So we got there in the end! A full two years after we booked the first act for it, Hackfest #4 finally got on stage to entertain the troops - although strictly speaking it was Hackfest #4.2 after the previous two Christmas cancelations.
We figured that we'd paid for the venue, and everyone needed a nice get together after restrictions were lifted, so why the heck don't we hold it in March - just this once! Initially we only lost Foxy Acetylene from the #4.1 bill as they were double booked. But in the days approaching the show, Dead Sheeran fell ill and was unable to play. Then at around noon on the day of the show, both Chinese Burn and Kill Mirror Image had to duck out with the 'rona. After much scrabbling about we were only able to get the on replacement act, the rather fabulous Gob Dylan - although a weird number of cabaret covers acts also asked us if they could play - which might have been funny, but our audience may have terrified them!
Anyway, here's who we finally ended up with on stage. Just the seven this year, but even that was a battle!
We've not found videos for everyone yet, but here's how it all went…
Gob Dylan got us off to a terrifically wonky start, with his Ramones songs in the style of Bob Dylan, and his Bob Dylan songs in the style of the Ramones. Plus a few fabulously sketchy freeform items roughly hewn in between.
Sadly the only evidence we have of his set is this static pic - but trust us, he was fab!
Next up were the gloriously crusty Traktor Sniffen Punks from the Forest of Dean. Proper gnarly!
We got a bit worried for a bit when the next lot got stranded on a train, but when they got there they absolutely ripped the place apart. All hail the fabulous AlterModerns and their punk-fuelled rock'n'roll sounds - all the way from Brazil (via Bedminster)!
Third on were our beautiful old pals from down county Po-Lice with their barnstorming metallic crust ska. Don't like the genre they're playing? Don't worry, there'll be another one along in 20 seconds!
It was such a thrill to finally get our old two-piece compadres 2 Sick Monkeys onto a Hackfest, and they were as utterly amazing as they ever were!
***STOP PRESS***
Unsurprisingly, the Christmas wave of Covid has put paid to this season's Hackfest. Boo to germs! But we're going to make sure that we hold it as soon as we are legally able, with as much of the same line up as we have here - they've all said that they're still up for it if they're physically free and able. We're gutted, and I'm sure you're gutted, but we've all got to look after ourselves, and indeed each other, in these complicated times. And you just imagine how good the party's going to be when we do eventually get this gig played!
***ORIGINAL ARTICLE***
Nobody could have imagined how the massive great pandemic of Covid-19 was going to touch all of our lives and put all of our plans for the following months into a complete tail spin. But you know us – we like to give you something to look forward to!
So with the best predictions suggesting that we might just about be alright for getting social events going before Christmas (we're ignoring the worst case scenarios for now...), we thought we'd plough on regardless and start putting together a bill for Hackfest #4 in the vain hope that we'd all be able to gather again after Christmas with a whole bundle of stories to tell.
Obviously, there's still a very big chance that this horrible virus could drag its heels and it could all be postponed. But we'll endeavour to put on as much of the bill that we've gathered together as soon as the big nasty is all finished and done with – which is obviously reliant on each individual band's own gig calendars and personal situations, of course.
But heck, we've got to have a little bit of hope to get us all through this thing. So with that in mind we've announced the Hackfest #4 bill, and will be leaving their videos up here so that you can see what acts you could very well be seeing come the end of 2020, the start of 2021, or some other year in the hopefully not to distant future!
The Line-Up
Burning Flag
All the way from Halifax in Yorkshire, it's the blistering UKHC sounds of – Burning Flag.
Turning heads up North for some time now, their blending of hard, turbocharged, crust-fuelled punk with crisp metallic edges has made them a must-have on any festival bill worth its salt. And now featuring the intense vocals of new singer Holly – ex of Kiss Me, Killer and very much still of Hell Hath No Fury Promotions - they've also got an added new local dimension, too!
This may well be one of their first shows down South with the new line up, and we can't flipping wait to see them!
Wilfully mashing every genre under the sun, they're old time London council estate punk rock dragged screaming into the 21st century, as if Skepta started sampling Youth of Today or Ho99o9 began covering Sleaford Mods – only with considerably gnarlier guitars and much more righteous spleen.
This is the sound of young angry England, and this is exactly what punk rock really ought to be sounding like in 2020! Come and catch them at a reasonably sized venue while you still can!
And to end it all off the eye-melting fabulousity of Collin and Keiron giving it some showbiz in their lockdown side-project, Music In Our Underpants. The perfect way to end the long hard gap between Hackfests! Cheers for coming everyone - now who do you think we've got booked for next year?!
And if you want to see how it all started off back back in 2020, read below!
***STOP PRESS***
Unsurprisingly, the Christmas wave of Covid has put paid to this season's Hackfest. Boo to germs! But we're going to make sure that we hold it as soon as we are legally able, with as much of the same line up as we have here - they've all said that they're still up for it if they're physically free and able. We're gutted, and I'm sure you're gutted, but we've all got to look after ourselves, and indeed each other, in these complicated times. And you just imagine how good the party's going to be when we do eventually get this gig played!
***ORIGINAL ARTICLE***
Nobody could have imagined how the massive great pandemic of Covid-19 was going to touch all of our lives and put all of our plans for the following months into a complete tail spin. But you know us – we like to give you something to look forward to!
So with the best predictions suggesting that we might just about be alright for getting social events going before Christmas (we're ignoring the worst case scenarios for now...), we thought we'd plough on regardless and start putting together a bill for Hackfest #4 in the vain hope that we'd all be able to gather again after Christmas with a whole bundle of stories to tell.
Obviously, there's still a very big chance that this horrible virus could drag its heels and it could all be postponed. But we'll endeavour to put on as much of the bill that we've gathered together as soon as the big nasty is all finished and done with – which is obviously reliant on each individual band's own gig calendars and personal situations, of course.
But heck, we've got to have a little bit of hope to get us all through this thing. So with that in mind we've announced the Hackfest #4 bill, and will be leaving their videos up here so that you can see what acts you could very well be seeing come the end of 2020, the start of 2021, or some other year in the hopefully not to distant future!
The Line-Up
Polluted Mind Decay
Devonians PMD are one of those rare bands who've pretty much invented their own genre – in this instance crusty stoner grindcore – and their songs either have a massive slow groove, or are so fast that you can't actually see them move. Featuring Noah from 51st State on drums, plus Ella and Joe, they'll absolutely melt your face off! The second we heard them we knew we had to have them on the bill!
BrotherZ GriM
We're pleased to announce that we've finally got our Crypt Hop brethren from deepest, darkest Somerset to play for us. Their bleak and grimy horror rap is so damn dirty and infectious that you'll be involuntarily nodding your head and frantically washing your hands as a result of their sleazy beats. You might recognise a familiar Bridgwater frontman beneath one of the masks, but the BrotherZ are a completely different dish of hot bacon to any other sick pigs from down that way. This party's going to start early, so they're bringing the swing to set you up just lovely for the rest of the day!
Chinese Burn
Hailing from Stroud and featuring gloriously chuggy '77 punk guitars and infectious sixties mod pop choruses, the Burn are led by one of the most enigmatic and watchable frontmen in the West. Good heavens, it's almost impossible to watch these chaps without a massive beaming smile cracking out across your face!
La Mise En Tropique
Hailing from Lille in France, when we first played with this fella in Brixton a couple of summers back we just knew that we had to drag him down for the fest, as he dropped the jaws of even the most hardened punk rock gig goer that afternoon. Cramming more ideas into a single minute than most bands can muster in a whole career, LMET is a one man whirlwind of costume changes, grinding noise and utterly infectious dance nonsense, and is, in essence, the very embodiment of Hackfest! You genuinely won't have seen anything like it!
Obviously we don't know if they'll even be letting foreign types into the country by December yet, but we'll do everything we can to sneak him over – and with the Brexit deadline looming only a few short days later, this could be the last European act you see at an underground show in the UK in a very long time! And you really won't regret it!
Hacksaw
This mob should come as no surprise, as it's your genial hosts giving you your annual chance for a half hour drink and a chat down the corridor – yep, it's Hacksaw. But hang about, you ask, why are you lot earlier on the bill than usual? Well you just wait until you see who our three headliner acts are!
All the way from Halifax in Yorkshire, it's the blistering UKHC sounds of – Burning Flag.
Turning heads up North for some time now, their blending of hard, turbocharged, crust-fuelled punk with crisp metallic edges has made them a must-have on any festival bill worth its salt. And now featuring the intense vocals of new singer Holly – ex of Kiss Me, Killer and very much still of Hell Hath No Fury Promotions - they've also got an added new local dimension, too!
This may well be one of their first shows down South with the new line up, and we can't flipping wait to see them!
Bob Vylan
We can't tell you how excited we are to be bringing this mob to Bath for the very first time. Like everyone else, we were absolutely blown away when the video for We Live Here dropped last month, but when we checked out some of their live clips, we just knew that we had to have them on Hackfest.
Lost Cherrees
We've been going to see this lot since the early eighties, and we always loved how they stood out from all the other punk bands at the time, with their not-quite-anarcho yet almost proto-goth sound. However, since their return in 2003 they've developed a more muscular sound on top of all their previous influences, and are going to be a cracking way to finish off the night.
They've been at the top of our Hackfest wishlist for a long time now, so we're so glad that they were up for a nice little post-Christmas trip down to the West Country!
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