The Beat / Chinese Burn

To finish off what has been a fantastic year for gigs, here are two of my favourite live bands doing their thing in two great local venues. Firstly The Beat at Gloucester's Guildhall...

Ranking Roger and the boys brought the warmth of their Caribbean-via-Coventry blend of ska and reggae to a wintry Gloucester city centre. All the old classics were revisited, bringing smiles to faces and feet to the dance floor:

Hands Off... She's Mine, Too Nice To Talk To, Tears Of A Clown, Stand Down Margaret ( not updated to Stand Down Cameron, unfortunately ), Best Friend and - of course - Mirror In The Bathroom. And, as they say, many more...

The Beat are a highly efficient, purpose-built groove machine, firing on all cylinders. Just try and stand still when they're playing! Go on, I dare you! The rhythms are infectious, the tunes sublime and the interplay between Roger and his son, Ranking Junior, is a joy to behold. Even a strangely "straight" crowd ( the type that probably only go to one gig every couple of years, get absolutely hammered before a note is played, and are ready for trouble as soon as someone looks at them wrong or steps on their toes... ) ...even a crowd like that are helpless before the good time vibes of The Beat and their message of Peace, Love and Unity.

I'd bought my mate Glenn his ticket to the previous week's TV Smith gig as a birthday present, so he bought me my Beat ticket in return for my birthday. Cheers, Glenn!

Jump forward in time to this Wednesday night and Stroud's finest, the mighty Chinese Burn, are rocking Bristol's famous Fleece...

The other bands on the bill are a very promising Kooks / Vampire Weekend-inspired group of youngsters called The Fixed, an uninspiring Punk/Pop/Teen band with the yawnsome name of Area 51, and headliners The Baronesques.

They're an all-girl Rock band with a fairly dated Runaways / Bangles sound, who also do covers of groups like Red Hot Chilli Peppers and The Gossip. Not bad, but not too exciting either. However, from a totally sexist, male chauvinist perspective, the bass player, Becky, is a goddess...

As you can see.

On to another bunch of sexy young things now, the mighty Burn...

Unfortunately, the guys were first band on so that meant only a half hour set with no encores. But what that did mean was a streamlined, "Greatest Hits" set, bursting with the kind of tunes, hooks and energy that got them such a favourable review from Goldblade's John Robb. He knows quality Punk Rock when he sees it...


Here's Ben, one of the most eccentric, charismatic frontmen you'll ever see, recently recovered from falling down between two monitors and nearly off the stage...

And here's Ed and Glenn striking a suspiciously Status Quo-like pose...

And Glenn again, having a great time! When I posted this photo on Facebook he said it "sums up what it's like to play in the Burn really..."

And, to finish, a quick look at the audience, starting with hardcore fans Wendy, Carol, Rob and Helen...

Me, Andy K from the legendary Demob and Noise Agents, and that man Glenn again...

And my rock chick ( for one night, anyway ) daughter Sophie and her boyfriend Jon, who was experiencing the joys of live Punk Rock for the first time. Makes a change from Dubstep :-)

So, another great evening at the Fleece and, on the strength of this gig, the Burn have been offered a support slot with old Punkers 999 later in 2012. Sounds good!