For a city of its size, it somewhat surprising that Mean City is Glasgow's only punk weekender. Credit for maintaining it lies firmly on the shoulders of Dan and Laura (aka Beyond The Gap). I was lucky enough to speak to Dan recently where he spoke about their motivation and why all profits from their shows go to charity.
While that is all well-intentioned, it means nothing if you can't pull toegther a bill that is going to sell tickets. After having the likes of Zounds, Meryl Streek, Gimp Fist and Pizzatramp in 2025, putting on a show of a similar weight was going to be a real challenge. However, Dan and Laura put on a line-up that arguably outdid last year.
Although I was only able to make the Saturday, I have it on good authority from Andy Steele that Friday night's opener with Control, Rant and 2Sevens was an absolute cracker.
With the doors opening a mere 10 minutes before Rebecca Radical hit the stage, the crowd was sparse but growing. Rebecca has never allowed that to change her performance. A crafted acoustic set in the week where someone else who plays solo with a an acoustic guitar has been the subject of controversy, the lesson was to be more Radical and less Sheeran.
While Rebecca Radical eased people in to the day's festivities, local boys Heedz upped the ante. Aggressive streetcore with a metal edge, they blew off any cobwebs that may have remained for those that caught Control the night before. Particular highlights were last year's single Pigz In The Park and their cover of The Sawdoctors She Says with Darzo from Takers 'N Users (more on him later).
Sunderland's Slalom D are one of my favourite bands to see live. Named after the infamous, and sadly defunct, Wearside beer, they wear their hearts on their sleeves. Led by the ever irrepressible Fe Duncan and Tony Lindstedt, they ripped through a set that included highlights from the wonderful Waltz Into Anarchy and new album, I Choose My Own Way To Burn.
After the departure of original guitarist, Gaz Roberts, and Goober Scobie on keyboards, I wondered if they would be able to maintain that same instensity. Those proved to be unfounded fears as they maintained, and arguably, increased the tightness of their performance with new additions Antony Bircham and Lisa Lindstedt.
Based on this performance alone, the new album may well be hitting end of year lists.
Sisters Jo and Nicky D'arc, who make up The Twistettes, were something of a revelation. With only bass and drums they captivated me. Jo's bass was so overdriven it would make Lemmy weep, and their Riot Grrrl attitude was infectious. Pulling from all three albums they allowed space for melodic moments as a juxtaposition to full on aggression. Ending with a cover of 4 Non Blondes classic, What's Up, provided the first singalong of the day.
Somehow Rivalry have never come to my attention before. That is a major fault on my part. Evocative of the best of 90's emotional hardcore (and not the sort that Millenials call emo). Opening with the epic Satellite Mark Magill led his band through a sadly short short set that hit you in all the right places. Putting the "emotional" front and centre in emo their set was a lesson in everything that is great about the genre.
Go and check out their 2023 album Sometimes You Have To Look Back, it will break and rebuild you in under 30 minutes.
As a fan anarchopunk, Lost Cherrees were a must-watch on the bill for me. The twin female vocals of Liss and Tay work off each others energy in a way that cannot be manufactured. Maintaining a level of aggression that is ridiculous for a band that started all the way back in 1979 (although it has always had a revolving door policy), they were worth the admission price alone.
For some reason Atilla The Stockbroker is never held in the esteem as John Cooper Clarke. To my mind that is a real pity. Whether he is performing alone or with Barnstormer, his performances are electrifying. So much so that I was even able to forgive him for his crowing about Brighton betaing my beloved Arsenal for the third season in a row. Closer Tenaman, detailing his battle with bladder cancer was enough to bring a tear to the eye and couldn't have been more fitting with profits from Mean City going to Beatson Cancer Charity.
Face Up! are one of the most incendiary bands in the UK right now. For my money, Roxanne is the best frontwoman in UK punk (closely followed by Harry from Split Dogs). If there was a punk version of the DC Universe, she would absolutely be Harley Quinn. Unashamedly aggressive in her delivery as ringleader for the band, she is a spectacle to behold.
While Roxanne may grab all the attention, she would be nothing without the hardcore power that Face Up! deliver in unison. Throughout their set, everytime you thought they had gone as heavy as possible, they would step it up another level. One of the highlights of the day without a doubt and I fully expect them to blow The Exploited out of the water on their upcoming dates.
How does anyone follow the might of Face Up!? The answer lies in three letters - SKA! Rudebeard brought the horns and the fun. More bounce per ounce than should be legal, they kept the energy levels up when they could have sagged. One to keep an eye out for if they are ever near you.
Newtown Neurotics are legends. Any band that can close their set with something as iconic as Living With Unemployment deserves that monicker. However, they suffered against the energy that bands earlier in the day had brought. While there was nothing wrong with their set per se, it just didn't have the oomph that I was hoping for. Added to that, the failure to play Andy Is A Corpratist when they had Atilla in the building, felt like a missed open goal.
While Newtown Neurotics may have been a bit of a disappointment, Takers 'N Users were the complete opposite. Bringing hardcore aggression from the very first note, Darzo was a bundle of unbridled energy as frontman. A mixture of Oi, streetpunk and NYHC they left anyone in the pit battered and bruised in the best way possible.
A perfect end to a great day.
