Gig Guide: Bands You Need To See In August

There are so many high-calibre punk shows this month it’s going to be hard to keep up.

For me, August is going to be ruled by a week in Slovenia for Punk Rock Holiday. I’ve wanted to attend for years, but this is the first time I’ve managed to secure tickets. Never before have I had the opportunity to combine bands, beers and beaches – I can barely contain my excitement.

Headliners this year include Propa-fucking-gandhi, Good Riddance and The Offspring, plus heavyweights like Snuff, Face to Face and Teenage Bottlerocket. Of the less-obvious bands on the Beach Stage, I strongly recommend checking out Not On Tour, BONO! and Sombulance. I’m concerned that I may not survive 5 straight days of beer and heatstroke but I’m gonna give it a bloody good try.

I also recommend visiting Boomtown Fair for their unparalleled array of partying options. As usual Last Gang in Town’s selections for the Devil Kicks Dancehall stage are sterling: King Prawn, The Filaments, Wonk Unit, Inner Terrestrials, Pizzatramp, The JB Conspiracy to name a handful… Check out the full line-up, there isn’t a bad apple on the whole list.

The weekend before is Rebellion up in Blackpool: a social experiment to determine whether punks can survive constant exposure to loud noises, solely with the help of lager, chips and fry ups. The annual punk extravaganza always pulls in big names from across the scene, including many of the same bands as Punk Rock Holiday, plus hundreds of others like Bad Religion, Sham 69, Slaves and many of the smaller UK punk regulars.

I should also be making my annual pilgrimage to Devon for Beautiful Days – a chilled-out grassroots festival run by Levellers. It sells out every year based only on word of mouth: there’s no advertising, no sponsorship and no bullshit whatsoever. This year’s line-up includes Stiff Little Fingers, Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, Hepcat, Matilda’s Scoundrels, Ferocious Dog, Therapy? and Songhoy Blues. If you’re heading down there, make sure you have a cold pint down The Bimble Inn for me!

: Enjoying the Bimble Inn slightly too much in 2015.

For those of you less inclined to spend £100s getting drunk, sunburned and rained-on in a muddy field, there are plenty of tent-free shows worth going to. Read on for my top picks in August.

Extra Shows from Festival Headliners

Those in London (and in some cases further afield) are seriously blessed with one-off shows from American bands who are in town for festivals this August:

Propagandhi playing Vegan Connections festival at The Garage on August 5^th with Martha and Petrol Girls. Oosh! It’s completely sold out, but a bunch of lucky bastards will get to see them and make the rest of us seethe with jealousy.
Pennywise, Good Riddance, Face to Face and Teenage Bottlerocket playing Shepherd’s Bush Empire on August 4^th.
Pears, Great Cynics and Darko plus On A Hiding To Nothing, Cereal Box Heroes and Eat Dirt playing The New Cross Inn on August 4^th. All for the princely sum of £10. Ridiculous!
No Trigger playing The Borderline on August 2^nd with KidBrother and River Jumpers.
88 Fingers Louie playing The Camden Underworld on August 2^nd with In Evil Hour and The Bitter-town Hounds. Check out 88’s new album by the way – it’s a winner)

Prepare yourself with the new Propagandhi track (new album due in September):

Hepcat

Where: The Underworld, Camden
When: Friday 18^th August
Who: Support from Intensified and easydread
Tickets: £18 – Facebook event here

Rocksteady heroes Hepcat are invading The Underworld on August 18^th with help from Intensified and easydread. Hepcat have been getting people skanking since 1989, and will no doubt infect us all with their soulful, Jamaican-style ska. Their mellow rhythms are from the same vein as The Slackers and The Aggrolites: exactly what you need on an August afternoon.

2 Sick Monkeys Farewell Tour

Where: The Smokehouse, Ipswich
When: Thursday 24^th August
Who: Support from Nosebleed and Bobby Funk
Tickets: £4 OTD – Facebook event here

If you’re an Eastern Angle like me, don’t miss staggeringly noisy two-piece 2 Sick Monkeys on their farewell tour – they’re joining us at The Smokehouse in Ipswich on August 24^th. Garage rock ‘n’ rollers Nosebleed are guaranteed to get the entire venue moving and shaking, and Bobby Funk will be supplying some great Cornish hardcore. It’s an excellent opportunity to drink cheap pints, sweat profusely and add to the footprints on the ceiling.

This is the first date on a farewell tour that takes them all round the country. Check out this video, featuring footage from their last raucous show at The Smokehouse:

Nova Twins

Where: DM Boot Room, Camden
When: Thursday 3^rd August
Tickets: Free!

Grimy urban-punk duo Nova Twins are playing a free show at the Dr Marten’s Boot Room (chock-full of old DM history) on August 3^rd. If you’ve not caught them before, Nova Twins are guaranteed to blow your mind: they deliver straight-up bangers, driven by lurching, distorted bass and neo-feminist swagger. You can RSVP for the event here, however entry is first-come-first-served on the day. Get in early as it’s only a 60 capacity venue.

Special mention also goes to:

Fuk Reddin at T Chances in London on August 25-27^th. Featuring Discharge, 2 Sick Monkeys, The Domestics, Luvdump, Waco and many other loud, shouty delights.
Street Dogs are visiting The Camden Underworld on August 30^th along with Grade 2, Matilda’s Scoundrels and PINTS
The Planet Smashers are touring with Faintest Idea, including Norwich Owl Sanctuary on August 9^th with Paper Champ, and The Camden Underworld on August 8^th with Popes of Chillitown.

There are so many good gigs to see this month it’s going to be a challenge to write about them all! If you love live music and would be interested in writing the reviews for Shout Louder, please get in touch via our Facebook page.

We’ll see you down the front!