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Fresh from a set at Download Festival (nicknamed 'Brownload' because of all the mud) the American godfathers of skatepunk are back in Leeds to play to a swelled crowd in the 02 Academy. They bring with them the as always excellent Snuff, Abrasive Wheels and Margate.
With a show start time of before 7pm we miss Margate, who are apparently really great. Abrasive Wheels are a five piece with four lines of vocals, providing a layered and explosive set of choruses. They remind me a little of a stripped back Bouncing Souls with a dash of the Dropkick Murphys. Songs like 'Wake Up' and 'Die For You' are shouty punk classics. An old punk friend of mine present says they used to be a lot faster than the speed they are playing at tonight.
Ah well, for those who need their fast punk fix up next are the awesome Snuff. Snuff are Snuff. Snuff said. Still as ridiculously fast, gobby and brilliant as ever. If Snuff were a sweet, they'd be flumps. Soft and chewy, with enough sugar and artificial colour to send you wappy!
They create within the crowd the biggest moshpit-cum-conga line you'll ever see at a punk rock show. Of course 'Arsehole' which ends the set gets a huge sing a long, and 'Soul Limbo' (based on the BBC cricket theme) gets everyone dancing. There is non stop banter between all the songs. A stand out track for me is 'Nick Northern', though all the songs seem to punch you in the face whilst keeping you smiling. How Duncan manages to sing and play the drums at that speed and that proficiently I will never know.
The big guns are out for NOFX next. With their tiny banner (their 'London banner' which is dropped to reveal an even smaller banner (the 'Leeds banner' at the end). The mosh pit turns into a swirl of bodies. No more fun conga lines, just brute force fun circle pits. A guy dressed as Where's Wally throws a pint as soon as the band reach the stage, prompting them to call us all rich for throwing expensive drinks about. Another guy with a lovely afro is offered £20 (started at a fiver) by Fat Mike to move out of his eye sight range as he's putting him off! Basically if you are on the barrier at a NOFX show, you are going to get ribbed about something or other…
The band are still as batty as ever. Their show is as much about banter as it is about the songs we have all grown up with. They even now have a song listed as 'Joke Song', with a catchy riff that stops abruptly to let them basically take the piss out of each other. Some of it could be a bit risqué to some but they are only mocking themselves.
The set is full of songs (of course at only around the 2 minute mark each), many of the classics. Stand out tracks for me are the obvious 'Leave It Alone', 'All His Suits Are Torn', a cover of Rancid's 'Radio, Radio, Radio' and of course the song that gets everyone shouting along 'Linoleum'. After the latter they do a short encore, ending with Melvin repeatedly playing the 'Theme From a NOFX Album' over and over again on the accordion. Very funny (even though it is now stuck in my head on loop).
Set list:
60%
We Called It America
Leave It Alone
Herojuana
Murder the Government / brews
Seeing Double at the Triple Rock
All His Suits Are Torn
Eat the Meek
Liza and Louise
Fermented and Flailing
Joke Song
The Quitter
The Separation of Church and Skate
Mattersville
Reeko
I Believe in Goddess
Fuck the Kids
Dinosaurs Will Die
Radio, Radio, Radio
Totally Fucked
Linoleum
Franco Un-American
Green Corn
Bottles to the Ground
Theme From a NOFX Album
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article by: Danielle Millea
photos by: Danielle Millea
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| published: 15/06/2012 16:48 |
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