It certainly has been Another Winter Of Discontent (which if you cannot see you are obviously blind) and without going into an anti-government tirade it means that the bands playing this four day event have a message that is just as relevant now as it was in the 80’s when many of them were at their prime. Yes I would have loved to have attended all four nights of this but it simply was not possible. Sunday with The Subhumans was a major draw but the return of Conflict to London for the first time in the crapital since 2007 was mandatory as far as I was concerned. It seemed a bit odd turning up at the venue and chatting to quite a few people I knew, as they were all going into the smaller venue attached in the same building to catch Absu. I wondered if I was the only person finding this punk, black/death metal clash a little vexing but again there was no question on which show I wanted to see the most.
We needed to warm up after the cold and for the early attendees that job was all up to Ted Dibiase And The Million Dollar Punk Band. They were as unknown to me as their namesake who it appears is a wrestler. It was quickly evident that they were all about the comedy and having flung out money (which was not valid at the bar) and cocaine (which failed to do the job but smelled rather nice as it slid down the nostrils) they had people skidding around on the floor to their songs about the Taliban and Pedos. The trio were fast, gobby and energetic with it and most of all very entertaining. Their bassist Mr Randall kindly lubricated a few thirsty mouths down the front by pouring contents from a bottle into their eager supporters and his vocals along with guitarist singer Mr Shrubsall kept their sound versatile with sudden clean croons taking things into a post punk direction momentarily. Quickly exploding into the sort of sound that should have had a circle pit chugging around if there had been enough people and that coke had worked they had those in here in party mood even if announcing a song to Spurs fans obviously went down like a lead balloon.
For me Decadent Few were the main supporting draw and I was trying to think back and remember if I had even seen them before. Memories blur but some of these songs were instantly timeless. Founding member and singer Kay Byatta may have looked as though she had her best party frock on but a four letter rant spilled out of her mouth quickly as they took the stage and it was evident this was a band still at war with injustice, fuck the system indeed! The chugging beat of the band along with those unmistakable vocals leapt out the speakers and we were off on a potent trip that probably had others like me looking through their old vinyl the next day. Alas I could only find the one track on We Don’t Want Your Fucking War compilation and even if not recognising most of the material tonight it felt as though it came from a very comfortable place. Blood On Their Hands came an indignant shout out about the fucking government and I loved the thick fuzzy bass sound rumbling out the speakers and the pounding almost tribal drum beat. The voice rose above it all though and totally commanded. The timings for the event were running like clockwork but people were demanding an encore and they got one rattled out in three minutes. Now all we need is for someone to gather their stuff together and bring them all out on CD as I’m buggered if I can find anything.
Looking down the street the off licence was mobbed, which explains where a lot of people were. Why miss the bands for the sake of cheap beer? Inside the booze was going to flow quick for the Oirish punk of Neck a group from the emerald isle that is County Holloway! That aside they are probably as Irish as The Boston Arms pub itself and they sounded the real deal as they blew into a wild jig complete with fiddles, pipes, blarney and it all sounded grand begorrah. We have heard it many a time before from The Pogues to the Dropkick Murphys but this sort of style should bring even the lame to life and get them dancing around. Strangely enough the audience although watching appreciatively were more intent on sipping their Guinness than getting all manic, perhaps saving things till later. The green lighting bathing the band seemed just right to accentuate their sound and one particular moment descending into hoe-down country took us every ridge way it could in an almost Dukes Of Hazard type style via County Donegal, all that was missing was the cowbell. What’s left to say apart from for one mad half hour we were all plastic paddies.
I should have come across the next lot before, no excuse but I only knew Drongos For Europe by name and as they came on stated that time was of the essence and blew into things it was obvious I have been missing out. There was lots of posturing and guitars were flailed with finesse. Adrenaline was of the essence and the short sharp bursts of punky goodness had much in the way of spiky haired enthusiasm finally going for it down at the front. Although this have been around since 1979 they exuded a freshness and a hunger that many a new band could not match and the Brummie mob have got their fast as fuck craft down incredibly tight and precise with anthem like parts causing us to bounce around along with them. This was classic punk and you could have name-checked a host of acts, a touch of Exploited here some DK intricate guitar work there and absolutely no bullshit but a straight ahead driving pace to match. A song called ‘Freedom’ said it all with some jagged fretwork fired out and Clash like vocals all chugging along at a fair old lick like an out of control express train.. There was no time to waste and other numbers like ‘Revolution Times’ were quickly fired out.
As mentioned Conflict have been on hiatus but at least this time it has been self-imposed due to personal matters and restructuring rather than any enforcement at the bequest of the authorities. They came out of hibernation and played a collect couple of gigs such as in Bristol with The Mob but these were always hinted as being possibly it for the band who were going to see how things went. London for this show was announced and again that message seems to be there and what the future will bring is uncertain. As for the band today well obviously it would not be Conflict without Colin Jerwood at the helm and backing him up is the recognisable Paul Hoddy on bass. Keeping the beat we have Spike T Smith but the biggest surprise (well it sure would have been if I had not seen some online rehearsal footage) was new guitarist Gav King. Some may have recognised the dreadlocked player as one of the protégées of Giz Butt when he was in The More I See but anyone else scratching their heads and wondering yes, he is also the current guitarist in Fields Of The Nephilm and to play for Carl McCoy you have to be good.
Anyway having been away for a while one could have expected rock star pretentions and an audience being kept waiting on a leash but no, the band simply took to the stage without any rigmarole and flew into things. Punk can be as I said before all too familiar and too safe or even have an annoying sense of humour about it but not with this lot. Conflict are the real deal, the danger, the aggression and the in the face controlled power that hits like a brick. The black shirted band looked grounded and sounded good and the audience reacted with everyone suddenly wanting to be in on the action and down at the front of the stage. The fluttering guitar sounds were caustic and instantly identifiable as being owned by Conflict despite the player being new to the game. The message was clear nothing has changed and this was all about going From Protest To Resistance and it sounded meaty as a fist in the face.
Songs came thick and fast, Hoddy played close to the floor at times and Colin was kneeling down beside him. Some songs had to be played and the likes of ‘Increase The Pressure’ were flung out with as potent a message as ever. During most recent album number (yes that was released in 2003) ‘There’s No Power’ there was one bit of aggro from a large skinhead gentleman with braces on but he pretty much got catapulted out of the venue courtesy of the singer who bowled off the stage, doing the job and hardly missing a word. I thought I had read that there was going to be a female singer joining the band at some point but this did not happen however Kerry Bovell did get up and we got down with some dub beats from the band allowing us to chill momentarily. Everything flew in a blur with Meat Means Murder and This Is The A.L.F. being thrown into the set and the hour and a bit they were on seemed over really quickly.
So it’s evident that even if Conflict were not playing to the 5000 here tonight there are still people wanting to hear their message and with new material and more shows their message could be picked up by plenty of others disgusted at the way things are going. As for Another Winter Of Discontent, the festival has come a long way since starting in the Gaff and has done a brilliant job and getting the cream of the Anarchist punk movement together again for some great shows. Hopefully they will be back in 2014 with some more surprises.
Pete Woods
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