Home Gigs Gig Review : Stiff Little Fingers, The Damned, The Skids & Problem Patterns – The Custom House Square August 2024

Gig Review : Stiff Little Fingers, The Damned, The Skids & Problem Patterns – The Custom House Square August 2024

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Review by Alan Steenson for MPM

Well folks I am no longer a SLF virgin after last years putting the Fast into Belfast 5 so this year, I was looking forward to a different set list and an even better support.

With Terri Hooley on the DJ desk we were treated to the usual array of pre gig tunes from Martha and the Muffins to Dexys and everything in between.

So, the support started with a local 4 piece all girl/female/she (trying not to offend anyone with no pronouns) band, a true punk attitude from a youthful angst and angry and very different group.

Problem Patterns from the outset they announced how amazing it was for them to be playing in front of this crowd and supporting punk royalty.

The difference in this group was the fact that all members of the band contributed visually/ vocally and musically. No other band I have watched swapped singers/instruments as much with even the drummer changing hands… this was not detrimental to any of the songs played, all of which were full of their self-proclaimed feminist/ taking no shit from anyone.

Vocally it was 100% punk with lots of screaming and shouting and would be interesting to hear them with less screaming and it did detract from the clarity at times…. This is not too critical as what they did deliver was a real hark back to true punk values and they will always have that fanbase but with their flexibility on stage I would dearly love to hear what else they have to offer in the future. The set they delivered was power punk at it’ s finest and hopefully they can terrain their spot for next year as I think they deserved that honour based on this performance.

Up next was the first of three legends of punk The Skids who I have waited a long time to see and was on tender hooks to see how they were live, I wasn’t disappointed at all from the start Richard Jobson the original lead singer got the crowd whipped up to the first song of the evening Charade a power song with the trademark skids guitar sound, RJ vocals sounded great with proper dad dancing and at a spritely 63 is one of the younger punk oldies on display tonight.

With a huge shout of “c’mon Belfast let’s goooo!” RJ and the band launched into Of One Skin in which RJ rotated his arms to the point I thought he would take off, the band powered through what for me was the weakest song of the evening but that didn’t detract from the energy with great guitar work from the outset and that guitar sound was something the Skids were known for from day one.

After the song RJ said to the crowd that he comes back onto the stage he “feels like 16 again and 2 songs in and you are f**ked!” he also pointed out to the crowd that the Skids were one of the first bands to come to Belfast after the Clash and had the balls to go there and were rewarded with an amazing experience and thanks us all for the wonderful welcome… He said they probably would be touring again if it wasn’t for a couple of bands covering one of their songs and said it was nice to see so many young people at the gig tonight…. Jokingly he said there was someone 56 years old down at the front who said why do you do a cover of a U2 song and he said f**k right off it’s OUR SONG and blasted us with the Saints are Coming a glorious classic song with it’s slow intro and then with a “Lets goooo” a thumping drum and guitar intro and the crowd bounced along to the first real punk classic of the evening, at the end RJ played back and forth to the crowd to milk every last second out of the song.. a few quick quips about DLT and Top of the Pops they launched into Working for the Yankee Dollar a catchy single which lyrically still resonates today given the anti-war theme, the song was delivered perfectly and a big shout out to the rest of the band who whilst were not original members (Bruce Watson having left in 2023) produced an identical ‘Skids’ sound. RJ then addressed the crowd to talk about the song that he said was the worst song ever written and he wrote it the song was called T.V. Stars but everyone remembers it as Albert Tatlock from the lyrics after the lines… Ena Sharples, David Hunter, Meg Mortimer, Stanley Ogden with RJ shouting “who do we want?” and the crowd shouting back Albert Tatlock…. A brilliant short crowd participation song and despite his statement this was NOT the worst song ever written.

With a Clash cover version of Complete Control that the crowd lapped up dancing and singing along they delivered Masquerade but before they did RJ said that he is always asked what his favourite Skids song is, to which he replied this one and dedicated it to Stuart Adamson who will always be missed by this reviewer.

The song live is a masterpiece with great guitar work but the one thing this song will never get back is Stuart Adamson’s vocals and his own particular guitar style with will never be matched in my opinion ever again. The last song of the evening was the Skids biggest hit Into The Valley a masterpiece that RJ said was written about Belfast with its distinctive riff and anthem like ahoy ahoy lyric that made this song an instant classic, and with that they were done… way too quick for me and I will be back for the full gig experience. 10 out of 10 for me this evening from Jobson.

After a short wait the airwaves were alight with The Damned intro music The Man with the Golden Arm and on walked Captain Sensible, Rat Scabies and Paul Gray taking up position and launching into the opening bars of Ignite with Captain Sensible leading the charge as Dave Vanian entered stage left and grabbed his all to familiar vintage microphone which looks a complete bugger to hold correctly and got stuck straight into the song, patrolling the stage dressed in black with a striped shirt underneath his jacket, he looked the part and at 67 he looked full of energy and attitude still, the song was delivered to a crowd that revelled in the energy that the band instantly delivered.

This was followed up by Wait for the Blackout from the 1980 black album with Rat Scabies you have a drummer who you could watch for hours holding the band together with perfect timing, which was evident in this song, Sensible still looks a cheeky chap and full of mischief even at 70… yes 70 years young! One of my favourite songs was up next History of the World with the lights set to red at the start to get the atmosphere this song deserves and the Captain making faces at the crowd on the initial build up to Vanian’s vocals whereupon he controlled the stage left to right giving the crowd equal viewing opportunity… something that doesn’t happen enough from a lot of lead vocalists.

Afterwards Captain said they do everything punk, Goth free Jazz as Scabies dropped some beats to the intro to Stranger on the Town from Fiendish Shadows one of their newer tracks from 2020 didn’t hit the mark for me but this was a first listen for me so maybe that clouded my judgement somewhat, Dr Jackal and Mr Hyde was next and was closely followed by the huge hit Eloise from the mid 80’s penned originally by Paul Ryan in the late 60’s but given the revamp by the Damned to great effect and a song that fitted perfectly at that time to the goth phase of the band.

With its familiar start and stop intro with Scabies thunderous drums Vanian’s vocals were clear but have lacked some of the pomp that the song was originally famous for but for me it still sounded bloody great and was another real highlight of the evening. Shadow of Love was up next another favourite song of mine and its hypnotic bassline and rolling drums it sounded note perfect and was delivered great vocally by Vanian. Invisible Man from their last album gave the crowd something new to listen to and this was a great track to hear live for the first time with Captain spinning as he played showing that they put energy into the new as well as the old favourites, clearly still not a chore for them to write new material.

Sensible and Gray took the piss out of Vanian by messing around playing randomly before launching into Second Time Around which saw lots of beer being thrown into the air, so I was guessing it was a good thing as the crowd seem to respond well to this track from the Black Album, this lead well with its power punk chords into the classic punk song Neat, Neat, Neat an absolute cracking song live with as much energy and power delivered now as it did back when the lads could move a lot quicker, so whilst the aging limbs could move they finished off this great set with two punk classics New Rose and Smash it Up (Parts one and two) both of which set the crowd up well with a huge response of appreciation. New rose was brilliant with Vanian at his best pointing and gesturing up at the sky and at the crowd during sections of the song really giving his all and it showed.

Smash it up was equally frantic but controlled with Sensible playing guitar over his head at the end with a final flourish that everyone appreciated with a wave of his red beret Sensible, and the band left to rapturous applause, and as much as I enjoy SLF they would be doing well to top off the support acts this evening…. But this is their night… a home gig and they get to play with the nice back drop and full lighting set up.

So, let’s start with the traditional backdrop and it’s theme, which this evening was of a fist punching out of the STIFF LITTLE FINGERS test with HATE tattoo on the knuckles and a scroll below across saying HAS NO HOME HERE, a theme started off at the start of the evening by the new punk queens Problem Matters (hope they don’t mind the ‘queens’ reference) and so the end of the night festivities began and straight into the melting pot with Suspect Device ironically the day after my own kids had to leave their home due to one dropped by Hitler in Newtownards, oh irony! The song delivered, as usual, by SLF with the crowd in full voice during the chorus… Jakes voice over the years still sounds brilliant and whilst it lost that hard edge from the early years it sounds polished and rounded and to me better with age.

State of Emergency followed along with My Dark Places two songs that I liked along with Hate has No Home Here but not as much as At the Edge a well-crafted, song with the rolling drums leading to the chorus and a real crowd favourite for joining in which they duly did. Silver Lining followed and was rolled out to perfection, next a track that I like a huge amount but not by SLF but I was delighted to hear their interpretation of if, Love of the Common People was covered by Paul Young and Jake said that they released it and it bombed but we were to judge this and I personally thought it worked well as a really different interpretation given the SLF treatment with a faster sound still retaining the reggae feel to it.

Just Fade Away up next and afterwards Jake chatting about how doesn’t have to explain to audience where they are from and how he wrote so many songs about how bad NI was, So he was please to write a song that was optimistic and he delivered this song to us called Last Train from the Wasteland an upbeat with a reggae feel which I really enjoyed and it led perfectly into the popular Roots Radicals Rockers & Reggae a quick tempo peace song that was the theme of the evening and whilst SLF didn’t write it they certainly put their stamp on this song and it sounded brilliant as usual.

Wasted Life is a SLF classic track that delivers vocally a much better sound live that when it was originally recorded in my opinion with Jakes vocals clearer it was another highlight of their set for me. Get a life followed and afterwards Jake mentioned about when the Clash went to play Belfast but unfortunately cancelled due to insurance reasons (as was often the case during the troubles) and they promised SLF that they would be back and true to their word they did return and Jake said this was something the band never forgot and the effect that Joe Strummer had such an impact on him he would never forget and they wrote this song called Strummerville as a tribute to him with Lyrics saying “you gave me hope, made me believe” and “Goodbye Inspiration” it really is a proper tribute to the man.

Nobody’s Hero and Tin Soldiers delivered SLF to the max for the crowd and by now the party was in full swing with the crowd giving its all especially during the chorus of Gotta Getaway, The specials cover of Doesn’t Make It Alright still gives me a lump in the throat thinking of the late great Terry Hall and so onto the last song of the evening y=the usual National Anthem that is Alternative Ulster that blasted across the Belfast night sky, it is one of those songs that no matter where you are it is like a warm blanket of ‘Belfastnessand that’s what I needed at the end…a warm blanket.

But not even the cold could make me forget that evening of great music from start to finish, I don’t think SLF can top that support next time so over to you Jake and co… lets see what you have next year!

Photography by Paul Verner for MPM

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