A P4TH gig kicks off very late due to major issues, least of all the venue being broken into the day before, an ill soundman and countless technical hitches before and throughout the day but continue reading and see how the day turned out.

J.D. - A last minute addition to the day due to 4 bands pulling out (all with good reason). Anarcho, punky, acoustic, singer song writer with a hatred for Thatcherism and the right - in general a good chap. Well-crafted songmanship and great stage presence. Venom which even Eagle Spits could be proud of. Tell em' how it is... Punk is an attitude and here we have a chap whose songs are full of attitude from beginning of his set to the end. He started and finished with the same song which was about partying after seeing on the telly that Maggie had died - no liberal arsed attitude, fence sitting here. Think Billy Bragg getting a kickin from Andy T and your atlas is open on the right page.  We loved him and moved onto the next act.

Saving Sebastian - Young, enthusiastic, NOFX loving pop punksters who gave it their all and warmed the cockles of our hearts. These lads were having fun and the fun rubbed off. Again well-crafted songs with enthusiasm and exuberance. Do not blink, you will miss something, possibly an energetic convulsion, clever riffage or a witty one liner, whatever you could miss, don't... A wonderful youthful set with boyish good looks and charm.

Brassick kick into action next with a fine set of good time, fun loving, anti-prejudice, girl fronted punk rock and jolly fine it is too. Catchy and dancey as a St Vitas epidemic.  Unfortunately a bit of sound quality was lost during the set but they battled on courageously and presented themselves as a spot on band. Not seen em’ - DO SO!

No good looks or charm in the next act. Full on Throbbing Gristle poetic mayhem. Its punk “but not as we know it” With yours truly on gob duty and Unune on keys, lap top and everything else. Yep we are Spitune, discordant noise with angry, echoey, distorted vocals and loads of rolling about on the floor. “We have come to fuck you over”.

Toxins, featuring the hairy bass player from Brocker on guitar and vocals. It’s the first time I have seen this 3 piece and they were tight and modern with grunge overtones (not Undertones Jimmy). Combining many influences from classic punk outfits and elements of grunge greats to create a sound familiar but distinctively their own. A tidy package of solid tuneage.

Headstone Horrors - Exceptionally high quality horror punk with the lass who used to sing for Girlfixer. “Broken hearts and body parts” and other fine titles and lyrics of the horror movie variety. I love this stuff, I love Hammer (not you Rev). ¾ way through the set trouble hits the bass player, crunch, crunch, hell, concern that Dunk's (Mispelt) amp might have blown. Much messing around, an abandoned set but turns out nothing more than a dodgy lead (thank goodness). Major shame the set was shortened but what we got was enjoyable in the extreme so nice one and I look forward to catching em’ next time.

Rude and Reckless - one guitarist down today but still rage on. Young band, doing the rounds and making a name for themselves due to quality musicianship, good songs, catchy tunes, no pretence and bloody hard work. You will find no gimmicks here but you will find bucket full of energy and punk rock attitude of a friendly variety. Slight elements of old skool sitting side by side with new skool in a young punk beast body. Another one to watch.

Mispelt 2.0 - Truly wonderful. In my opinion (which in the final analysis is the only one that matters) Mispelt can do no wrong. Top musicianship, exceptionally nice people. 100% punk rock, well written songs with thoughtful content and a little girl singer who runs about all over the venue doing sweet, little quirky dances. Tuneful punk rock from people who give a fuck. Truly wonderful tonight as ever - nothing left to be said.

Static Kill - 3 blokes, 2 acoustic guitars, 1 bass and 3 chairs equals a bloody great set of acoustic punk. Tight and polished but without the edges rubbed off. An obvious love for The Clash and reggae with a great SLF cover. Tonight the audience were into Static Kill and with good reason. They played what they loved and loved to play it. I was enthusiastically singing along, especially to their cover of ‘Garageland’. Their own songs stood up alongside their covers and they made the covers their own. Job well done.

Maid of Ace - Young girls with big balls, tight as tight gets and fighting fit. The words “blown away” spring to mind. Elements of The Distillers to be sure but it would appear that Maid of Ace were born to do what they are doing. Sometimes bands can use angles to get themselves noticed. The only angle these girls need is the fact that they are musically far superior than many punk bands who have been doing it for decades. The sisters are indeed doing it for themselves (and me). Those in attendance loved em’ and the lasses got the respect they deserved. No sleep til Hastings!

For the past couple of hours we have been running at least 90 minutes behind and the sound guy/venue owner (good guy Baz) gets carted off in an ambulance (thank goodness he’s ok now) so there seems little chance of pulling things together. We have already had to swap bands around to make things work and the next band, all the way from South Wales were more than accommodating. God bless you and your male voice choirs.

So Trackstar/Pornstar take the stage. Likeable chaps with broad Welsh accents and an ear for a bloody good tune. Trackstar/Pornstar rise from the ashes of 100000 Body Bags and Dead Radio and produce a serious sided political beast (with tracks like “We’ve Got A Problem” and “Here Come The Police”, nicely anti- authoritarian but with a great sense of humour as evidenced with their choice of covers “Runaway” (best version I have ever heard) and ‘Heart of Glass’, both done with punk as gusto. Unashamedly punk rock, simple as, played bloody well and thoroughly entertaining. Nice slab of punkiness with two veg, everyone enjoyed em’ and loved their attitude. They too reckon they had a great weekend despite playing a couple of hours late, getting stuck in a major traffic jam on the way home the next day and running out of diesel in the middle of nowhere somewhere in South Wales. Top lads.

Brocker, young band, old friends of Punk 4 The Homeless. Exceptionally energetic, catchy, three piece. No pretension just ability. We dance again to some fine punk rock, with twinges of ska and flamenco. A tight, well-oiled lithe creature which doesn’t need to growl, its presence is enough to make you run about and “go wild”. Brocker enjoy what they do and the smiles on the band speak volumes “we are having a ball, come and join us” - so we do. Brocker is a wholesome tasty dish, best served sweaty, so we partake of a fine feast and enjoy every morsel.

Penultimate band then, Bersicker, full raging, hard as nails d-beat. Intelligent political lyrics set to powerful, very, hardcore punk. Aggressive, non-stop barrage of in your face brutality done from the right (not wing) perspective. I love this band. A most unpleasant beast, I am pleased it’s on my side. A twenty minutes set of intensity. Like Aslan, “He isn’t safe but he is good”. Stay on the offensive. The audience also much approved.

Lastly (and thanx for hanging around) The Black Marias. “Street punk erberts from Peterborough”. Punk or Oi ? Who gives a shit? The Black Marias are brilliant. They make singy, shouty music which gets you moving and smiling. These guys are fun and witty. “Silent Treatment” about getting the silent treatment is a song all us blokes who like a pint can relate to. Their  “Minority Report” is as funny as anything ever put out by The Test Tubes or Splodge but as clever as a young Einstein. Yep, humour for those slightly less puerile (counts me out). It was getting late so those who had to go had but those who remained danced their blumming socks off. I was knackered (I slept all of Sunday). When a band seems to be having so much fun onstage it’s almost impossible for the audience not to enjoy themselves. Those there enjoyed themselves immensely. “This Is The ALF” (Alcoholic’s Liberation Front) yep, anything which extracts the urine out of P.C. is greedily consumed by me. It’s not all comedic punk rock with The Black Marias, there are several good points to be put across within the humour. However they are bloody good fun and a real treat. Get their albums, get to see em’ etc. The world needs more bands like The Black Marias we all need fun in our lives and loads of earnest folk out there need the piss taking out of em’.

Analysis, we battled through, despite. Several people had a load of fun, we helped some very needy street children. A major thanx to the bands, the punters, Rachel Joy Eagling for door, raffle etc., venue staff, and especially Baz Barrett, pleased you are ok m8.

review by Eagle Spits (30 June2013)