Seeing Out The Year In Style!

The weekend couldn't have gone better, our set went off without a hitch! Well, there was one little hitch, the guitar player's peddle board with his effects peddles stopped working near the end of the set. No idea what happened to it, but, it didn't make much of a difference as our final song, I Met My Pet On The Internet didn't require effects so it was all good. After finishing our set I was left happy that we could enjoy the rest of the bands, but sad, in a way, wishing we could carry on playing for just a little bit longer.

There were a bunch of pictures taken of the gig, which turned out great, but here's one with the four of us in the same shot!

The Nilz were next up on the bill and as usual, they were great, their set was a hard-hitting and chest-thumping 20 minutes of good old-fashioned Irish punk rock! The lead singer threw a gimp mask on near the midway point of their set and anyone who didn't know them wasn't expecting it. Love the band and the lads are all absolute gentlemen, they rounded off their set with their cover of Gay Bar by Electric Six, while the singer stuck a sparkler up his arse and lit it, it was good ole wholesome fun and the crowd loved it!

Next up was a one-man band, Meryl Streek, who I hadn't heard of until their last-minute addition to the lineup of the night. He dominated the stage and even left the stage at one point singing part of his song Death To The Landlords atop the shoulders of one of the audience members. He was joined on stage by the singer of the band The Vulpynse and together they saw out the end of the set.

Subhumans came out to the drunk gig-goers and instantly got to work riling up the crowd. They played some songs from their original EP's and some new material too, the crowd loved it and I don't think anyone could help sing every word. The lead vocalist Dick Fish was as charismatic as anyone could have imagined, between songs he would try his hardest to get a few ideas across in record time. By the time Subhumans came off I was out of breath, but still raring to go!

Here are a couple of songs my mum recorded of them playing.

Paranoid Visions came out then to a punk drunk crowd and gave it socks, they were backed by the flashing images of a projector, which was just as hypnotizing as their set. For one of their songs 'Look At Me' they were joined by the singer of The Nilz and the singer from Dangerous Dave and the Side Effects.

Here's a video my mum caught and put up on YouTube after the gig!

Then to keep in the spirit of Christmas the two singers from the bands joined them once more to chant and sing out at the end of their set. The gig was energetic and left the crowd wanting more, which they all got as there was an after-party in Fibber Magee's where there was some more live music to be had.

After Paranoid Visions came off stage, myself, my dad and uncle went downstairs to the backstage room to hang out and we got chatting with everyone involved in the night. One person we got talking with was the singer from Subhumans, who my dad and uncle told a story about years prior when my dad was at a Citizen Fish gig when I was 14 months old after getting talking to Dick, he asked if he would write me a note, which he obliged by taking out a note pad and pen and he then went on to write.

"14 months and a few years later, you may well read this and may well you wonder, cheers, ask your dad." The note is a bit of a family heirloom of sorts and I still have it, but, I don't have it handy to add a photo of it.

Anyway, we got talking, told him that story, and then I told him that now I've got a child on the way, a little boy, and I asked him if there was any chance he would write a little something for him just in case he gets into his punk rock, which he most likely will. I brought a scan picture with me and he took it and had a little think as we silently anticipated his words. He turned from the desk a few moments later with this.

(I think it's really cool that the lil fella made it into the picture too!)

"Punk Rock, what an occupation, I just got to meet the third generation. Have a great birthday and I'll see you later, armed with a random piece of paper."

We couldn't help but joke about this weird intergenerational connection he has with my family and after a few pictures and a bit more buzzing around the room, it was time for us all to clear out of the venue and get back to the car.

The festering burrows were empty on the 10th of December as everyone descended on The Button Factory like a horde of locusts and it felt great to have been a part of it, reveling in the eclectic chaos. I came out of the night feeling like I got sucked into a looney tunes dust storm and found myself on the other side of the night merry... (Get it? Cause of Christmas) and drenched in sweat. I made it back home that night wishing to go back and do it all over again!

There'll be plenty more gigs to come, but this one was something special.