1st July – Burton on Trent – The Appleby
Just about recovered from cider-rum attack, which is at its deadliest when given freely… Support was in the guise of Stonemonkey, who were a guitarist short but still played a great set and Midnight Lychen Party, who were simply stunning with their angst-ridden noise. They throw in a mix of Fugazi, 80s Matchbox, Sonic Youth and a sprinkling of Birthday Party; it’s all truly jaw-dropping. We were pleased with our set, though Kimbo did put the pedal to the metal for AFG. A great gig and memorable drinking sesh! I had the hangover from hell next morning, even the smell of a fry-up was making me gag! We crawled bleary-eyed up to Sheffield to drop Kimbo’s car off at home and then Snake Pass-ed it to Wakefield. Glorious day and stunning views.
Tour poster
2nd July – Wakefield – The Snooty Fox
We effin’ love this venue. Malc, the owner, puts so much heart and soul into the place and Terrorizer magazine seem to have recognised the fact, hence it being publicised as a Grindhouse gig. The turnout was the best we’ve had there and being streamed on the net whilst playing is a great bonus. Shame we couldn’t afford the DVD of the performance this time. All the bands were on fire that night and we rocked it up big time! After our set Agonyst took the stage and this Norfolk-based four piece were nothing short of stunning… Crazy time signatures, a standard of playing not often seen and a great set. Off stage they were really friendly and full of admiration of Slab’s music. For me the highlight was watching their bass player, Weanie (he’s a big lad!), play his five string. He actually played all five strings – no bullshit posturing – knocking out crazy jazz/metal riffs all the way.
Back to Kimbo’s ranch for a well-earned kip.
3rd July – Ashton-under Lyme – The Station
Last time we played here it was bloody freezing, but immensely enjoyable. This time it was baking hot and doubly immensely enjoyable. Keith from 3CR had organised it all and they were first up on the bill. Described as ‘obnoxious punk bastards’, they are exactly as it says on the tin and are a sight to behold! Leave your morals at the door ‘cos 3CR don’t fuck about telling you how it is – but they do it in hilarious fashion. Boggy, their singer/bassist had me in stitches, singing through such classics as She Bummed Me as waves of beer mats and bags of crisps bounced off his huge frame. 3CR are incredible!
Now here’s the embarrassing bit. I’ve completely forgotten who the second band were… they had a female vocalist and were from County Durham… I think. I will speak to the oracle that is Jake and re-edit this blog asap. Apologies to the band.
Then it was our turn. We bludgeoned the punk crowd with as many songs as possible in our 35 minute slot, making sure that we included Chaos Bastard for Keith. An encore of The Nihilist went down a treat. No young children running around to avoid with my bass guitar this time, just a load of beer mats after Jake mused over the mic that we were feeling left out!! Nice one, Chum!
Headliners were Threats from Edinburgh. Proper old skool punk was blasted our way without sounding at all dated. These guys have been going since ’79 so they know exactly what they’re doing! Really tight set by a class act.
A big, big thanks to Keith again for organising another great gig at The Station!
And so the tour of The North hit a brief hiatus. Kimbo trundled back to Sheffield to try and break the back of his workload for a couple of days, while Jake and myself got the van of war back to Brum, nursing our beer mat wounds and still slightly hungover heads. My two days off flew by via sleep and playing very crappily online on Halo : Reach.
P.S. Thanks to Derbyshire Police for the speeding fine and the lovely photo of the ‘van of war’ on their website. We’ll do anything for free publicity!
6th July – KRAAK – Manchester
In the blink of an eye it was the tour’s second leg. The first leg had comprised of venues we had played before, but now we were moving into unknown territory. The Manchester gig had originally been at The Cavendish, but something had gone wrong at the venue, so a quick switcheroo was made for the KRAAK to hold it. Our good mates, MWP, are always on the ball. The venue is used mainly for art installations, but has music events lined-up for it and rightly so. The sound was truly inspiring and we were feeling on top form after our soundcheck.
Turnout-wise it was slightly disappointing, though the venue doesn’t even have any signage, yet!?! Keith from 3CR had made it down from Ashton and it was great to see Lewis’s sister Debs come along for the ride.
First on were The Fiction. Amazing young band, who knocked-out some killer tunes, that had the polished vibe of Killswitch Engage.
Then in front of the small crowd we blasted out a deafening set. People were really digging the Slabbage before them and we shifted a load of merchandise that night!! Thank you, Manchester! Still can’t get used to signing stuff and I always manage to put a swear word in my name. He! He!
Then MWP took to the stage. Hassan and Paddy – guitar and bass, respectively and drummer Dion, were fronted by new vocalist Michelle and my god they are beyond awesome!! Industrial grooves blasted with thrash attitude and a female singer with a demonic range!
7th July – Club Victoria – Carlisle
After a surprisingly good night’s kip in the van, parked at a service station somewhere between Manchester and Carlisle, we arrived at the venue ridiculously early. Being of creative and logistical minds, we set out for the nearest village; if our calculations were correct then the local pub would be open by the time we got there!
We entered the picturesque village of Wetheral and parked outside The Wheatsheaf, only to find it wasn’t opening for another hour! So some exploring found us next to a river, spanned by a monolithic viaduct
which we’d got to via Wetheral Railway Station (The Railway Children, anyone?) and a series of over 90 steps down a wooded embankment.
Now we were effin’ hungry and needed to quaff the nearest pint…
To the Pub!!
Two pints and a burger later we were ready to hit Carlisle, again.
Club Victoria is an anomaly amongst venues. It’s an amazing building, steeped in history, with the venue’s professional stage in the basement (already trodden by GBH and Yellowman) and most importantly, they make pizzas!! Proprietor, Martin, is a real character and made us feel welcome from the off.