The Wankys, Rat Cage @ Damaged Goods, Leeds, UK, 17/12/2022

 The Wankys, Rat Cage @ Damaged Goods, Leeds, UK, 17/12/2022

There's a new space in Leeds that is rented by punks and run by punks. It's inception began as a rehearsal space. The new wave of youth who are embracing the hardcore punk mentality have formed bands, and people you will have seen in various bands over the years are also involved. New wave hardcore and crust bands 'Fixer' and 'Votiv' practice here, as well as the house band and fellow collective members 'The Shits', who are Drunk In Hell esque; slow, heavy, rocking, and snotty.

The collective are aiming to evolve the space into a fully functioning live music space, but for now, to raise funds and do some testing, they are holding 'private' events (aka ASK A PUNK) before it becomes official. I headed over to one of these events in mid December 2022 to see what all the fuss was about. 

The event was packed, and it was good to see a multi band bill door price at £10 - for too long musicians and artists haven't been able to earn enough to keep their projects self sufficient. Despite that there was still a 'pay as you feel' option for those living below the breadline. I got to see 'The Wankys' from Leicester, a band who I organised their first 'out of town' show for back in 2007 at the 1 in 12 Club, Bradford.  I also met 'Mark Wanky' on a bus from Tampere airport in 2005, when I was visiting Finland, but that's another story altogether. The Wankys play a unique mid tempo noise punk style, and have a cult following throughout the world. They even released a record called 'Live at Puntala Festival', even though they never played there! This was my 7th time seeing The Wankys, and it was just as good as always. It was nice to catch up with Mark again, after so long. 

Up next was Rat Cage from Sheffield, a band with members from a long list of alumni of Sheffield hardcore punk bands. This was the first time (I think) that I have seen them, and they were raging fast good, which was to be expected from band members of this calibre. It's great to see them going from strength to strength, and recently going on a big tour in Australia. 

It was nice to see something old, and something new. The future of live punk shows in Leeds looks exceptionally bright if the collective can attain their live music licence. For now, ask a punk, and go to one of their events to witness the birth of the new breed of hardcore punk in Leeds.