Haven't really seen a whole lot of bands over the last couple of years but decided I'd go and see GBH despite it being well over ten years since I'd even listened to one of those albums and in those days it would have been "City Baby Attacked by Rats" and "Leather, Bristles, Studs and Acne" on cassette.
First band up were Shut the Hell Up, who were playing their second to last show and it was my first time ever seeing them. They played punk rock 'n' roll type stuff so I liked them more than I would have cared for any new hardcore band.
Above: Shut The Hell Up
Black Lick were up next and had a clearer sound and made good use of samples and a rumbling Motorhead style bass combined with pummeling drums.
Above: Black Lick
Gripper made their way out of their retirement home in the South Island in Nelson due to Sticky Filth not being able to play. Like last time I saw them, Gripper were a lot of fun accompanied with great banter and introduced themselves at GBH at one point.
Above pic: Gripper
GBH then took the stage and proceed to rip through their catalogue with a lot of material from Leather, Bristles, Studs and Acne" and "City Baby Attacked By Rats" plus a few songs from their new album "Perfume and Piss". I remember reading a review of one of the band's London shows in the magazine Metal Forces about twenty years ago which stated that Colin was one of the best frontmen in punk rock and twenty or so years on it's hard to argue as his onstage energy puts an awful lot of younger bands to shame. The band ended their set with a cover of The Clash's "White Riot" and left the stage ignoring encore chants. A twenty-something year old in an Anti-flag T-shirt who knew two GBH songs before seeing them stated that it was the best 90 minutes of his life and more than a few much older would have agreed though probably questioned why a band with a strong catalogue played a Clash cover.
