Live Review: Kubix Festival Day 2 (Herrington Park, Sunderland) (16/7/22)
And so on to Day 2 of Kubix. While yesterday was a fairly slow-paced opening day to the festival, today proves to be a lot more busy with several stage clashes. In the interest of covering as much as possible, please be aware that for quite a few of the bands I've reviewed here, I didn't catch the full set due to hot footing it to/from the other stage. But hopefully I've done this justice...
It's weird how a nice sunny day (a stark contrast to yesterday which alternated between clouds and rain) can make even bands you weren't a fan of first time out seem pleasant enough and Republica, who open the Main Stage today, are a case in point. Back when I was 18, I generally found their Essex girl techno-Britpop about as much fun as root canal surgery without the anaesthetic but today they're enjoyable enough with an energy and enthusiasm to their set that means you'd have to be a bit of a miserable bugger not to enjoy it. They play the hits (From Rush Hour With Love, Drop Dead Gorgeous and the inevitable closer of Ready To Go) and everybody's happy enough to start the day.
This is actually the first time I've seen Jim Bob playing with a full band, the Hood Rats (who include Chris T-T among their number on the piano) and he puts in a good showing today. It's especially encouraging to note that while the old Carter classics like Do Re Me So Far So Good, Bloodsport For All and Lean On Me, I Won't Fall Over get the good reception you'd expect from the audience, newer numbers like Jo's Got Papercuts, Barry's On Safari and Beach Ready Boys from the recent EP get just as enthusiastic a welcome. Jim and his band are on good form today and by the time the ominous epic Angelstrike brings things to a close, you can't help wishing they'd been given a slot a bit further up the bill.
Ferocious Dog put in the typical workmanlike performance you'd expect, most of which I end up taking in sitting near the back as my feet are already killing me by this point due to the insoles of my trainers disintegrating which leaves walking around being somewhat painful, not ideal for an eleven hour festival! With the group having put out arguably their strongest album to date last year with The Hope, it's definitely given them a bit of a shot in the arm with an impressively large following here to cheer them on and the likes of Pentrich Rising, Broken Soldier and Parting Glass going down well in the early afternoon sunshine.
Moving over to the second stage, this is the first time I've seen the Bar Stool Preachers live but I'm pretty sure it won't be the last. With a truly incendiary energy propelling them on, songs like Cry Wolf, Trickledown and anthemic closer Bar Stool Preacher well and truly ignite this crowd. This is punk given a 21st century makeover to excellent effect and I strongly advise you go and see this band asap if you're unlucky enough not to have encountered them yet and check out their new album later this year.
Due to staying till the end of the Bar Stool Preachers' set, I only catch the last few songs of Altered Images but Claire Grogan and her new Images line-up bring a touch of glamour to Sunderland today with Don't Talk To Me About Love and Happy Birthday being propelled along by their poppy enthusiasm. A pity I didn't manage to catch a bit more of this lot.
I enjoyed Death By Guitar Pop's Pukka Sounds album last year and their cheeky Essex chappy take on ska makes them pretty much an ideal festival band for lazy warm afternoons. Tunes like Cinderella's Fella, Ska Is The Bollocks and Back Of A Lorry get a good reception with a skanking pit taking shape towards the front and a competent cover of Rancid's Junkie Man shows their punk credentials as well. Good stuff.
The big surprise of the day is Reef. Last time I saw these guys live, they were peddling a gospel rock album with keyboards and were comprehensively blasted offstage by their support band Terrorvision. Today, they've returned to the more muscular sound of old (including beefing the sound up with an additional guitar) and it's a bit like welcoming an old friend back after not seeing them for a few years with Come Back Brighter and New Bird kicking loose the way they should while a good run through Fleetwood Mac's The Chain works well. Similar to the likes of Massive Wagons, Reef are never gonna win any awards for originality but bands like this always seem to be at their strongest in the live arena where you can just leave your preconceptions at the door, enjoy the riffs and headbang a bit and make no mistake, they definitely delivered today.
Spear of Destiny mark your correspondent's second encounter with Kirk Brandon this weekend after seeing Theatre of Hate last night and they put on a similarly dark and unsettling set to act as a good counterpoint to the more upbeat nature of a lot of today's bands with a sinister Never Take Me Alive which kicks in to a truly fierce climax being the highlight.
The last time I saw Ash live was on the Meltdown tour almost 20 years ago but the half hour or so of their set that I catch this afternoon is good stuff as they frontload the hits with A Life Less Ordinary, Oh Yeah and Angel Interceptor comprising an excellent opening one-two-three and the likes of Goldfinger and Wild Surf bringing back good memories of summers past even if the newer songs are a little bit anonymous by comparison - again, maybe I'd need to revisit those more recent albums to familiarise myself with those tunes a bit better.
Band of the weekend for me though are Pop Will Eat Itself who detonate the second stage like a nuclear bomb. With a set ranging through their whole career from Can U Dig It? right up to this year's Poppies Strike Back, it veers from techno-indie moshfests like Not Now James, We're Busy and Radio PWEI to the more menacing Everything's Cool and Ich Bin Ein Auslander. By the time Def Con One absolutely torches the place, you're very much left in no doubt that the Poppies came, saw and conquered tonight.
Things I have learnt the hard way - going in a moshpit with knackered trainers absolutely kills your feet and so again I end up taking in Stiff Little Fingers' set on the main stage while having a bit of a lie down further back. To be fair though, Jake and co exceeded my expectations tonight with a tight and well drilled greatest hits set taking in cuts from their first four albums plus a run through latter day highlight My Dark Places. Songs like Fly The Flag, At The Edge, Just Fade Away and State of Emergency remain punk classics to this day and a frenetic run through Alternative Ulster to close things reminds you just why the group continue to command such a loyal following.
So the big clash of the day...do I take in Therapy? or Shed Seven? A tough call as both were bands I grew up loving so I decide to watch half an hour of each. Similar to Ash, the last time I saw the Sheds live was a very long time ago (1999 on their Greatest Hits tour to be precise) but they've held up well with Rick Witter still leaping around the stage and commanding the place as Where Have You Been Tonight? and Dolphin rattle through while the seasick balladry of Ocean Pie is a real "oh yeah, I'd forgotten about this one!" moment.
Meanwhile over on the second stage, this is far from the first time I've seen Therapy? recently (in fact it's not even the first time this year) but the likes of the vicious Trigger Inside and Knives, their ominous takes on Husker Du's Diane and Joy Division's Isolation and a thunderous Potato Junkie are a good reminder just why they've managed to carve out such a long career for themselves. Long may it continue.
Wandering back towards the car park to get a taxi as Shed Seven round off with Getting Better, Disco Down and Going For Gold, I can already sense that tomorrow is going to be painful...well, for my feet if not my liver as well. But you know what? It's been a good weekend and a timely reminder of how much fun festivals can be. Same again next year folks?
All photos by Andy Close. All rights reserved.
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