Old Man Fungal went to a punk rock farm - ee hi, ee hi, ho! And on that farm there were some bands ee hi, ee hi, ho! And them there bands they played some shit ee hi, ee hi, ho! And OMD did review it ee hi, ee hi ho!

Altogether now...

With a strum, strum here - a strum, strum there

Here a strum, there a strum, everywhere a strum, strum

OMD has cracked up ee hi, ee hi - hooooooooo!

At ye Thatched House in Stockport my treat in store was 3 performances by bands I was already familiar with and for 3 golden nuggets I thought it worth a viewing. From the haystacks of havoc The Distrakted kicked off proceedings and produced a set much better than the last time I saw them. A prominent performance by the bass player, a solid drumming display, nice grinding guitar and decent vocal style this was far from a strutting cockerel but still had enough 'doodle doo' to turn ones head. A few clucks, a few fucks but all in all the curve is turning up it seems. The covers didn't work although the re-working of 'New Rose' was better. 'Heroes and Idols' still remains my favourite track which is included on their demo release which I think costs a poultry (see that there - play on words or what) £2 and is reviewed here on this site.

Next up it was the 4 gaggling geese who go by the name of The Shadowcops and this was one set definitely worth a gander (not bad eh). Anyway far from a featherlight performance this was a honking hoot from start to finish and all 12 outpourings exuded high level riffology and power blasting energy. The bassist worked his wings off and the 'standing on the head whilst playing' moment was perhaps over the top but a fuckin' pleasure to watch. The golden eggs tonight were definitely 'Vehement Subterfuge', 'Putch' and 'Calling Out The Elders' with the finale of 'Tie Your Mother Down' a great cover well delivered. This lot go from strength to strength and I pity any band playing with this who may be a trifle egg bound because if they don't watch it they will be blown right out of the water - eggceptional (pathetic I know but irresistable).

And finally to the headliners and yet more feathered rapscallions who flap their wings mighty hard and produced a call of truly enjoyable proprtions. The four fowl men are as tight as you want it and with a freshly plucked drummer, two belligerent bantams on bass and guitar and a fly-away Pheasant up front The Kirks are a real good piece of entertainment. The songs seem to be blasted out better each time I see them and vocalist Max truly is a maniacal enthusiast. The comparison to a pheasant is well thought out as I consider these birds the true dickheads of the avian world and, in the nicest possible sense, this is where the similarities arise. How many of you, when driving through the country or down the motorway have seen these colourful chappies hanging around at the roadside ready to make that suicidal dash for pastures new. With manic eyes they wait and then go for it - running wildly like their arse is on fire - playing with total danger but totally absorbed and focussed on their goal. Max comes across exactly the same and what a good job the lad does. The questions are similar - will the pheasant make it - will Max look a tit or not? Very daring indeed but very entertaining. Best songs tonight 'State Of Emergency', 'Over The Top', and the superb 'Panic Earth. Brillaint and to follow on from The Shadowcops and still do this well shows a confident band in action.

As soon as the last number finished I left fairly pleased with the nights performances. I could have gone to the Ska Bar in Manchester tonight which had 6 quality bands on including Sonic Boom Six playing a secret gig (that wasn't so secret) but realised they didn't need my support as it would be rammed anyway - so my support was given where needed - nowt wrong with a bit of forethought then.

Long live the pheasant - a bird with wings who refuses to fly like the rest - and a personal fave of mine.

Review by OMD (aka Tristan - allegedly - Bastard!!!) (28 January 2008)