantonbury. The gig is partially a postponed one, if you remember February and all the snow that stopped most of the gigs, Backstage also got hit. It was meant to be a headline slot for local ska band, Anti Vigilante, so they make a return alongside a group of lads who go under the name of Duke of Marmalade. It feels a little weird when the gig starts and it’s still bright outside, but if that means summer is on the way then all the better.
I remember reading an interesting article recently about the punk genre and the bands influenced by it. Quite a few of the old-school orientated fans and bands shown how punk was becoming watered down as it became less political. They had a good point too, pop-punk is especially suspect, though you could also see it as a totally independent genre. But all is not lost, Anti Vigilante had recently completed their album and politics are very much the focus of the material.
Kicking off our first interview, I get to meet up with Anti-Vigilante down in Wolverton. For those who don’t know, A-V have been going for a few years, becoming one of the more well-known of the younger local punk bands known for some really energetic stage antics with the band jumping around with the energy of a Duracel Rabbit. Arriving at the scene, the guys are just finishing off a portion of chips, then it’s off to get a drink and off to the “Secret Garden” for a chat with how the guys are doing these days.
It’s hard to believe it, but Beatdown has been going for pretty much about a year now. I remember Oz telling me about the lineup earlier in the year and I was already looking forward to it. Fandangle headline the show, a band I haven’t seen for about five years. With the Canadian troupe of The Johnstones supporting them on the current tour, plus support from the Beatdown regulars like Anti-Vigilante, Shaping The End and Near The Knuckle opening the show too, it’s already looking like one hell of a night.
Gah, another later than usual blog, though the Blitz review was taking up quite some time. Anyway, onto the actual damn content. This one’s devoted to something a found while giving my room a bit of a clearout. The second time I went to APT they released a fanzine, this was named “Forbidden Beat”. However the coverage was far wider than what me or Warren cover, it actually transcended music and even went onto politics and such. Unfortunately the ‘zine has only one issue released in 2007.
Disconick is going to shave off his beard, Big Oz is running around and so is everyone else. It could be a bout of madness, but the team at Beatdown and the Sno bar have never thought any clearer and have teamed up with Radio One’s Introducing for the greater good. Welcome to Livezone, most probably the biggest charity gig in Milton Keynes this year, with every penny going to Willen Hospice, with 2 stages (Introducing and Marshall), a mighty lineup of twenty-six bands and, most importantly, a good cause.
It’s day two of MK4U 2008 and it is muggy as hell, but a veggie burger and hot chocolate soon sort things out and I make my way to the Create Tent for some live bands The lineup is decidedly more chilled out this time around, leaning towards a few alternative and acoustic acts that seem to compensate for the amount of metal bands on yesterday, fingers crossed both the weather and the music turn out alright on this not-so-summery day.
