Back down to the Iron Door for a night of quality punk rock (of this I had no doubt).  Once again not a massive crowd but the atmosphere was good despite one drunken herbert having a bad one and being thrown out before the first band was even anywhere near starting.

The Down and Outs were first on tonight and to be brutally honest on this showing they could easily have headlined.  This was absolutely brilliant and a great improvement from the last time I saw them (and they were fuckin' good then as well).  'Right Time, Wrong Place', 'Language From The Street' and 'United We Stand' were exceptional but the chant-a-long 'Boots And Braces' is a classic Oi number and what I'm sure will become a signature, namely 'We're Down And Out' was the pick of the night.  An absolute stunner this with the band obviously blending well and having a good old time.  I had a brief chat with Matt (Vocals and Guitar), Mark (Vocals and Bass) and Shaun (Drums) before the set and what nice blokes too.  Thanks Mark for the free CD and the recent record signing is well deserved.

Next was the turn of Instant Agony and as expected this was a 200mph journey into the land of hardcore and punk rock energy.  A very good set indeed with 'No Pain No Gain' and 'Think of England' being the pick however my personal fave 'No Sign Of Life' rounded off a good 40 minute set.  Since Agony have adopted a no arsing approach they have come on in leaps and bounds and I have no doubts will get some good shows.  And not before time.

Finally the maniacal retro punk of The Briefs was being blasted forth by a quartet who obviously know each other inside out.  Tight and well rehearsed this slice of American Punk tasted just great.  I'm always apprehensive when going to see a Yankee punk band because to be honest a lot of it sounds very similar.  The good bands like Bonecrusher, Discontent, Anti-Flag and obviously The Dead Kennedys stand out from a somewhat stereotypical bunch but the Briefs can be added to the more memorable acts.  Like a frankenstein hotch potch of The Rezillos, The Dickies, The Adverts and  some early novelty punk act this was a charming spectacle.  An abundance of talent mixed with some good musical ditty's I would certainly recommend The Briefs to anyone interested.  'Poor and Weird' and 'Looking Through Gary Glitters Eyes' were memorable but the whole set was a peach.  Well happy.

So another pilgrimage to The Iron Door was complete.  With low crowds and entrance fees I don't know how they get the quality acts they do but I ain't complaining - once again another good nights punking.

The Down and Outs and Instant Agony are scheduled to play on one of my gigs on Sept 5th 2005 namely The Scouse Twat Invasion - what a piece of good fortune.  Whose a lucky boy then?