THE URBAN DOGS / SELFISH / JET BABY
The Dublin Castle. Camden, London.Review by: Ian Stewart.
15th November, 1998.

This Gig was the launch party for the "Urban Dogs" CD release, the bands line up has some serious Punk credentials. Charlie Harper (UK Subs) on vocals, Knox (Vibrators) on guitar, Matthew Best (Psychic TV) drums and on bass Alvin Gibbs who was originally in the UK Subs before joining 1ggy Pop.
Jet Baby
First band up were Essex based "Jet Baby" consisting of Emma on vocals, Dom & Porkie from LD5O - guitars and UK Subs drummer Gary. Sixteen year old Emma explained, this was only their fourth Gig but it was great fun, she'd grown up listening to Punk & Grunge and jumped at the chance to join a group of professional musicians. The band introduced themselves and fired off into an instrumental, so far only four hefty blokes stood on stage and I began to dread tbis could be another chug along Punk by numbers band.
Fortunately this was soon dispelled when the diminutive Emma leapt on to the stage, she was a little unsure at first but after a few minutes began to sway and move confidently. Although only sixteen her voice was strong and lasted the set without faultering, occasionally the solid fast backing of the band would drown her out but her visual appeal more than compensated. Links between songs were a bit weak, either too softly spoken or awkward silences, no doubt Emma wi]1 soon learn to fill these gaps and the band will tighten up the set. For their final number they powered into "Don't leave me" a great stompin' track and by now had won the audience over, they left the stage to respectable applause. After a few more Gigs any minor problems "Jet Baby" have should be ironed out, I couldn't really fault the band and Emma as a singer can only go from strength to strength.
Selfish
Next on the bill were "Selfish" a Swedish 3 piece band Anders - guitar, Pale - bass and Tobbe - drums. They dressed in black, the bass player had waist length hair, They looked heavy metal and sounded like a Metalica/Megadeath hybrid. The drummer towered over the kit like Lurch at his harpsichord he was a strapping six footer and a good drummer aswell. Although more metal than Punk they had some blistering good songs, both guitarists shared vocals the bass players shook the rafters. This band was so tight they just powered through the set without pause or error and one song had some 6ne vocal screaming. Unfortunately this was a bit too heavy for some of the audience who retreated to the other bar to await the Urban Dogs. Sel6sh fall between thrash & Punk and need to commit themselves to one direction, they've got talent but have to decide who their audience is and tailor their set accordingly.
The Urban Dogs
At last the "Urban Dogs" mounted the stage, this was what the crowd had come to see, the room 6lled to capacity as the opening chords rang out to "Punk Rock City" from their new CD. Charlie struck up an immediate rapport with the audience talking at some length in between songs, this would not have been tolerated from the support bands but the crowd loved it. The room was now heaving with chanting dancing maniacs, the "Urban Dogs" could do no wrong in front of this bunch. More paced than the previous two bands going for a solid sound rather than speed, Alvin was girating and dancing around through most of the set, Knox was more restrained and Charlie was, well Charlie.
The pace slowed for the anti war song "War Baby", not a new track but Charlie said he still thought it was relevant, although a good song the guitar sound was a bit thin. For the song "Rare Disease" the guitarists swapped instruments and Charlie left the stage leaving the vocals to Alvin. Unfortunately it was a dull plodding song and Alvin's guitar playing and vocals failed to excite. Charlie returned to the stage and the room erupted again into a squirming mass but Knox bolloxed the solo on this number and 30 seconds into the next song both guitarists went out of tune.
The crowd didn't give a toss it was all part of the live experience and to make amends the Dogs launched into the song at a faster pace initiating a feeding frenzy amongst the fans. If the crowd was anything to go by this Gig was a resounding success, they literally would not let them leave the stage until they'd played more.
The Dogs ripped into two more songs climaxing with "Punk Rock City" their opening number. The set had been mainly from their CD "Wipeout Beach" now available on Raw Power Records. I think they can be quietly confident that it will appeal to Punks everywhere.(lan Stewart)

Wangdango with Charlie Harper (UK SUBS)
The Red Eye, 105 Copenhagen Street, London.Review by: Ian Stewart.
26th October 1998

Wangdango are a London based hardcore Punk Rock band with a small but growing following around the Notting Hill & Ladbroke Grove area, you can spot the faithful in their Wangdango T-shirts in some of the more down market bars A clubs.
The band was formed by the drummer Ben who was the former noise rnaker with Punk band "Doctor and the Crippens" with Ken on vocals, Mel plays bass, Bruno & Frank on guitars. Only a few gigs old and already headlining, although it was only a Monday night the crowd was of a healthy enough size for most Saturdays.
The two support bands were competent Rock/Pop groups but lacked any real impact on the crowd, they were a bit formula and I soon lost interest in them. Wangdango mounted the stage in front of an enthusiastic crowd, most seemed to know what to expect as the band launched into their opening number "Follow me to Nowhere" rapidly followed by "Inbred", the singer kept his chat to a minimum while the band continued to thunder through their set like an unstoppable avalanche. They were tight and loud with a powerful singer who managed to move his bulk around the limited stage to great effect, beating himself in the side of the head during "Rest Home Fever" was a bit of a crowd pleaser.
Wangdango climaxed with their Country/Punk song "Wangdango" with snatches of Deliverance thrown into it, the singer ended up prostrate on the stage like a recently slaughtered Rhino, steam rising from his sweaty corpse. Before they could move the crowd demanded more - CHARLIE HARPER of the UK Subs amongst them, he'd come to watch this band and was obviously impressed and didn't need much encouragement to join them on stage. For their last number they launched into the Subs classic C.I.D. Charlie now fronting the band Ken took a back seat only joining in on the chorus. Charlie was on top form taking command of the stage to a now jubilant crowd, the bands thundering backing was excellent and Charlie finished to wild applause, a great gig with a fantastic finish. Wangdango are one of the best new Punk bands I've seen in years. If you like Punk you'll like Wangdango...............Charlie did. (Ian Stewart)

WIGAN ALL DAYER
Grand Hotel, Wigan.Review by: Lee Byatt.
31st May 1999

Once again a jaunt from our tiny little fishing port towards Wigan was in order for another fun packed all-dayer. The trip was bound to be fun. Our transport was a shifty Leyland Daf van that couldn't handle hills well and there were 8 of us crammed in the back. It was going to be a long journey.
Three and a half hours after leaving we arrived at the venue. As usual the proceedings were late starting (it wouldn't be Wigan without a late start) and as our number began to dissipate towards the bar/records/toilet Leicester's 99 YEARS cranked up their punked up tunes to the awaiting punters in the patio area. With a fine line in tight power pop they did a good job in getting the majority of folks' feet tapping and this sudden start of tunes introduced us to the phenomenon that was 'Soulfly'. A teenage make-up laden pissed up lad who would provide much entertainment for the throng throughout the rest of the day. Whilst rasping a couple of tunes from their excellent Taking Care Of Things e.p. they stated the day well. NARCOSIS? followed up with an intense experience in anger and noise. 'Soulfly' decided to attempt to take the microphone from the lead singer who was not impressed to say the least and received a really big fuck off glare, if ever I saw one, instead of the mic. INSIDE RIGHT from Stoke featuring members of Jayne Doe struck a note with their Jawbreaker style shenanigans but the set lost a little bit of impotous as the Bass stack Dave was using began to go tits up. Although after various tapping and tinkering the set was allowed to proceed. Watch out for this lot there'll be a lot written about them in the future.
Yorkie boys DROPNOSE shot out their 10-000mph power pop but I felt that today they only played okay. I've seen them perform better (ooh er!) although how they manage to keep that kind of pace up through out their set perplexes me. 30 SECONDS UNTIL ARMAGEDDON continued the days proceedings and I had wanted to see them since they cancelled a recent show in Grimsby. Their varied paced guitar lead hardcore pumped out grooves and gave a blast of energy and power to all. I wasn't disappointed. DOUGLAS carried on and I'd heard a lot about these fellas from a lot of people , all good. They were tight as hell and wreaked of the polished FAT melodic pop genre. Whilst not entirely original they have proven to be damn good at what they do as a couple of Stateside jaunts and a reputation that's as big as they deserve.
As the grey clouds began to grow in the sky CONVERGE took the stage. They had some problems with the power converters they had for their gear so they had to borrow DOUGLAS' gear. Then nearly two hours behind schedule they delivered one of the most amazing live performances I've ever had the pleasure to experience. I'm not going to be impartial as this was the band I had travelled to see and chose over rather that ALL, who were playing in Leeds that night. Ever since Andy Imbalance had leant me 'Petitioning The Empty Sky' I had to see this stuff played live. With a varied mixture of new and older material they proceeded to tear the patio area up with an unparalleled level of frantic musicianship and energy. This wasn't a live show it was a cathartic experience. If you weren't there you missed one hell of a show. 'Soulfly' seemed to enjoy himself yet disappeared afterwards. Probably to spew in the comfort of his own home!!
Talk since the gig has centred around their attitude and their fee for performing (£400 I've heard) and the non DIY aura of it all.
I suppose this can leave a sour taste in the mouth.The mid-day break was hurried along at 8:15pm as the PA was switched to the indoor basement area. The PROPAGUMBHIS delivered their usual skanking set with all the fellas giving their facials and other bodily jigs, as did Kerrang demigods SPY VERSUS SPY. The golden boys of the UK 'punk' scene gave their usual marvellous emotionally charged performance and show why they are destined for great things. Their set had to be reduced due to the new imposed 12:30 curfew but once again they played like their lives depended on it. I want to be there when they play shit but at this rate I don't think they will. Bless those oatcake munchers, until next time. I went to the van to chill out for a while as by this time I was fucked. I decide to venture back to the room just to catch ATOM AND HIS PACKAGE. I'd heard a lot of stuff about this guy, but I just couldn't muster the energy to let myself get into it. A guy, a guitar, and his music processor, singing funny songs. I just wasn't in the mood and I left the smirking crowd to it.
As usual we fucking got lost leaving Wigan again and spent an extra hour on the road. Eventually arriving back in Grimsby at 5am. A great day that shows that we have such a great, friendly scene, that people are willing organise for everyone's benefit. One last thing if any band names have been mixed up I'm sorry cause I've done this a month after the event without the full line up in front of me, and I'm a dumb Northern bastard.
(Lee Byatt)