Tobs & Kroni, Ix Chel, Half Asleep, Imans League @ Garage Studio, Selangor, Malaysia, 03/09/2022

 Tobs & Kroni, Ix Chel, Half Asleep, Imans League (Singapore) @ Garage Studio, Selangor, Malaysia, 03/09/2022

Post-gig Photo Shoot

Moving to another country and finding a fellow 41 year old, with the same passion & love of 90s melodic skate punk as me, is worth it's weight in gold. This person is known as TOBS, and his musical project features a rotating cast of friends with similar music tastes, hence the name TOBS & KRONI, who are from Selangor. The rotating nature of the band was on display tonight, as their usual drummer had a show that night with his big rock band, so they had a stand in drummer, who also played in some of the other bands that night. Bucking the trend of using & FRIENDS in the name, the band has a unique tongue in cheek twist, of using a variation on the word 'crony', which according to etymologists, was actually used in a more positive light than today's usage of the word. It's original meaning denotes a 'long-lasting' and 'familiar' friendship between peers, and this can be said of the supporting caste of characters involved in the band, who have known each other for over 20 years, and played in various music projects together. 

When the second song 'Play Again' kicks in, it's clearly an ultimate later-period DESCENDENTS tribute, and the bass lines are the icing on the cake for that sound. Lyrically, it is akin to 'MERICAN, with it's simplistic critique of Malaysian society, and a clear rejection of letting the state influence who you are. It's that good of a song, I can give it equal gravitas to actually being a Descendents song. Many of the other songs in the set remind me of LAGWAGON, particularly the fast chord progressions, and the unique breakdowns later in the songs; and that's no surprise really considering that one of the logos that the band use is in the same font style of Lagwagon, and a recent press kit had the same background wallpaper as the seminal album DOUBLE PLAIDINUM, which is a firm favourite amongst matured Lagwagon fans. Some of the slower songs in the set definitely had a WEEZER / BEACH BOYS sound, and again that's no surprise as they have covered these songs on their albums, and who knows, maybe some of these songs where the actual covers themselves. So overall, it was musically pleasing to hear a range of styles from bands I love & am familiar with, particularly as these sounds are not widely appealing these days. Lyrically, the songs had some interesting perspectives, exploring the life during lockdown in 'Most of my friends are bored at home', and a song about Ageism called 'I hate my hair'.

Tobs & Kroni

As the set was drawing to a close, the band played a few covers. They were joined on stage by another friend of theirs, a fellow punk writer, who sang two songs by the band USELESS ID. Now this in itself was something I found fascinating. Firstly, Useless ID have a big reach, considering they have albums on FAT WRECK CHORDS; yet I had yet to meet anyone who was a fan of the band - there were people in the crowd singing along to the songs, and the singer of Useless ID also did an online solo set during the Covid-19 lockdown for Malaysian fans, as part of the 'online shows' series promoted by CREAMPIE RECORDS Secondly, this links to the geopolitical situation in the country. Now the band have stated that their appreciation of and relationship with Useless ID developed organically, however it is interesting in contrast to the Malaysia's foreign policy. Due to the conflicts in Palestinian Occupied Territories, Israeli passport holders are banned from entering the country, so it's interesting to see that despite these barriers, people from both countries have managed to establish a friendship & connection. It just goes to show that all these acts of political violence (varying degrees, but from both sides) are inconsequential for working class punk rockers with similar beliefs; and in a way, the formation of this friendship is a radical act in itself, and another example of how the band are living the values they sing about in that Descendents worship song 'Play Again'. After this performance, I definitely want to see Tobs & Kroni play again.

The story gets even better, because for the finale, I heard the unforgettable introduction to MR COFFEE by Lagwagon. So I rushed straight to the front of of the crowd, grabbed the backing vocals microphone, and sang along with band. There's a back story here, because when I was 17 years old, I tried to start a band in college, at a time when I didn't know anything about what starting a band involved. I'd arranged a jamming session with my friend Al (whom recently I hadn't seen for over 20 years, and then he magically appeared at Slam Dunk Festival in 2019, and we sang along and watched Lagwaon play together), and at the jamming session I turned up impressed with myself for spending a whole week learning and mastering the introduction guitar solo to Mr Coffee. He had learned the whole song on bass guitar, and at that point I came to the stark realisation that I had a long way to go if I ever wanted to be in a band. With all that in mind, it all came back full circle, and made me intensely happy that after nearly 25 years, I was finally able to get to perform that song live, albeit in a more limited capacity. The night couldn't get any better for me after that.    

Next up on the bill was IX CHEL from Kuala Lumpur, whom I was interested in seeing play, after seeing some of their video packages on social media. I would class them as more of a Pop Punk band, but they did crossover into more Punk Rock elements throughout their set. They played through a range of styles, some fast, some slow, some punky, some indie pop, and had some nice melodic vocal harmonies, akin to Heather from the TEEN IDOLS. I wonder if these range of styles is with deliberate intent, or if it's because they are a new band, they may still be figuring out their identity in their early stages of their existence. I would definitely say that they are a good gateway band for modern audiences who are interested in exploring these styles further, and they had soft warm personalities which many people will find endearing & will be able to connect with - they had a good presence on stage and established a nice rapport with the audience. On a side note, there were a few children at the show that night, and this band aptly represented that family friendly vibe to the proceedings. It's great that there is a venue around where ALL AGES shows are welcome, and definitely a plus point that there is a no-smoking policy in the gig room, unlike some other so-called punk spaces. 

Ix Chel

Then it was time for HALF ASLEEP (originally from KEDAH), who featured two members of Ix Chel, and the drummer who played with Tobs & Kroni. They definitely had one foot more in the camp of the modern pop punk sound, but they did vary up their style often, and did make some tributes to the past. For example, they started off with an epic song like SPANISH LOVE SONGS, and then immediately went into a THE SPECIALS style number. Then they played a fast song, which finished off with a call back to the previous SKA song. Then later in the set, I am getting an ALKLAINE TRIO vibe to some of their songs. So overall, there was a lot of interesting elements to their set, and it was kept varied enough to sustain my interest. I must also give a special shout out to their guitar player, who was nailing some epic STRUNG OUT style guitar solos. 

Half Asleep

Between the bands, I was going round and talking to people, which is always just as enjoyable as watching the bands themselves. I met a nice bunch of young people who had travelled to the show from Pahang. One of them was wearing a BAD RELIGION 'Against the Grain' shirt, which is the same design as my tattoo, so we enjoyed having a chat about our mutual appreciation of the band, and having a singalong to Generator. One thing I have learnt from all my time ONT ROAD, is that punk transcends all cultures, identities & social characteristics.

The headlining band was IMANS LEAGUE, a three piece from Singapore, who were doing a weekend tour in Malaysia - it's great that the borders are finally open, and that we can welcome foreign bands again. I had previously seen them play in Malaysia during the 'Friends From Far Away Places' show back in 2019, and you can read about this elsewhere on the blog. They've been a band for quite some time, and they have definitely nailed down their style, and that was the predominant approach throughout their set. It was nice to have them here, and support the international punk rock family. 

The final positive I'd like to highlight about the show, was that before the bands played, they were introduced by an MC who gave a brief run down & biography about the band, and sometimes this veered into a short Q&A with the band members. I'd like to see this happen at all shows, as a casual fan it's nice to get some context about the band you are going to watch. 

A photo of a poster on the wall of the venue, from when NOFX played in Malaysia. There are clips from the show on Series One of the NOFX Backstage Passport TV Show.

Rebellion Festival 2022 - Thursday 4th August

Rebellion Festival - Thursday 4th August 2022

They have cancelled their upcoming European tour'. This was the message I received in the 'Leeds Bad Religion Fan Club' group on social media, five days before the festival was due to begin. This was hugely disappointing news. The reason for the cancellation was 'a family emergency', and we suspected instantly that it might be something to do with the wife of bassist Jay Bentley, who has expected to give birth around this time. Thankfully, we heard the news two weeks later that mother and baby had come through and survived what was described as a life threatening & traumatic experience for them. Operation Rescue was completed. 

Now usually the cancellation of a heavyweight headliner doesn't have much impact on what is usually a stacked day of middleweight  American punk-rock bands. However, in a post-covid world, there weren't as many of these type of bands booked as usual, so it felt a little deflating. Despite this, there was a solid undercard of quality super-middleweight UK bands booked to fill the void. So for a change, rather than having to take it steady, and pace ourselves in the build up to the main event, we decided just to cut loose, go all in, and move from 0-100 by the time the third band had hit the stage.

I started the day at the introducing stage to catch MONDO WAVE, who were decent, and had a catchy SLAVES meets SLEAFORD MODS-esque song in their set. I thought this was going to be MONDO WAVE on MONSTER ZERO RECORDS, whose releases sounded like AGENT ORANGE surf style punk rock. Maybe it was the same band with a new style, maybe they are a completely different band [answers on a postcard would be nice], whichever the case, they were a good warm up for the days action.  

We then hit the Empress Ballroom to see PIZZATRAMP from Wales. I'd heard good anecdotes about the band, and after seeing their set, I can see why there is good chatter about the band. Essentially it was fast punk-rock, glued together by comedic banter from the singer, who was calling everyone from Bono, Taylor Hawkins, his band members, and merch crew, TOTAL CUNTS. It was highly amusing, and the rest of the crowd were lapping it up too. Middle fingers up all round.

Pizza Tramp

SUZI MOON from the USA had got some pre-festival hype from some of our crew, so we went off to the PAVILLION to see them/her play. They had style, panache, and solid structured songs; pulling off an impressive set to a packed audience. This was a nice surprise, and akin to the Rebellion experience of ending up seeing bands you've never heard of, and enjoying the result. 

Suzi Moon

Then it was back to the Empress ballroom for the safe pair of hands, WONK UNIT, who have grown into some form of modern epitome of what UK punk-rock is in 2022. A lot has to do with the charming personality of the singer, a lot has to do with carving out their uncommon style, and a lot has to do with years of relentless touring. They have become a seven piece band now, complete with keyboards; and they had us dancing down the front, throughout the whole set. It was great to see two UK bands, getting strong reactions, and large audience on the main stage at such an early point of the festival - well deserved. 

Wonk Unit

We had previously seen THE BOUNCING SOULS on the outside stage of the festival, many years ago, and they were all decked in casual clothes, looking like respectable family men going to a PLAY DATE. This time round they came out on stage, looking like the Bouncing Souls of old, with the singer sporting his classic Oi! hat. I must say that they were pretty remarkable this time around, playing lots of old classics to keep the fans happy.  

The Bouncing Souls

The same can't be said for ANTI-FLAG, who hardly played any old songs, and it was 90% of their later material. Which was a shame, because I stopped listening to any of their new material after 2003, however, all those new songs are probably what got them over to a larger crowd, and a large crowd they did attract. It was the usual modern day Anti-Flag, lots of showboating with jumps, spins, crowd clapping, breakdowns in the songs, and even a punk rock homage medley - all the hallmarks of what you'd find at a GREEN DAY concert. There is no doubt about their artistic talent, and I have huge profound respect for their outspoken political messages, which is still going strong 30+ years later, even though there has been waves, where this style was no longer cool anymore; but the Anti-Flag of my youth is no longer making my heart beat like it once did. 

Ant-Flag

By this stage, I had drunk far too many pints of IPA from the newly welcomed, FARMERS BAR pop-up, so I decided to take some down time, by going to get some food. My stomach was very happy about this, but then I started to get insanely bad hiccups. So I went to the local Co-Op, only to find they had sold out of Gaviscon (sign of the times - Buckfast still available, Gaviscon out of stock). Thankfully there was a kind punk on hand, who gave me a check up, and then donated to me some RENNIE to help ease the pain. I then took some solace in the dark Theatre stage watching parts of the JOE STRUMMER & JOY DIVISION movies, managing to finally get rid of the hiccups. It was around this time that NEVILLE STAPLE was due to play, but unfortunately he had cancelled too. I also had well-meaning ideals to tick the box and see HAWKWIND, but the outside stage seemed so far away at that point, so I went up to the Spanish Hall to watch some FEROCIOUS DOG (Acoustic). Simon the Gardener is a massive fan, and he's unsuccessfully tried to get us to like them in the past, even persistently when we wind him up calling them the MUMFORD & SONS of punk rock. I will actually now take that all back, as they were a really enjoyable watch.

Honest Tom & I were excited about rounding off the night by watching THE DEECRACKS who are on MONSTER ZERO RECORDS, which is basically the 'go to' label for any modern bands that play pogo power punk like SCREECHING WEASEL. Unfortunately there weren't many people around in the large venue, and despite our best efforts to get a pit going, it fell flat, and the night petered out unceremoniously.  

The next morning, despite the absence of a heavyweight headlining band, the actual real main event of any trip to Blackpool, is of course the Punk Rock Mini Golf Tournament, held at the challenging links course outside the entrance of the Pleasure Beach. Some training earlier in the week at a new crazy golf course in Leeds paid off, as I was successfully able to hold off two-time champion Honest Tom, and plucky newcomer Nat On A Rope, taking command on the back three holes to take the title, joining Mellortron as a two time winner. 

Even though the day didn't turn out as expected, it was fun to experience the event in a different way this time around; and it definitely gave me the impetus to go for another full weekend in the future, rather than our usual Thursday day trip. Most importantly, in a post Covid world, it was just great to be out reconnecting with the people and the music again. 

Another round of mini-golf?

It's official - Ska Punk is good for your mental health! The JB Conspiracy & Call Me Malcolm @ The Key Club, Leeds, 21/07/2022

 It's official - Ska Punk is good for your mental health! The JB Conspiracy & Call Me Malcolm @ The Key Club, Leeds, 21/07/2022

In the run up to my visit to the UK I was frantically scouring the internet to find out what gigs I could go to during the free time I had away from seeing my family & friends. The amount of gigs going on isn't quite yet at pre pandemic levels, but it is significantly nearer to normal compared to last summer. This one popped up on my radar as a potential, and a speculative message to my gig buddy, Simon The Gardener yielded a positive response. It felt like the right thing to do, given the more limited opportunities these days, and always following the simple rule, a gig (even if it ends up being shit) is better than no gig.

Thankfully Simon took on the role of the pre gig research, as apparently the 2007 version of the band is classic THIRD WAVE SKA, which we were hoping to hear, but their 2013 & 2021 albums were their own 'INTO THE UNKNOWN' & 'PANIC AT THE DISCO' hybrid albums, where it seems that the brass sections were occasionally allowed back into the fold, but under strict instructions not to get too carried away. That may or may not be the case, but I am a gig reviewer, not a recorded music reviewer. What did hold my interest though was the experimental angle - there have been tons of third wave ska bands since the 1990s, and as REEL BIG FISH sang in 1996, 'Everything I wanna do, has already been done' in reference to starting a band, in their song 'Join The Club', it's nice when bands try to push the boundaries of a genre and offer something fresh. I am also a huge fan of third wave ska anyway, so whatever we were going to get that night, I was going to be happy.

We missed the support band DAVES (apologies Daves) but we don't get chance to hang out very often, so we needed some time to catch up before the music started. We arrived to see the whole set of CALL ME MALCOLM, whose name alone gives them automatic association with third wave ska. They were really enjoyable, and got people moving, particularly with some novel crowd participation strategies, which I'd never seen before. The first was getting everyone to take a knee (which I guess is a tribute and acknowledgement to the BLACK LIVES MATTER movement), before getting them to start jumping as the song kicked in. The second came after a nice positive message about MENTAL HEALTH, in which they organised a 'WALL OF HUGS', which basically starts as a 'Wall of Death' but when you run into the middle, you just have to hug the person opposite, and then subsequently others. It was a joy to witness, and there was nice positive vibes throughout their set, which musically was good standard third wave ska. How many times more will that phrase get used in this article?

I think we got a mix of songs from all eras of the JB CONSPIRACY. They were brilliant, and got the whole room dancing - myself included, and two lads who had traveled all the way down from Carlisle on the train (respect!) These guys radiated positive vibrations and were giving it 100% energy throughout the set. Top marks to them!

We came away with a good feeling after that gig, and it made me fall in love again with ska music. As a three person gig going group (Honest Tom made a last minute surprise appearance, much to our delight), the last time were altogether at a show was THE MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES (who have sadly recently split up) during the Summer of 2019, so it seemed fitting that were reunited at the side of the pit, at another ska punk show. It's great to see that the third wave ska fun house is still rolling through towns, and providing joy to peoples lives, and respect to SLAM DUNK music for still promoting this kind of music in Leeds.    

 

20 Malaysia - Real Shit in Georgetown @ Soundmaker Studio, Penang

I can confirm, yes there was indeed 'real shit' in Georgetown. There's been a few gigs here in Malaysia since the move to the endemic phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, which began a few months ago, but this was the first one that had the showcase/marquee feel and expectation. The reasons for that are; it was an all dayer, 300 people had travelled from different states across Malaysia to attend the show, it featured a range of many current & active bands from all over Malaysia, with varying styles, and it was headlined by a band who technically are from another country (Tuas, aka Singapore), but are in fact ethnically Malay, so in effect it was a form of a spiritual homecoming. For many people in the audience that night, it was also their first show since the start of the pandemic, so for them, this was a spiritual reawakening of their hardcore and punk souls. 

Like all good punk shows, the start time was delayed, but it all kicked off just nicely with NO CLUE (from Malacca) playing some hardcore punk. Up next were the Orang Tua (Old Men) brigade of ON YOUR MARK (from Kedah), who played an infectious blend of youth crew / old school hardcore. They helped get the crowd start their warm up dances by treating us to covers of Youth of Today and Black Flag - they certainly read the mood of the room correctly, and it got people moving which is what the show needed. Up next were SLAVE (from Pahang) who played a kind of mid-tempo Japanese crust/hardcore with guitar delay effect, and the pit size started to increase. Then it was the turn of the formidable SPLIT TONGUE (from Shah Alam of all places - there couldn't be a sharper contrast between people from that area, and people from the band). These guys have been playing shows here there and everywhere, and this was shown by how tight and in time they were as a band. The singer is quite a charismatic character, and the crowd were lapping up the whole performance with the joy of someone tucking into their first taste of Penang Nasi Kandar. Speaking of 'contrasts', next up were CHANGES (from Kuantan) who presented my first audio visual experience of seeing a woman in a tudung (headscarf) singing in a punk band - snotty & angry vocals mixed in with the fast raging sound of the band, made for a pleasant & unforgettable sight (I immediately bought the CD & T-shirt after their performance).    

Then it was time for the interlude and a performance from HIPHOP DECONTROL X YAROBIN (from Kuala Lumpur), which is a bunch of punks who love hip-hop. There was a DJ & scratch master (who clearly knew his stuff & was able to mix/scratch), and he was joined by various singers throughout the set. The lyrics must have been quite confrontational & critical of the deep state because some of the singers were wearing masks to hide their identity. This was an excellent break from the wall of noise, and an essential component for booking an all dayer when most of the bands playing are of similar subgenres. By this stage of the night I was a few drinks in, and absolutely loving life. I had opportunities to catch up with some Malaysian punks I had previously met on my travels, and made some new friends from Hungary, Belgium, and Singapore. 

It was a hard slap back to the mosh with BLACK WOUNDS (From Perak) who played straight up modern mosh hardcore, SAFETY ZONE (From Shah Alam, Selangor) who played raging modern hardcore punk, and then followed by some fantastic straight-edge youth crew hardcore by CHECK YOUR HEAD (From Batu Pahat, Johor). In the interests of disclosure I was a bit tired and tipsy by this point, so my memory was a little hazy from this section of the show, but I did observe the pit kicking off throughout all these three sets. 

The penultimate set was by BODY RAG (From Kuala Lumpur), a death metal influenced hardcore three piece, that wouldn't have felt out of place at a grind or metal show, and they proved to be popular with the crowd and a perfect transition to watching SIAL (From Singapore) tear the roof off in the finale. I caught up with the guitarist prior to their set and asked how long they would play for, and he said 15 minutes. I told him that some people haven't been to a show for 2 years so he should reconsider his proposal, he agreed and said that they will play for 17 minutes instead 😂. A lot of people had clearly come to see them, and the stage was packed with people, leaving little room for the band to mangle the fuck out their noisy hardcore punk crust, to a pit baying for utter brain destruction. It was a pure joy to witness. What I like about SIAL is that they manage to make their version of punk sound noisy, chaotic, angry ,and melodic, all at once, and at different times. See for your self in the video at the end of the post. It was a perfect way to end the night, in what was an amazing showcase of what the Malaysian punk scene has to offer, and a great occasion for everyone to reconnect following a global pandemic. 

19 Malaysia - ACAB @ Angkasa, Kuala Lumpur

 ACAB @ Angkasa, Kuala Lumpur - 26/02/2022

Bloody hell! How good did it feel to get out to a gig after so long in the wilderness? I did manage to go to a seated punk show at Rumah Api back in April 2021, but the last proper show I went to in Malaysia was in February 2020! 

I found out about this show after my usual deep dive of the internet, and it was promoted by Atas Angin, who seem to be in the market with promoting mid size shows with popular bands from the rock side of music. I noticed they had a listing for a band called ACAB (All Comrades Are Brothers is the fake code name here 😉 ), and safe to say it was a band from the punk genre.

I looked them up on the internet and found out that they were one of the pioneers of the 'Eastern Oi!' sound of the 1990s, and they had worldwide noteriety with their song 'Skinhead for Life'. That was enough for me to purchase two tickets for 160RM (£30).

I did listen to some more of their songs, which were named after Cocksparrer and Slaughter & The Dogs songs, and they were actually original songs, not covers.

I made a flask of rum and coke for the 40 minute taxi ride to town, and arrived early enough to drink cans of beer (that were hidden from JAKIM plain view) on the street, whilst waiting for people to turn up.

I met a lot of people throughout the night, mainly because my Malaysian friend Nobby was forever 'on the way', and I enjoyed meeting them and talking about music. One group of people I met from Kajang (which is the next district to where I live) even invited me to join them at the Mamak over the road whilst they Makan. I did my best to keep my beer from view, and even if people did know, they either didn't care, or didn't care enough to say anything. Almost all of the crowd were of Malay heritage, and by default Islamic. The venue itself has a no alcohol policy, but subtly drinking cans outside seemed to be tolerated (I was the only person doing it). I kept people entertained with my stories and basic Malay language, and the most common question I was asked was, "Have you seen Cocksparrer live?" 😂

Speaking of Oi! The band itself hit the stage around 9pm, and played for over an hour with a short break in the middle. The guitar players and the drummer had the classic skinhead / smart clothes look, and the singer looked like a rock star. Their music was a bit slower than traditional Oi! I'm not sure if that's their style, or just old age. There were the usual sing along choruses that the crowd regularly joined in for, and it was nice for a change to be 41 years old at a show and still be in the youngest quartile of the age ranges. I went for a dance during the last few songs, and some of the other punks joined in, so that was a nice way to end off the show.

The show itself was sponsored by a vaping company, who were giving away free vaping devices at the show. I guess they knew the clientele well; middle aged people who are slowing down and starting to become more health conscious.

Overall, it was great to get out to show, and see an established band from the Malaysian alternative music heritage.