GBH, HOTWIRED & NORTH CITY LAGER SYSTEM
Street punk is alive and well.
In the convoluted history of punk, with many bands having been through more members than they have written songs, GBH stand out. Vocalist Colin Abrahall and guitarist Colin "Jock" Blyth has been there since day one. Ross Lomas joined in ’80 and has played on every album. Even “new boy” (and not so secret weapon) Scott Preece has been with the band for over 30 years. Unsurprisingly, GBH have largely stayed true to the street punk/UK82 sound they helped create and popularise.
Looking like the Billy Idol that remained true to his roots, didn’t sod off to the States for the Yankee dollar and go cartoon punk-pop, Abrahall isn’t quite the scissor kicking live wire he was last time I saw GBH - back in 2018 - but he is still one of punk’s great frontmen. Hanging on to his mic stand like his life depends on it, he snarls the lyrics with as much fire and venom as ever. Jock churns out furious riff after furious riff after furious riffs and it is clear how much of an influence his playing had on the rhythm guitar work of the likes of Metallica and Slayer. As with other progenitors of this style of music - see also Discharge and Angelic Upstarts - Lomas lays down some great bass lines. Ex-Bomb Disneyland/Bomb Everything drummer Preece hits the drums harder than pretty much anyone I have seen recently but with complete control and precision.
The 20+ song setlist is mainly taken from the early days of debut mini-LP Leather, Bristles, Studs and Acne and first two full-lengthers City Baby Attacked By Rats and City Baby’s Revenge but also takes in most recent album Momentum. In fact, that album’s title-track and I Never Asked For Any Of This are among the highlights of the evening.
Unlike last time I saw GBH, tonight is a sellout and, as well as the usual suspects, there are a fair few younger faces in the crowd, which is good to see. The crowd is mightily enthusiastic. Vigorous pits break out frequently but, whilst there are a couple of incidents that briefly threaten to escalate, for the most part it is good natured fun.
Normally in a review I try to spend some time on the supports but I’ll keep it brief this time. I like openers NORTH CITY LAGER SYSTEM and HOTWIRED. Both bands have members that are absolute stalwarts of the Norwich punk scene. Both bands do decent jobs of warming things up. They have decent songs and put on a show. But I have seen them both play sets that I have enjoyed much more than tonight. I dunno whether that was down to the early start or that I just wasn’t feeling it. Ah well, there’s always next time.
