Sandwiches and bog roll: Rebellion 2024 Day 0
I, and I cannot stress this enough, am not a punk.
Knucklehead Tom bleeding from his head, and One Man Underground not being a punk - photo courtesy of The Good Lady Punk Connoisseur
I appreciate the music, some of it I love, and I strongly advocate the DIY attitude, but when it comes to the lifestyle and the fashions I am, to quote Bill Bailey, about as punk as Enya. So, when In Spite Magazine commissioned my take on Blackpool’s Rebellion Festivals, I really wasn’t sure what I could add to the conversation. Honestly, I still don’t. But I’m not one to turn down a job, so here we are.
I had been told in advance that the fringe is where the REAL Rebellion Festivals take place. But with a much-coveted press pass to my name, I figured I should make the most of it and cover the real thing. With an evening free, however, feeling surprisingly perky after 6 hours on the road, my dearly beloved The Good Lady Punk Connoisseur and I thought we should take in some of the pre-festival fringe, just to see what we’re missing out on.
Following a trail of clues from posters and Facebook hints, we found ourselves at The Galleon, where Brazilian quartet Subalternos were about to take to the stage at the climax of a day of free performances. To me their brand of jangly, melodic punk almost sounds closer to the likes of British 80’s indie than 70’s punk rock. Themes of nostalgia and solidarity, with a little contrarianism thrown in, serve this comparison, as does the effervescence of the group themselves, particularly frontman Alberto Rinaldi – these are not angry punks, and the audience react in kind, with warmth and with volume.
Sandwiches - © 1MU
The welcoming vibe was complimented midway through the set when one of the bar staff emerged with a tray of sandwiches – free to all takers. It feels like the kind of act one would expect as a sit-down folk show, not in a pub full of punks. It’s hard to imagine such a thing happening at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in 1976, but maybe this is a sign of where punk rock is now, nearly 50 years on – contrarianism replaced by inclusivity, and generosity in place of a gob in the face. Is this better or worse? It’s certainly a lot more chilled.
We would be far from chilled at our second and final stop of this mini tour of the fringe. Knuckleheadz – Punk Rock Fight Club, tea drinkers, Dick Slaughter’s personal security – had booked a last-minute secret show at Scream And Shake, a horror-themed café, probably about a fifth of the size of the smallest room at the Winter Gardens. As we walked into the hottest, sweatiest room we would experience all weekend, legendary (or in their words, “geriatric”) Bristol duo Hacksaw were just finishing up their set, climaxing in the audience being covered in toilet paper to their signature tune, ‘Bog Roll’. Even in the five minutes I caught, they were clearly a lot of misanthropic fun, perfect for the house party vibe the café had created in its tiny space. Since they apparently turn up to Rebellion every year despite never being booked, I look forward to catching their full set in the future, albeit on the fringe.
"Authentic" strand of hair from the head of Charles Manson - © 1MU
As Knuckleheadz set up, I turned my head and noticed, among the mannequins of Freddy Krueger and killer clowns, a certified authentic strand of hair once belonging to Charles Manson. At least, that’s what it claimed. I began to contemplate the question – can a direct line be made between the Manson murders, the end of the hippy movement, and the rise of punk rock? Probably not. But I wanted to ask it anyway. Let me know how stupid this question is in the comments.
3 and half of Knuckleheadz - ©dickslaughter.com
Though Knuckleheadz were short one member, stuck in LA in visa limbo, they still brought the house down. To a committed few dozen, they gave the ultimate house party set. Unmatched energy, lightning-fast riffs and beats, aggressive vocals – THIS was the punk rock I hoped to experience in Blackpool. I feared previous hype would only let down the band – my fears were completely unfounded.
Fresh air with Knuckleheadz - © 1MU
In retrospect, I see why some get more out of the fringe than the main festival. You might not see the big bands, but you’ll see the smaller bands in far more intimate settings than the Winter Gardens can provide, and you’ll feel the full force of their sound, their performance, and the fan and punk communities far more viscerally than even a massive PA and a crowd of thousands can offer. If I am afforded the opportunity to cover the 2025 festival, who knows, you may see me covering a lot more of this.
But I had a real festival to cover, and I needed to get some sleep and, since I was in the north of England, some chips with gravy. Which I suspect is something our American readers couldn’t even begin to understand. But trust me, at midnight after a few drinks, it’s perfect.
