14 Carat Grapefruit close the Xmas-Punk-Rock-Til-You-Drop gig

So we opened with the Stabilisers, then came the presentation of the 2009 RTYD Awards (news of this in the next post), which was followed by The Outbursts and that punch. Punch of the year. There's a new category of award for 2010; along with Man of the Year, as suggested by Colin Gillman, who of course aims to win that one.

And last up, finally, at gone 11pm comes the patient and slightly gig-weary 14 Carat Grapefruit. No band likes this slot, but they have to play it 'cos their bass player Lem has another commitment that evening which means he can't play an earlier slot. Whenever they play, they never disappoint though. According to Otto's recent blog on the gig, he forgot the words to the opening number, which was their very own Christmas song. Hilarious it is, of course. I didn't notice any cock-up. I, like many around me, was probably too busy laughing.

The audience has shrunk to a meagre ten or so people, but 14 Carat always don't seem to care. We don't either. We feel lucky.

This is the end of a busy year for The Grapefruit. Word is that they're gonna play a little less in the new year. But they tell me the experience of working so hard in 2009 has been beneficial to the band as a whole, and has also served to strengthen the commitment and conviction of those who may have felt any ambivalence about being a part of it.

The band run through all the faves. And try to leave the stage without Otto doing a rendition of I Got A Little List. He is not allowed to leave the legendary basement venue without delivering. And I am honoured to be included in his list of the loathsome, in my capacity as the promoter who puts his band on long after the majority of punters have begun their journeys home.


Otto kindly gives me an inflatable pink guitar that I bring home for my daughter. She is delighted. She takes it to primary school the next day and begins spreading the word about 14 Carat Grapefruit in the playground there. Imagine them doing matinee performances like The Pistols used to do for the school-age kids! There's a thought.

The Stabilisers open the Xmas-Punk-Rock-Til-You-Drop night

It was a pleasure to have the Stabilisers open the Xmas-Punk-Rock-Til-You-Drop night on Thursday at the Hope & Anchor. Led by the charismatic Jon Stabiliser, they were playing for the first time in ten years or so with RTYD member Steve 'Istvanski' on guitar. Playing though a ginornous Line6 & Trace Elliot guitar rig, Istvanski played like his ten year solo career had never happened, and came on like a feedback-toting, Tooting and Mitcham-supporting Pete Townshend.

They kicked off with the hilarious I Feel Like Jimmy White, and 30 or so energetic-minutes later closed with the wonderful Piss. Their sound seemed to borrow from late-70s/early-80s US punk/new wave bands like the Ramones and the Dickies, as well as some of their British counterparts such as (early) XTC, and those legends of the Hope & Anchor, The Stranglers.

They bought a loyal following and generously handed out copies of their current 5-track CD. I hope to have them back in the New Year. Don't miss that show.

Punches fly as the spirit of '77 returns to the Hope & Anchor

Trouble broke out last night during The Outbursts' set at the Xmas-Punk-Rock-Til-You-Drop gig at the Hope & Anchor, recalling the days when young punk bands, such as the Stranglers and X-Ray Spex, dodged spit and beer glasses, playing in the same room to audiences of amphetamine and lager-fuelled teenagers. This, however, was grown men, mature musicians and music fans getting a little too carried away by the punk-Christmas-spirit of the occasion.

Not long into The Outbursts' set, some fairly good natured pogoing quickly developed into a bit of antagonistic argy-bargy, with members of 14 Carat Grapefruit being knocked around like pinballs by the Essex contingent who had clearly travelled to the gig to cause trouble. Where's Jimmy Pursey when you need him?

The tension built steadily during the performance but when the Outbursts' singer Ian Breslin's Persil-white bondage punk outfit was doused in red wine by one drunken member of the Trouble-Makers. This was the straw that broke The Outbursts' bass player's back. So, mid-song he calmly lifted off his bass, stepped down off the stage into the audience and made his way to the heart of the Trouble-Makers and lamped the culprit full in the face.

He then calmy returned to the business of making punk music, as if nothing had happened. Insults continued to fly between the band and the trouble-makers. Some further argy-bargy carried on, and looked like boiling over, until the Outbursts' bassman threatened to remove his instrument once again. This was enough to frighten the Trouble-Makers to retreat into a dark corner where they stood continuing to hurl harmless football terrace-style abuse, and to make jokes about red-red wine, until the end of the show.

'Tonight we're gonna party like it's 1977' declare The Outbursts on their MySpace page. They're not kidding.

More reviews and reportage from this excellent night of music, featuring The Stabilisers and 14 Carat Grapefruit, as well as news of the winners of the first ROCK-TIL-YOU-DROP AWARDS 2009 in the next blogpost, coming shortly.