Style 43

I went up to Nottingham on Saturday night for a show, and it was definitely worth the trip. People got ripped, Anton Rough quotes were flying around, Crazy Niels was rampaging (Hovell, he’s coming yo!) and people were in good moods. Nottingham bmx hard man Scott the Punk (he was at London’s calling, he’s a good dude) was there bouncing round the pit and it was good to see a few other bmxers turning out. Bmx and hardcore are 2 of my favourite things, so when they’re combined it’s like having your cake and eating it. I just wanted to make this point before talking about the Sunday Hardcore Matinee in Brighton yesterday, because I was still stoked from Nottingham when I got there. Mad love to Dirty Money who proved why they’re rad and put THAT show at the Old Blue Last behind them.

Before the show, we spent 4 hours on a Nintendo Wii in Lewes, which is the greatest gaming experience since the Sega Gamegear. No Fooling! Anyway, I’ve been to the Hobgoblin pub before, it was the last time I saw Abandon Ship (R.I.P!) play and is a pretty rad venue. Only £5 entry was also kind on the old purse strings which were recovering from the previous day still. It was a pretty small show in the end, but I was into it because the people who were there were there to have fun! It’s better than having a room full of posers who stand still and contribute fuck all! People moshed, including someone moshing over the merch table…serious shit!

This is a summary of the bands in no particular order. Reality had had sound problems the previous night, so it was good to see that their sound was on point in Brighton and they sounded really good. I first saw them 2 months ago and in that small space of time they’re definitely gotten tighter. Bases Loaded were also cracking, fronted by certifiable amazing dude Ben Jones who is having the toughest time at the moment but, along with his brother Barry, continues to be a king. Permanent Mark were also good, I’d never heard them before so I’m always down for newness and their UK tour with Straight A’s (they’re both Dutch) is going well. I missed Damaged Goods, though feedback was positive (sorry y’all). Straight A’s were once again astonishing, and their front man is a mighty formidable fellow. Any band fronted by a massive Dutch chap is bound to be good in one way or another, but when they’re making hardcore like this you can’t help but be impressed.

Band of the night though…Cold Snap. Woah. Rob Boyce of Reality said throughout their set that Cold Snap were one of the best hardcore bands in England right now, and I’m inclined to agree with him. Rome, the singer, gave me a copy of their demo and it was on loop in the car for a good long while. Their music is hard; militant breakdowns that make you want to mosh through a wall and kick your mum in the face. But at the same time it isn’t some cheesy tough guy shit, they kinda remind me of Trial which is definitely a good thing. People were psyched to see them and, like a pizza parlour, they delivered!

Thanks to everyone involved in the gig, matinee shows can go either way, but this one went very much in the right direction. I don’t know if anyone who reads this knows/cares about hardcore, but if one person reads this and buzzes off any of the bands, it would more than make my day. Go and check out any and all of the following:

Cold Snap
Reality
Straight A’s
Pemanent Mark
Damaged Goods

I’m off for a cuppa tea.

Ciao Ciao.

NOT MY PHOTO OF NIELS, I NABBED IT OFF THE STRAIGHT A’S MYSPACE