Gigs at Club Academy are always interesting, as the venue itself is pretty unusual. It’s the shape of the venue – it’s a club. Sounds obvious, but it does sometimes pose a conundrum to bands who don’t know how to bring the crowd together from various perching points on the stairs/ramps all the way down to the moshpit. No such problems for opening act Maid of Ace who are four sisters from Hastings that make full-on punk-rock. And they’re damn good at it. Their first ever show was way back in 2005 at high-school, but they really kicked on from 2012 and have now honed their sound to perfection. The Elliott sisters don’t take any prisoners and smash through their set with passion and aggression. On paper it’s a simple formula that they follow, but they still come across as refreshing and vibrant. They don’t play on the fact they’re an all-female act – there’s no overtly sexualized element in an attempt to capture attention – but their look is cohesive and exciting (especially their awesome array of haircuts). What I notice most is that whilst they put everything they and the crowd can muster into their performance, they’re always in full control of the music. The best example of this is Abby Charlotte absolutely hammering the hell out of the drums, but in such a precise and technically sound way that you feel the full benefit of it, rather than it being a crash of chaotic sound. This band remain exciting and would probably be massive if the UK punk-rock scene was just that little bit bigger.

The Creepshow are a fun and energetic rock’n’roll band from Burlington, Ontario, Canada. They have wonderful lashings of psychobilly in their sound, and bundles of infectious eccentricity in their stage performance. It’s always a treat to see a double bass being played live, and the impressively bearded Sickboy plays it majestically whilst also adding in some gruff vocals for good measure. A manic keyboardist and solid drum/guitar combination provided a backdrop to the dynamic Kenda. She has an awesome stage presence and more importantly a velvety and rich voice that delivers delightful rockabilly, but could equally slot into a swing or jazz band without any problem. She gets down into the crowd late on and the crowd love every moment of it. These guys are fun, fun, FUN!

For those who don’t know, Anti-Flag are an American punk rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. They don’t like Trump. In fact, in their near-30 year history they have ensured anyone who listens to their music or attends one of their gigs knows that they’re unfalteringly political and immensely passionate about human rights, anti-war, anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist activism. It’s one of the factors that sets them apart from many of their peers, and has ensured a loyal and attentive fanbase. I’ve heard some refer to Anti-Flag as pop punk, but I’d argue that such a label simply doesn’t do them justice (no offence intended pop punk fans…). They have a much more traditional punk ethos to their music as well as their attitude, and visually have always steered clear of pop punk tropes by embracing a black-shirted rockabilly vibe. Billy Talent are another example of that image put into practice, and both also share that sharp, jangling guitar sound and punchy vocal delivery. Even though this is a tour for their latest release 20/20 Vision, they serve-up a fantastic mix of new songs and old anthems which the crowd lap-up eagerly from start to finish. Classics such as ‘Brandenburg Gate’ and ‘Die for the Government’ unsurprisingly have the entire room buzzing, but similarly new tracks ‘Christian Nationalist ‘and ‘Hate Conquers All’ ooze swagger and inviting sing-along familiarity. In this day and age we need bands like Anti-Flag, both on and off the stage.