So it was to Newcastle for myself, Matt, my son and his mate Andy for what promised to be a good night of punk rock.We parked up and quickly found the venue, a boozer not far from the railway station with the stage in a corner. Up first were Bint a band I'd not seen before and as I didn't know they were on tonight I hadn't checked them out on myspace as I normally do with bands new to me. They are four young lads from South Shields who play good punk with an influence from both UK82 and the American scene. Not many in as is usual with early bands although as this was in a pub surely people weren't sitting in another pub waiting for the headline band. You might as well be in this pub supporting the up and coming band. Still those who were in seemed to be enjoying Bint as I was and I've now checked out http://www.myspace.com/bint123 and there are 5 songs with 2-5 being very good but I not sure about the first one and have no answers but you can't expect perfection and 4 out of 5's not bad.Definitely a band with plenty of promise who seem to be playing plenty of gigs and hopefully will get some more attention due to their hard work.

Crashed Out hit the stage next to a great reception hardly surprising as they are on their own doorstep but you don't have to be from the north east to appreciate these lads as they are pure street rock and roll. They blasted through a great set with plenty of banter and sing alongs, they had a self made live album on sale and must have shifted a few copies tonight. 'The Jarrow Song' and 'Raise Ya Glasses' went down well with the Geordie crowd as did a storming version of the upstarts 'Police Oppression'.

Up next were Goldblade who played their usual high energy set with plenty of crowd participation which included John Robb being wrestled to the ground at one time much to the amusement of the rest of the band. We all believe in the power of rock 'n' roll and when it's as much fun as this who can blame us. 'Strictly Hardcore' dedicated to Crashed Out and a few songs off the excellent new album 'Mutiny' included and the crowd were eating out of their hands.The set ended but they were shouted back on and did a rousing 'Hometurf' to finish. A great gig and well worth the drive from Carlisle to see three very good bands.