1,375 STIFF LITTLE FINGERS, Ricky Warwick and the Fighting Hearts, Bristol O2 Academy, Friday 21st March 2025

 

Tale as old as time… or at least one as familiar as old socks! Every year the SLF tour is announced, every year a thought flits through my mind saying, maybe it’s time to pack this in, pop this tradition on the shelf after a couple of decades… yet pretty much every year I find a reason to go. This time it was its’ very familiarity that gave me the impetus; after initially hesitating, I then considered that, given the awful events of late last year with my wife’s cancer diagnosis (which happily seems to be responding to the prescribed treatment), a familiar night out in the company of old friends, singing along raucously to some equally familiar anthemic old school punk, might be just the ticket. So, my Chrimbo list ultimately included one Fingers Brizzle ticket, and “Mad March to Bristol” Take 17 (in 21 years, and 22^nd SLF gig overall) was on…!

As the date arrived, however, I unfortunately wasn’t the only one in need of some familiarity; my long-time best mate and constant “Mad March” gig buddy Rich sadly lost his dad in the preceding week. Gratifyingly, Rich took the same stance that I did after hitting the gig trail a couple of days after my mother’s passing, insofar as doing something that gives life meaning and value, such as “live” music always seems to do for me, is the best way to honour those passed. I therefore picked The Big Man up, also scooping up old school friend and, astonishingly, SLF first timer Keith on the way for a swift drive down before the M4 shut at 7. In the venue, we toasted to the memory of Rich’s dad, before taking our usual house left spot on the fringes of the anticipated mosh area (this becomes a bit more relevant later!) for openers, SLF main man Jake Burns’ old mate Ricky Warwick and his Fighting Hearts. The hard-hitting and hard-rocking opener set the tone, with strong-armed US rock riffery overlaid by Warwick’s Phil Lynott-esque delivery (no surprise, that, given I saw him fronting an ersatz Lizzy line-up at the Meca, many moons ago – gig 819!) and lyrical references to “roads to ragged ruin” and “angels of desolation”. Some musical nods to Thin Lizzy as well, in a later “new” number, and I also liked both the tinges of Gaslight Anthem in the singalong “oh-oh”s of “When Patsy Cline Was Crazy”, albeit shot through an Aerosmith rather than Springsteen filter, and the ragged cover of old US punker Johnny Thunders’ “Born To Lose”. Overall, though, this was earnest music to spit tobacco and ride Harleys to, which whilst palatable, wasn’t my thing.

Took a loo break and bumped into Rach’s old friends and fellow “Shiiiners” Duncan and Rick, also popping their SLF cherries tonight (Duncan exclaiming this as his first “punk rock show!”), before shoehorning my way back to our now very crowded spot. If this wasn’t a sell-out on the night, it was damn close… The Greatest Intro Music in Rock, the pounding drums and soaring “diddly-doo!” singalong of “Go For It” saw the imposing girth of Jake Burns lead the band onstage at 9, greeting us as ever with a cheery “Bristol, how you doing? Y’allright?” then hurtling into opener “Roots Radicals Rockers and Reggae”, the buoyant and engaged crowd lustily chanting back the “Go For It!” hook, the band then segueing seamlessly into the dramatic drumroll opening of “At The Edge”, followed again in equally short order by a venomous “Wasted Life”. Not fucking about tonight, this lot…!

Thankfully, momentum was maintained; despite going off-piste with some mid-set song choices, Stiff Little Fingers delivered one of their better performances of recent times and ended their tour (tomorrow’s London date notwithstanding) on a real high. An excellent “Strummerville” preceded “story time” from Jake, explaining the sleazy slum lord ancestry of “the greatest spoiled brat the world has ever seen!”, i.e. the orange buffoon incumbent of the White House, a pointed newie “Mary’s Boy Child” (no, not that one) hammering the point home that, “Mary’s parenting skills were shite!” An unexpected “Straw Dogs” nearly saw me joining the mosh, but, after an unexpected deep cut of a fine “Piccadilly Circus” and a diatribe about looking out for each other’s mental health prior to “My Dark Places”, I was eventually swept in thanks to a flurry of big blokes piling past me for “Nobody’s Hero”, detaching me from my crew. So, why the fuck not? Thereafter, the rest of the set for me was an object lesson in staying upright in the hectic mosh, grabbing on to folks for dear life (including my old punk buddy Plum!), and blasting out the lyrics of “Hero”, a brilliantly widescreen “Tin Soldiers”, a savage “Suspect Device” and unexpected set closer “Gotta Getaway” into fellow moshers’ faces, and having them shouted back with equal conviction. Nice!

Rakish bassist Ali McMordie then addressed us “old scrots, like us!”, also noting some younger fans amongst the crowd, before the first encore of “Barbed Wire Love” saw me finding Rich for our traditional mid-song doo-wop waltz. “Alternative Ulster” ended a breathless (quite literally from my mosh position!) and redemptive set, the band taking a deserved bow, then a relatively easy setlist and a pause for breath got us back in the car in short order to tackle a less arduous than expected diversion, home just after midnight, late kebab tea in tow. “Thanks, that was just what I needed,” said The Big Man as I dropped him off, although the feeling tonight was entirely mutual. The tale continues…

1,317 STIFF LITTLE FINGERS, Glen Matlock, Bristol O2 Academy, Wednesday 13th March 2024

 

After a year’s pause, it’s Stiff Little Fingers’ “Mad March to Bristol” time again! I actually gave this one a very very late call indeed, only booking tix at the end of February as there was a slight possibility that my recovery from my recent knee replacement op might be sufficiently swift to allow me to drive up to Birmingham for the clashing Echo and the Bunnymen gig. I’m recovering quickly, but not that quickly, however, and not wishing to jeopardise my pre-set plans to drive to London this coming Saturday for The Pixies’ gig with Logan, I happily went for this alternative, joining “The Big Man” for an almost annual excursion of late – 16 times in 20 years we’d been to see these original anthemic politico-punks, and my 21^st time overall!

We were also joined by old mate Olly, Rich scooping him up from Covingham then fetching me at 7 p.m. for a breakneck hurtle down the M4, parking up after a little difficulty in Trenchard Level 7. Support Glen Matlock was already part-way through his set; punk rock royalty he may be (being the original bassist with The Sex Pistols – but you knew that already of course…), and in suave, “gor blimey guv,” good nick for his age too, but unfortunately the set, based mainly on his recent “Consequences Coming” release, was average journeyman fayre at best, lumpen pub rock at worst. “Which Side Are You On” was a decent rocker, but for me the subsequent cover of k.d. lang’s “Constant Craving”, whilst laudable (“it’s about making a better world,” argued Matlock) was dull and monotone, and Richard Hell’s “Blank Generation” fared little better. However, the unmistakeable guitar intro to arguably the Pistols’ best song “Pretty Vacant” rose head and shoulders above the set, even with the extended chantalong outro, and the descending intro hook of closer “Head On A Stick” was easily the best of the newies. Matlock left us with the cry of, “thanks, and don’t forget – Fuck The Tories!” which again endeared him to the crowd. I liked him; his set, not so much…

The place got much busier in our usual house left spot as, for some bizarre reason, they played Abba over the p.a. Bah! I greeted friend Martin in the photo pit just before the lights dropped… and Val Doonican’s “Walk Tall” rang out loudly on the p.a.! “If the band walk onstage to this, I’m booing them!” I threatened to Rich, but happily it finished and The Greatest Intro Music in Rock, the pounding drum and roof-raising “diddly-doo!” singalong of “Go For It” thankfully heralded Stiff Little Fingers onstage, the bald, rotund and imposing figure of bandleader Jake Burns greeting us with the usual, “y’allright?” before launching into an incendiary “Suspect Device”, followed by surprising oldie “State Of Emergency” and a fist-pumping “Fly The Flag”. Excellent start, at least…

Burns then announced tonight’s intent to switch up the set a little and play some more unfamiliar tracks, kicking off with the strident hook of newie and tour slogan “Hate Has No Home Here” (“if hate is our default position [when we disagree with someone] then we’re all totally fucked!”). As if to prove the point of this song, Burns then dealt with a disagreement in the mosh (“here’s an idea; one of you fuck off over there and one of you stay here!”) before a fine, undulating “Silver Lining” and frankly groovy “Just Fade Away”. “Roots Radicals” was a tremendous early set highlight as well (“time to murder another unsuspecting reggae classic,” deadpanned Burns by way of introduction), but (and I hate to say this, given that I totally agreed with the idea of shaking up the set, after, as I mentioned, seeing them 16 times in the last 20 years here!) a few of the lesser played numbers in the mid-set didn’t measure up for me, particularly “Love Of The Common People”, which dragged…

Time to claw it back, then, and “Strummerville” (preceded by a tribute from Burns to his hero and Clash leader Joe; “I never wanted to be him, I just wanted to conduct myself like him…”) raised the game; the double whammy of an apt “Nobody’s Hero” and the excellent if truncated “Tin Soldiers” maintained; then savage set closer “Gotta Getaway” was easily the highlight of the night, launching into gear with Burns’ cry of, “go on ya fuckers!” Encores of a swaying, skanking “Doesn’t Make It Alright” and the inevitable “Alternative Ulster” closed out a variable performance which actually was very worthwhile overall, and quite excellent when it really hit the heights. A swift exit and drive back got me home for 11.30. Fine night out overall in splendid company… I don’t know if Stiff Little Fingers have many more Mad Marches left in them, but if they do, then I guess we probably do as well…!

1,309 XSLF, Borrowed Time, The Deckchairs, Swindon The Victoria, Friday 15th December 2023

 

They think it’s all over… but it isn’t, well, not just yet…

 Just as I was thinking that my 2023 gigging year had come to a close, thanks to my scheduled knee replacement surgery, fate deals a different hand to me, with the last-minute (as in, I’m standing in my hospital-issue gown ready to go to theatre last-minute!) postponement of said procedure, for totally understandable reasons actually. So instead of a weekend in hospital and up to 8 weeks out of gigging action (I’ll have that to look forward to early next year now…), the weekend opened up to me, and I could join The Big Man for a trip up the hill to see XLSF, the ersatz line-up of veteran Belfast punks fronted by former – and original – Stiff Little Fingers guitarist Henry Cluney. We’d caught them down at the old Level 3 just over 10 years ago (gig 889), in one of their first ever gigs; frankly, it showed a little, with a fun but uneven set which wasn’t a patch on Jake Burns’ current SLF incarnation. But hey, I’ve suddenly got a free night, so I was up for seeing how Henry and co. have come on in the intervening years…

 Drove up and parked up behind the Roaring Donkey, grabbing the last spot on a busy pre-Christmas Friday night out, then met Rich in the Vic, also running into Debby and old Level 3 face Pete Murphy (no, not that one…!). Heard noise emanating from the back room venue, so wandered in at 10 to 9 to see openers The Deckchairs. A veteran bunch from Bracknell, as we soon found out thanks to their love song for their home town, which featured the line, “your girlfriend’s mates are all chavs!”, they were fronted by a chap who I thought was a dead ringer for my old punk mate Ian Leighton, and kicked up a primitive late 70’s punk rock racket reminiscent of a lot of second division bands of that time (Shapes, Drones, Last Words et al). Lots of scatological references (one number called “My Dick’s Bigger Than Yours”, for example, although we missed the one about inflatable girlfriends!), and I liked the jolly “Wanker In An Audi” which concluded with a bit of the old 70’s “Likely Lads” TV programme theme! The singer rounded off this fun mess of a set with a toilet seat around his neck for the closer “We Were Shit”, although they were called back on for an encore of Sham 69’s laddish drinking song “Hurry Up Harry” by the crowd.

 By now we’d been joined by Rich’s friend Nicky, another old Level 3 face, although I bailed out of the venue when main support Borrowed Time launched into their set. Much more proficient sounding than the openers, but I’m not a fan of their more generic leather-and-studs UK82-inspired politico-punk noise, so I took a seat to rest my knee and then phoned my brother, popping back in for their last knockings.

 Quite a busy one, this, so we kept a watching brief by the bar, house left, anticipating a boisterous moshpit which would be a little more than my knee could currently handle. Not far wrong, as it turned out, as Henry Cluney led the now 3-piece XSLF on at 10.30, rampaging straight into the classic “Suspect Device” and immediately projecting his tough Northern Irish brogue much better than beforehand. Thence followed a set of classic SLF first 2 albums only material, enthusiastically if a little haphazardly delivered by Cluney and his mob (the ex-Defects drummer in particular more than a little all over the place, seemingly changing speed on a whim and regularly out of time with his colleagues), but equally enthusiastically received and sung along with by this Friday night Vic crowd. An early “Gotta Getaway” was incendiary; the mid-set “Alternative Ulster” savage and bilious (Cluney deadpanning, “I wrote this one on the way from the hotel tonight!”) and “Nobody’s Hero” was a careering, fist-pumping manifesto and the best – and best sounding – number on show tonight. The band hauled a quartet of backing singers up from the crowd for “Barbed Wire Love”, Rich and myself responding with a mid-song waltz (!), and Borrowed Time’s Rob did a fine job actually as guest vocalist for a venomous “Fly The Flag”. A lengthy, dubby and slightly uneven “Johnny Was” closed out the set, although Cluney, a little breathless by now, commented they couldn’t be bothered to go offstage (a bit of a theme these days at gigs!), so ploughed through a timely if shambolic “White Christmas” and a fine, tight “Tin Soldiers” to round off an hour-ish set, after which I left Rich to it and headed off. So, still some way short of Jake’s mob, but Cluney and co. were overall better than before, and despite a few haphazard moments, gave this fabled material a good old roughhousing and in doing so, delivered a fine and welcome, if unexpected and last-minute, evening’s singalong punk rock. Slainte, chaps!

1,212 STIFF LITTLE FINGERS, The Professionals, TV Smith, Bristol O2 Academy, Thursday 10th March 2022

 

Following a back pain-induced pause, I can finally get gigging again! And a couple of additional auspicious occasions tonight; firstly, another landmark gig number, this of course being the “roadie” number (1-2, 1-2, geddit? No? Oh well…), and secondly, the return to my “Spring Dance Card” of the traditional “Mad March to Bristol” to see original 70’s political punks Stiff Little Fingers! Their last “Mad March” date, just before the initial 2020 Covid lockdown, had clashed with my Nada Surf Electric Ballroom gig (gig. 1,180), and obviously 2021 didn’t happen, so for me this was 2 years away from this traditional date. So I was glad to make this “MMTB” no. 15 out of 18 years in the noughties thus far, and my 20^th time overall for SLF. And, given the current horrendous world events, a much-needed night out. One wonders what Fingers frontman Jake Burns will have to say about the state of the world…

 Rich and Ady joined us for the usual Lauda-esque hammer down the M4, hitting the venue midway through opener TV Smith, the former vocalist of 70’s punk rabble The Adverts. Rakishly thin and sporting Dennis The Menace punk attire, he wasn’t remaining silent about current events, introducing “The Immortal Rich” with the diatribe, “who’s gonna pay for [their wars]? It’s not the immortal rich!” Full of nervous tension, punk attitude and righteous indignation, he and his road-worn acoustic fired up the crowd perfectly with a great rendition of The Adverts’ classic “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes” (preceded by a story of their first visit to Belfast; “a local band called Stiff Little Fingers supported us and they blew us off the stage!”), and a fine finale of “One Chord Wonders”, Smith belying his age with some energetic high-kicking. Good start!

A merch stand visit then back in for main support The Professionals. Formed in the late 70’s by former Sex Pistols guitar/ drum duo Steve Jones and Paul Cook, I confess they passed me by back then, as I delved more into the post-punk slew of bands, but tonight they played some tough, tight and strong-armed street punk with occasionally surprisingly good vocal harmonies and choral hooks, propelled by the pounding drums of sole remaining Pistol Cook. “Silly Thing” was an inevitable mid-set highlight, “Kick Down The Doors” shared a similarly fine descending guitar riff, and if some of the set veered too much into worthy but samey pub rock territory, they finished strongly with “a cover of a cover” of the Monkees’ via Pistols’ “Stepping Stone”. Plus, Paul Cook is Punk Rock Royalty of the highest order, so there!

 

We kept our usual floor spot, house left, as the DJ saw fit to regale us with assorted 70’s TV theme tunes! Finally, the Finest Entrance Music In Rock, the rousing instrumental “Go For It”, kicked in, the usual “diddly-do!” mass singalong resonating around the venue as SLF took the stage, vocalist Jake Burns now strikingly bald (a legacy of getting too tired to wrestle with his ongoing alopecia problem, apparently!) and, between his tiny guitarist Ian McCallum and preying mantis bassist Ali McMordie, looking more monolithic than usual! “Let’s try that again,” Burns wryly muttered before ripping into an incendiary “Suspect Device”, followed in breathless short order by “At The Edge” and “Fly The Flag”, an astounding opening triple-salvo, all played with vim and righteous venom. They can’t keep this up, surely?

 Inevitably, the answer was no… “Welcome to 19/20/20!” Burns confusingly announced before “Hope Street”, with an undulating “Just Fade Away” and fist-punching “Bits Of Kids” next up. “When We Were Young” was good too (Burns commenting on the irony of introducing this song after recently reaching his “Beatles” birthday – 64!) and the angular skank of “Roots Radicals Rockers And Reggae” fired the crowd up; however for me much of the mid-set song selection was wanting, and the band, Burns’ voice particularly, were showing notable ring-rust, inevitable after a couple of years away (and this being the opening date of this tour!), and entirely excusable in all honesty. “Barbed Wire Love” (preceded by McMordie asking us to, “spare a thought for the people of Ukraine”) was however a set highlight, and they nonetheless finished the set strongly with a powerful “Wasted Life” and superb run through the rarely played “Gotta Getaway”.

 And as for what Jake had to say? Well, actions spoke louder than words, as he emerged for the encore sporting a yellow Ukraine football shirt to cheers from this crowd, leading the band through a splendid “Tin Soldiers” and final number “Alternative Ulster”, dedicated to Gavin Martin, his old mate and editor of the 70’s fanzine of the same name, who sadly passed earlier today. An easy list then home promptly. Not their best, but understandable given the circumstances. And no matter; we’ll still be back again next March!

1,126 STIFF LITTLE FINGERS, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Bristol O2 Academy, Sunday 10 March 2019

From one tradition that's just starting, last time out with The Hold Steady, to one that's well established with original politico-protest punks Stiff Little Fingers! For the 14th time in 15 years - and 19th time overall – da Fingers appear on my "Spring Dance Card", their usual March tour making its traditional Bristol Academy stop, this time on a Sunday (sadly meaning junior punker Logan was left at home on a school night). Only one thing to say, as ever... Go For It!

Going For It with me was The Big Man (as usual) and Ady too, and I picked them both up from Rich's new place promptly, for an early drive down. The reason for this early arrival was that I wanted to catch support Eddie And The Hot Rods' set given that it was likely their last tour, having already played a farewell 100 Club gig under the banner of "Done Everything We Wanna Do". The Rods came on at 7.45 to the rockabilly bar-room blues of "Teenage Depression", thereafter rocking through a well-played set of their proto-punk New Wavey powerpop, with elements of that mid-70s Canvey Island pub rock Feelgood sound. The problem however tonight was vocalist Barrie Masters; apparently 62 but looking (and carrying himself) at least a decade older (particularly when his trademark sunglasses were discarded), his voice deteriorated badly after a decent mid-set "Quit This Town", and by the otherwise fine set closers, the ubiquitous and classic "Do Anything You Wanna Do" and cover of Them’s "Gloria", he was being propped up considerably by his excellent guitarist and the crowd singalongs. A bit of a shame, but glad I got to see this classic old band one last time.

A lot of shit 70's pre-punk records over the PA (which prompted me to remark to Rich, "this is why punk was so necessary!") were eventually – and thankfully – cut short by SLF's excellent, rousing  singalong "Go For It" entrance music, heralding the boys onstage at 9.10, and whilst unexpected opener "Law And Order" and a drum-propelled "At The Edge" felt like them gradually easing in, an early, incendiary "Suspect Device" really kicked the early gig into life. “We’re gonna blow up in your face…!” damn right!

"You may have noticed [from the opening numbers], that we're gonna wander off the beaten track a bit tonight!" announced Jake, and so it proved! So we had a higher proliferation of post-reunion numbers, thankfully mostly introduced with some of Jake's trademark scathing social commentary (a bit absent, sadly, in recent years); newie "16 Shots" dealt with the grim subject of a teen killed by the police and was delivered with suitably fitting anger and vitriol, "Don't Call Me Harp" attacked institutionalised racism ("since the rise of Kommandant Trump and his cronies, some people think racist behaviour has become normalised. It fucking hasn't!") and an equally Irish folk-tinged "Guilty As Sin" set its sights on abuse in the Catholic Church. A warm ovation also met Jake's referencing of the recent untimely loss of The Prodigy's Keith Flint, his comment of, "if you're suffering with depression, for fucks sake talk about it please, don't become a statistic!" leading into an entirely apposite, and rather superb, "My Dark Places".

This "off the beaten track" approach however meant the omission of the likes of "Barbed Wire Love", "Roots Radicals" and "Johnny Was" in favour of the above “newies”, plus a smattering of rarely-played oldies; "Law And Order" aside, "State Of Emergency" was introduced by Jake as "possibly the first song I wrote for the band," and, later, a solo Jake number, the almost Cochran-rockabilly feel of "Drinking Again", got an even rarer first encore outing. However, the old familiars still shone brightest; a triple threat set closer of "Just Fade Away", "Nobody's Hero" and a brilliant terrace chant-along closing "Gotta Getaway" (my highlight tonight by some distance), was a superb way to end the set, and encore "Tin Soldiers" was sprawling and epic, before the usual punctuation point of "Alternative Ulster" and fulsome thanks and bows from the band to end the night.

No list, though, the obstreperous head roadie haughtily ignoring requests, but a more helpful soundman declaring they're "not allowed" to hand them out tonight. Dunno why, it's not like someone's going to scan it and put it up on their blog... Oh...!

So we headed off after another wholly entertaining SLF "Mad March" gig. Kudos to the boys for shaking the set up and taking the path less trodden. Whatever, we'll no doubt be back for more – my 20th – in 2020!

1,077 STIFF LITTLE FINGERS, The Ruts, Bristol O2 Academy, Saturday 10th March 2018

Rounding off 3 gigs in 3 nights was the annual “Mad March To Bristol” to see 70’s punk legends and enduring “live” favourites Stiff Little Fingers, the usual old punk duo of myself and The Big Man being joined this year by my little man Logan! The 13^th time in 14 years that Rich and I had made this punk rock pilgrimage, and my 18^th SLF gig overall, but the first one for Logan, keen to take in another gig. However, experience has already shown me that where my 10 year old son is involved, there’s no such thing as “just another gig…”

An early curfew was on the cards for this one, so we hit the road at 6.30 (after a quick return home to collect Logan’s diabetes testing kit!) and parked up on Trenchard Level 9, dropping down the road to the venue for 7.30. After that quick pop home, Logan had all his diabetes gear in his “Smiggle” bag, advising the stewards at the door of his condition. Immediately on hearing this, the O2 medical host Pat (whom we’d met 2 years ago, gig 978, Rich hunting him down to thank him for looking after his daughter Jess during their trip there to see Bowling For Soup) quickly ushered us through the back bar to the “staff only” area, offering us not only the use of the First Aid room for Logan’s diabetes testing, but also a couple of seats in the disabled viewing area overlooking the dancefloor, stage left, both offers Logan being very grateful to take up. So we set up camp there, Rich supping on his quart of cider just the other side of the rope, as support The Ruts rolled through their set. I was only familiar with their clutch of late 70’s singles, recorded before the untimely death of vocalist Malcolm Owen, but they were another damn fine support, having weathered well and toughly, vocalist “Segs” Jennings commenting, “[we’re] still angry… well, more like grumpy these days!” “Staring At The Rude Boys” sounded great for a nearly 40-year old single, and reggae crossover “Jah Wars” prompted me to give Logan a brief history lesson on those early Don Letts punky reggae days. “In A Rut” got the woman in front of us fist-punching the air, and the inevitable – and brilliantly spooky – “Babylon’s Burning” was dramatic, undulating and very impressive. Whilst “Segs”’ higher-pitched vocals may have lacked the seething, sneering menace of Owen’s own, this was still a splendid opener.

We took a trip back to the First Aid room and sorted Logan’s degladec insulin jab, before taking our seats again, as the lights crashed to black at 8.30. I’d schooled Logan on SLF’s intro music – the greatest in rock, in my view – and he lustily joined in with the roof-raising “diddly-doo” chants from the packed-out floor. “Y’alright – Saturday night in Bristol!” called vocalist Jake Burns, as the band then burst into a totally unexpected opener, a raucous and rasping “Wait And See” from their excellent 1980 “Nobody’s Heroes” album. The rollicking title track from said album followed, then another rarely-played classic in the terrace-chant “Gotta Getaway”, all 3 numbers delivered with no little conviction. Great start! “We’ve decided to shake things up a little bit – you may have noticed from the first 3 songs,” announced Jake impishly, before a story about a video director completely misinterpreting the meaning of “Can’t Believe In You” preceded a purposeful version. In fact, rejigging and refreshing the set certainly seemed to have re-invigorated the boys, as tonight their delivery was consistently determined, dripping with intent and conviction. “We brought this one back last year,” remarked Jake before a sinuous “Safe As Houses”, “and it gets to stay because, fuck it, I like it!”

Despite a few splendidly pitched curveballs, the oldies still got a good airing; “Barbed Wire Love” (“a song we wrote basically ripping the piss out of ourselves from start to finish”) was great, the collapsing riff leading to the doo-wop middle 8 punctuated by Jake warning, “don’t fucking encourage him!” before rakish bassist Ali McMordie added his usual bassy backing vocals, and the final set triad of “At The Edge”, Logan’s favourite and a rather epic “Tin Soldiers”, and a venomous “Suspect Device” were all as powerful, potent and relevant as ever. Before that, however, we had evidence that there was still songwriting life in the old dog yet with a new number, Jake finally reflecting on the precarious current state of the world with scathing ire; “Brexit – that’s going really well, isn’t it? Then America lost its’ collective mind and elected some screaming orange shit-gibbon… I thought, what can I do? So I wrote a song!” Said number, “Tilting At Windmills”, was superb and pointedly accurate, also targeting No. 10’s current incompetent incumbent with, “you’re neither fit nor able to be strong and stable.” Spot on, Jake!

I’d primed Logan about the militaristic drum opening of the sprawling encore, “Johnny Was”, tonight’s reading stretching to nearly 8 minutes. Then, 2 seconds before the 10pm curfew (to Logan’s delight!), the opening note of finale “Alternative Ulster” kicked in, a searing rendition to end a great set, possibly one of the best I’ve seen from Stiff Little Fingers. Getting older, but like fine wine…!

That wasn’t it though – far from it! We thanked Pat and the steward for looking after us so well (same again for Frank Turner? Hope so!), then a friendly roadie sorted a list for Logan; we then ran into comedian and fellow Boston Red Sox fan Phill Jupitus for an entertaining chat about the Sox and The Skids (Phill commenting on Rich’s t-shirt with, “I wish I’d gotten to see them last year” – hey, they’re out this year as well Phill!), then decided to wait outside, our patience being awarded at 11 with pics and signatures from Jake and Ali (guitarist Ian McCallum having passed by and signed Logan’s list a little earlier, not sure where drummer Steve Grantley was!). A foggy drive back slightly later than anticipated, then, but worth it to finally shake Jake Burns’ hand after 18 SLF gigs, and make another indelible memory for Logan’s nascent gigging days!

1,027 STIFF LITTLE FINGERS, Theatre Of Hate, Bristol O2 Academy, Sunday 12th March 2017

Round up the Big Man, bolt on the old punk rock t-shirt, get ready for the usual “Lauda”-esque sprint down the M4… yup, it’s time for the annual “Mad March To Bristol” to see Stiff Little Fingers!

This time it was for a more auspicious occasion – not only the 12^th time in 13 years that we’d made this March pilgrimage (and my 17th time overall of catching them – thereby putting them once again into a clear 2^nd place in my “Most Times Seen” list, behind the mighty Seafood), but also this tour celebrated the venerable original politico-punk agitators’ 40^th Anniversary! Yup, SLF are 40 years young, and still, for me, thanks to recent worrying UK and global political shifts to the right, as relevant as ever. Trump, Brexit, terrorism… one would wonder what Fingers mainman Jake Burns, not often short of an opinion or two, might have to say about all that malarkey…

I was in the driving seat this year, so I picked up Ady, joining us this time around, then the Big Man, and we hared it down the M4, our only delay being to get into Trenchard car park due to an event at The Colston Hall as well! Parked on the roof then (!), but made it in time to join a very busy early doors crowd for the support. Said support, Kirk Brandon’s Theatre Of Hate, were on at 7.45 as we arrived, the strains of “Original Sin” accompanying our entrance. To be honest, I’d always preferred Brandon’s subsequent, more 80’s rockist-orientated Spear Of Destiny, to his angrier, punkier and heavy drum/ wailing saxophone dominated ToH material, so some of this set was a bit heavy going for me. However, the pacy, urgent “Propaganda”, a growling “Legion” and the inevitable galloping “Westworld” ended the set strongly, and Brandon’s soaring, almost operatically sinister voice was as usual an impressive feature throughout.

I’d made my way to the loo at the end of ToH’s set, but found it difficult to get back – this one was utterly heaving tonight! I’d noted that recent SLF March Bristol gigs had seen falling attendances, but it seemed every old punker in the South West had crawled out of the woodwork for the 40^th Anniversary tour! Made it back in time, nevertheless, for the “Go For It” entrance music (the best, most all-inclusive buoyant, mood-setting intro music in rock, bar NONE!), and Jake and the boys took the stage with the usual, “Bristol! Y’alright?” shout-out, then, unexpectedly, into the rarely-played oldie “Breakout” and an equally infrequent but deliciously snarling “Straw Dogs”! Yipe, we might be in for some surprises tonight!

Such was the case, as Jake remarked, “Fuck me, 40 years… you get less time for murder!”, then announced that to mark the 40^th, there’d be a few surprises amongst the usual faves. So we had the sinuous reggae-based “Safe As Houses” (one of Jake’s faves’ apparently) and the waltz-like intro to “Roaring Boys” which then took flight into a rambunctious punk-fest, amongst the usual likes of the empowering “Nobody’s Hero” and the excellent “Roots Radicals Rockers and Reggae”, a breathless mid-set highlight.

And what did Jake have to say about the current political turmoil? Oddly, nothing… he continued to eschew the social and political commentary as per recent tours, saving the more severe invective for the likes of church hypocrisy and breaches of child trust (“Guilty As Sin”) and ignorant IRA support (“Each Dollar A Bullet”). All well and good, but I’d have liked to hear the Chicago-domiciled Burns’ take on the current idiot incumbent of The White House… Never mind, the music did the talking, and very eloquently; a final salvo of a savage “Wasted Life”, an epic “Tin Soldiers” and the raw, ragged “Suspect Device” ended the set superbly. Then after a libidinous, militaristic drumbeat-led first encore “Johnny Was”, Jake thanked us all for 40 years of support and for, “giving us a career,” before rounding off the night with another rare and highlight of the night “Gotta Getaway” and the inevitable if slightly messy “Alternative Ulster”. A great evening’s vintage punk rock again, and this time an SLF performance worthy of this major anniversary.

A footnote to tonight was that, midway through the gig, a guy in front of me was hauled out by the paramedics worryingly clutching his chest; however, before I grabbed a list and we hit the road for a clear run home, I bumped into his mate who confirmed he was OK, recovering at home. That’s a relief!

978 STIFF LITTLE FINGERS, Ricky Warwick And The Fighting Hearts, Bristol O2 Academy, Sunday 6th March 2016

So here we are again! An even dozen times in a row that Belfast’s original socially conscious punk rockers, Stiff Little Fingers, have been at the Bristol O2 Academy in March, and 11 times in those 12 years that I’ve been there with them! Every time a good time, as I’ve mentioned before, so once again Rich and I donned our punk rock trousers and girded our loins for the annual “Mad March to Bristol”!

Rich’s turn to drive this time, as payback for our recent Ash Bierkeller jaunt, with the usual Lauda-esque run down on a crisp, clear night being punctuated by catch-up chat around old friends. Parked up in a relatively quiet Trenchard Street and wandered in about 8, during the early knockings of support Ricky Warwick And The Fighting Hearts. Warwick, formerly of 90’s hard rockers The Almighty, also saw time as frontman of the Thin Lizzy line-up that played Swindon’s MECA in June 11 (my gig 819), doing a pretty good job that night, as I recall. Now shorn of the hair metal band hair and with a a slicked-back Mohican, he strong-armed his way through a rabble-rousing metallic rock set with occasionally militaristic drumbeats, which was a little ham-fisted and didn’t do much for me. I thought I heard shades of New Model Army (although on latter consideration, also bits of Gothy hard rockers The Cult), Rich thought The Clash; and as ever The Big Man was right, as Warwick trotted off a pretty passable cover of “Tommy Gun” which got the best reception of their set by some distance. An Almighty cover to finish also went down well with the old rockers down the front, but again didn’t do much for me…

We took a wander around the venue looking for “Big Pat”, a steward who’d looked after Rich’s daughter Jess really well during their Bowling For Soup gig a couple of weeks ago, then headed to our usual stage left spot quite easily – maybe a case of diminishing returns, or just Sunday night ennui, but despite a late rush in, there was plenty of space on the floor tonight… Then the Best Entrance Music Ever (official), the rabble rousing terrace chant of “Go For It”, kicked in for the entrance of Stiff Little Fingers, dead on 9. A venomous opening “Wasted Life” was followed in short order by “Just Fade Away” and a rambunctious “Roots Radicals Rockers And Reggae”, the band nary pausing for breath in the process. A blistering start!

“We missed out on the [Brit] Awards again, but I never believed in awards, I believe in the power of guitar and drum!” announced rasping vocalist Jake Burns before the singalong manifesto number of the same name, tongue firmly in cheek. In fact, Burns was overall in an upbeat mood tonight, the usual political sloganeering absent tonight (a shame really, I’d have like to hear Burns’ views on the likes of Donald Trump’s recent rantings) in favour of more personal declamations. “Barbed Wire Love” was preceded by a preamble from Jake and rake-thin bassist Ali McMordie about Ali’s “doo-wop” debut; a splendid skanking “Doesn’t Make It Alright” was dedicated to The Specials’ John Bradbury, lost to us at the end of last year, and the most politically-motivated tirade came before a passionate acoustic “Guilty As Sin”, with a heartfelt oratory about abuse of trust, particularly of children.

The rock was solid and well-practised as usual; “At The Edge” fast and frantic, “Fly The Flag” an ironic terrace chant anthem, and “Tin Soldiers” sprawling and epic. Set finale “Suspect Device” was powerful and bilious, and saw the best moshpit reception of the set, but this was topped by an unexpected encore. “Don’t read anything into [us playing] this; I got tired of being sent Youtube clips of tribute bands playing this (a dig at XSLF, perhaps?) and I thought, fuck it, I wrote it, I should do it properly!”, Jake announced before a superb “Gotta Getaway”, the hook of tonight’s rarely-played best number ringing out around the venue. “Alternative Ulster” again ended the night, at which point the boys took a deserved bow after another fine performance from this vintage punk band, proving age doesn’t diminish passion.

Oh and we tracked down Big Pat afterwards for a good chat with him and his boss before heading off. A nice punctuation point on another fine Mad March evening. See you next year!

942 STIFF LITTLE FINGERS, Electric River, Bristol O2 Academy, Saturday 7th March 2015

Yup, it’s that time of year again… and this one’s all about the stats. Tonight’s “Mad March To Bristol” is the 10^th time in 11 years I’ve seen enduring original punks Stiff Little Fingers “live” at Bristol Academy in March. This also now being the 15^th time I’ve seen them overall, SLF now proudly stand on their own in 2^nd place in my “bands most seen” list, behind the inevitable Seafood (who at their current rate they’ll catch up in March 2022!). I confess that SLF aren’t actually up there with my absolute favourite bands (in fact, they’re probably not even in the top echelon of my favourite original punk bands, behind the likes of The Skids and The Ramones) and their impressive gig rate is due to this annual opportunity more so than anything; however every time is a damn good time, usually a chance for an evening out with old friend/s and a singalong to some raucous terrace chant punk. Plus, SLF still have the best entrance music of any band ever, so what’s not to like?

So, I picked Rich up at 6.45 (stat reference again; this being the 8^th time we’d done this Mad March” together, and with Rich having already driven 4 times, I needed to pilot the usual Lauda-esque drive down tonight to catch up!), and we hit the venue just before 8. Spent some time checking out the merch and chatting in the back bar, so missed openers Ghost Of The Avalanche, but decided to check out main support Electric River. We were glad we did – halfway through their first number, we’d both already turned round to each other and said, “I like this!” A 3-piece from Kent, they nevertheless played some decidedly American sounding blue-collar honest-to-goodness rawk and roll, big, beefed up and hookily anthemic, like a Gaslight Anthem if they were brought up on a diet of, say, The Clash or even tonight’s headliners, instead of Springsteen. The strong-armed, flat cap-clad vocalist (headwear similar to GA’s Brian Fallon!) was evidently hard as nails, opening his beer bottle up with his teeth, clearly enjoying himself up there and praising the crowd response; “we like the vibe [in Bristol], we like the water, we like the graffiti, we like the crowd!” “Leap Of Faith” (“about someone who’s been knocked down one time too often”) was a heart-on-sleeve working class manifesto, and segued perfectly into a singalong of Ewan MacColl’s “Dirty Old Town”. More sing-alongs during their final couple of numbers too, “Keep The Engine Burning”, dedicated to their van (!) being a penultimate fist-pumping punkish blast and the highlight of an impressive set. Nice blokes too, as we found out, chatting to the vocalist – apparently called Sponge! – about The Ramones and touring strategies at their merch stand after their set.

We cut the chat short to head back in at 9.15 for the anticipated arrival of SLF, but they kept us waiting until 9.30 for their entrance, after the aforementioned brilliant “Go For It” entrance music, and to the usual raucous Bristol reception. Again, they fairly tore into their set from the off, blasting through a venomous, empowering “Nobody’s Hero”, the hookline of “be what you are!”being delivered with gusto from imposing, gravel-throated vocalist Jake Burns, then incredibly, they turned up the wick even further for “At The Edge” and “Roots Radicals Rockers and Reggae”. A stunning opening triple salvo!

“Saturday night in Bristol!” was again Burns’ rallying cry, before a set well balanced between first-time-round old favourites, and a clutch of newies gathered together on last year’s “No Going Back” CD, most of those eliciting lengthy introductions from Burns. Thus we had some pointed advice on dealing with depression (“talk to your friends [about it] – there’s no stigma”) before “My Dark Places”, a sideswipe at the Catholic church before an almost-folky “Guilty As Sin”, and a story about a night out with Phil Lynott (“we got drunk like only two blokes from Ireland can”) prior to the lament for lost youth and friends, “When We Were Young”. The older numbers (a snarling “Straw Dogs” and bilious “Fly The Flag” being a late-set double highlight) were largely dispensed with without introductions, Jake – unexpectedly in this, an election year - keeping his commentaries personal rather than political, letting these strident versions speak for themselves.

All too soon we’d raced through the set, Burns complimenting the “astonishing” crowd (who’d gone nuts from note one, a frenzied moshpit lasting throughout the set) with, “we’ve been coming here to play for 36 years and you’ve never let us down yet”, rounding the set off with a superb “Suspect Device”. The night was then capped off with 2 encores; firstly “a hippy song”, a well-executed cover of Elvis Costello’s “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love And Understanding”, and a powerful, incendiary “Wasted life”, before the inevitable final “Alternative Ulster” ended 1 ½ hours of vintage punk rock, delivered by a band who clearly aren’t allowing age to extinguish their fire.

So, a couple of fine performances tonight; a highly promising new lot in Electric River, and a fiery, vintage showing from Stiff Little Fingers, proving utterly worthy of their Number 2 “most seen” spot for me. Back again, same time next year? Count on it!