Bit of a history lesson here as there is a lot behind the headliners. Culture Shock were a more dance/ ska offshoot of anarcho punk band The Subhumans and were hugely respected, releasing a handful of albums and EP’s and playing frequently at gigs and on the free festival scene. Family life got in the way and the band split in 1989 but not before attempting a final free gig at London’s Fulham Greyhound which due to the amount of people attending got quickly out of hand and turned into a bit of a riot seeing the end of the band and The Greyhound in the process. I was somewhat gutted having been at this to have missed the last chance to see them but luckily had The Subhumans and another offshoot Citizen Fish to placate me over the years. Sadly guitarist Nige from Culture Shock died in 1993 so you can imagine the surprise when it was announced the band were reforming for a series of shows with Alex from the Fishes taking over on guitar. I plumped for the Bristol show, which was the third on the tour for various reasons including the fact that the place has a vibrant scene and the allure of a benefit gig in a deconsecrated church was hard to resist.
When we finally got in due to the Noah’s Ark security letting in two by two at a time (frankly security were a pain all night and completely wrong for the event) the first support band Spanner described as ‘local militant ska punk’ were in full swing. Plenty were moving and grooving to the band’s skanking beat and unlike London shows this was an audience who were partying from the off until they dropped. A fair few were doing that due to beer spillage (at £4 a pint an expensive game) and during the course of the night there were some spectacular face skids on the floor. The band put on an exuberant, fast and manic performance with a political backbone about it along with some trumpet flurries and even a spot of tin whistle. Think of an agit-punk ska clash between the likes of early Chumbawamba, Pain, Blaggers ITA and the Dropkick Murphys and you would be in the right sort of place. Put together with an up for it home crowd the set flew by in a heady fashion that was over far too quickly.
Welsh mob Skrew Faze mix of ska, rap, metal & punk, had me very worried but luckily what sounded terrible on paper was not the 90’s One Minute Silence throwback I was dreading. This had heart and soul about it and was upbeat as it threw its dreadlocks around with a bouncy sound taking in the likes of Dub War and Stuck Mojo and even a touch of Clawfinger via the political side. OK I just contradicted myself, it was a 90s throwback but done well with some nice technical guitar licks and solos and catchy vocals. They rapped it up with songs about getting wankered along with others more about peace and love. Gimme The Weed had people getting down to things again after a slightly more subdued start and with observational numbers about gang culture and anti-establishment rages against machines the band ended up winning everyone over and turned the by now rammed place into party central by the time they finished their set.
I lost count of the amount of people on stage for Black Star Dub Collective I think it may have been ten but somebody could have been hiding somewhere. What the combined members created was a heady soundclash, dub heavy and powerfully surging out the speakers. There was a saxophonist and trombone player yet to play a note and we waited for them to join in as there was already a groove laden free festival, floating off to Babylon vibe soaking through the venue. This was the sound of subtle revolution. There was the notion of peace and love but don’t cross it or things will explode and fight back. The roots of protest have many layers and they don’t always need to have anger at the forefront but sometimes message as blatant as fuck the police works wonders. This multi-layered set had a lot of depth about it with plenty to focus on happening on the stage and plenty of versatile beats to hear. This was a good long set and the place by now had sweat running down the walls and it was just about to get hotter.
It was time for music of social change and even though it’s a shame it’s still needed it is and we are reminded with the EDL marching on Bristol on Dec 7th it’s never more necessary. Dipping back all those years for Culture Shock we knew what we were going to get and with the opening blast of ‘Pressure’ things fired off like a cork from a bottle. A good question is how does a band member remember the words after all these years but it was not only Dick Lucas singing along but most the bloody audience too. These anthems are with us for life and despite the fact they had not been with us live for so long (no doubt the recent ‘Everything’ boxed set helped) there is no forgetting the words. The band needed no set-list and I certainly did not for the point of reviewing either. The audience needed no encouragement, I had heard it said 600 odd tickets were sold and the place went off in every direction, beer and chaos and the first diver thwarting those pesky security guards as audience members launched themselves off the stage like naughty school-kids.
So little has changed over these years since the band split, the royals are still driving around and the punks are still on postcards launching stones through their car windows if given the choice. Everything may look better on Colour TV but screw that for simplicity when you can get a 3D plasma screen; bit of a mouthful to change the song words though. ‘Twenty Questions’ went out for any silly sausages sneaking out for a burger after the show and the bounce and chorus of ‘You Are Not Alone’ was pretty damn infectious. The band had aged a bit with the exception of Dick who just never seems to but the songs had not and came thick and fast. There was little time for in between chat just one number after another ‘Go Wild’ (we did), ‘Catching Flies,’ ’10 % Off,’ ‘United’ and what with all the beer and dancing ‘’Messed Up’ could not have been more apt. it’s weird how well I remember that last show and also seeing the band at the likes of Treworgy Tree Fayre in 89 but I have a feeling this one won’t be forgotten in equally as long a time. Culture Shock were well worth the trip in every way. They captured the spirit of the past perfectly and proved its relevance in the present pretty much in the same way the Subhumans do. We don’t expect new songs or more tours here but the fact they did this was hugely appreciated. Catch them whilst you can if you get the chance.
Review & Photos Pete Woods
07/11/2014 at 8:31 pm
Don’t like to be pedantic if that’s the right term but I think you may need a history lesson yourself or maybe your memory is not what it was.First off the Greyhound gig was not free and they did their proper final gig at another venue a week or two later to fulfil the commitment and for the people who had bought tickets for the earlier attempt. I was at both gigs and witnessed the mini riot. The Greyhound closed the doors saying it was full with over a hundred people still outside, the doors where then forced open with a doorman getting injured in the process and the venue then decided to stop the event, the riot squad were on the scene and prepared within minutes of this making you think that they knew something was gonna happen. I had been to gig’s at the venue before and seen it a lot fuller, conspiracy theories abound. Sorry, I’ll leave it there.
17/04/2023 at 6:39 pm
I was there too. Rowdy night. I was in line watching some fool jumping on the vanroof and dangling from the lamppostwhen they shut the doors and got sucked in in the rush. It was chaos inside. Some fella jumped on the drums and led a chant let the band play! Or something to that effect. When we got out it was a riot going on and we somehow evaded the cops and spent the night in some seedy allnight movie palace near st pancras playing an oliver reed retrospective. Skated all next day at the brixton skatepark. All in all a smashing trip to london even though we missed the show.