Hackfest #8

Back at The Electric for another year after our surprisingly good reaction from the management last year, and another pleasing mix up of a bill. We only lost the one band from the bill, as InVain briefly split up and forgot to tell us. But we had a perfect replacement on the cards. So who brought the noise this time?

We wanted to begin with a bang, so who better to ask than Bristol chaos punks-on-the-up Hitmarka. In Charlie they've got one of the most engaging and entertaining front men in the business, so we're glad we got 'em early while we can still afford them!

In second were the self-proclaimed worst band on the planet, the North West's least good punk act Blackpoo. Living up to their name, the feedback shrieked, the equipment stopped working, and they were throughly hilarious. We're still not entirely sure if they were meant to be, mind, but we had a fabulous time.

Stepping in at the last minute to replace the errant InVain were those intense grind monsters from Trowbridge, Dystopian Dread. Proper high speed power noise from masters of their art.

We don't think there's a human alive who doesn't see Bristol's Bozos for the first time and instantly fall in love with their charging stoner punk. Them boys got the feet tapping and the heads nodding from front to back.

Next up were Bath's very own power pop bovver rock masters Quick Romance. They got tunes, hooks, and some killer choruses. Expect to see them bagging some pretty decent supports soon!

We wouldn't normally show a pic of Hacksaw, as I'm sure you're sick of the sight of us by now. But when there's a shot of our George leading a conga through the room, then you good people really have to see it. Thanks to Owen Davies for the excellent shot!

Party time really started to kick in with the glorious psycho surf stylings of The Sinictones. There's punk, there's rock'n'roll, there's the twangiest surf and there's pure steaming sexy throughout. Proper stuff!

And finishing off a quite splendid night were those dayglo veterans of proper old school anarcho Rubella Ballet. What a show they gave us. Zilla, Sid and Emily were down to a three-piece, but we reckon they sound a lot more hardcore with the drum machine. What an excellent way to end the night!

Big love also to DJ Panter, who we managed to get into the same room this year, and for the most excellent staff and crew at The Electric, who still aren't sick of our shizz!

We're all set for Hackfest #9 at The Electric Bar on Bank Holiday Monday 28th December, 2026, so put the date in your diaries and await line up announcements imminently!

Hackfest #7

 

After last year's venue issues, we were really struggling to find somewhere in Bath to hold the 2024 edition of Hackfest. That is until someone suggested The Electric Bar. The front bar of the Komedia theatre bang in the heart of the city, I'd always considered them a bit too posh for the likes of us. But they jumped at the chance to have us fill in an otherwise dead date and a whole new era of Hackfest was born. Great sound, fabulous lights, and just the right size for a show of our minor magnitude. They even beamed the show into the big theatre round the back that acted as the band room and merch house. Perfect all round.

On top of that, we didn't lose a single act off the bill this year - not even Dead Sheeran this time, which surprised us all! So here we pile straight in to the goodness.

Proof that there's still a future in this old thing we call punk, then Trowbridge, but now Bristol-based crusty kids Skeletal Fragrance let out an almighty punk rock howl. And in Dixie they've got a front man for the ages. Punk is in good hands with lads like these about.

Hot Flab were a delightful flash in the pan band from out Bristol way. Singing about real life shizz, like being a single parent, getting unwanted hassle from men and, erm, pegging, we loved their straight ahead energy and a unique ear for a tune. Sadly they imploded not all that long after - which is a darned shame, because we could definitely see them on the rise!

We'd been wanting to get Planet Strange on the bill for a few years, but after a few line up changes we finally bagged 'em! Proper twangly psychobilly from deepest, dankest Somerset. And you can't beat a big old bit of slap bass! All the splendid!

Wait! What do you mean that Dead Sheeran finally played? We thought that his constant disappearance was a running joke in the annals of Hackfest? But no, the two worlds could finally collide, and we all got thoroughly schooled by one of the finest ranting frontmen in the business. Well worth the wait after what seemed like decades, Ross-on-Wye's angriest man fully slayed us all!

The big find of this year was the quite incredible The Pleasures from deep in the Welsh Valleys. They'd knocked our socks off at Slugfest in the Summer, so we just had to take the risk and get them over the bridge. And boy did they go down a storm. Imagine an angrier, more working class Idles singing about real issues with a deeper layer of hardcore infused in their veins. Only they were better than that. What a band they were!

Hacksaw then did their usual ancient stuff, but nobody wants to see that, obviously!

We were so lucky that Split Dogs agreed to fill the gap they had to vacate last year, seeing that they were bang on the cusp of stepping up to international levels. And boy did they provide everything we'd hoped of them. Proper rock'n'roll punks with the most terrifying singer on the planet. What a wonderful half-hour that was.

And finishing off the night was a band that we'd been trying to coax out of their Cornish bunker for ages, the barnstorming hardcore machine, Rash Decision. We've played with them in many incarnations over the years, but this was one of the best times we've ever seen them. Sadly a few folks had to leave early to get the last bus out of town, but they still ripped and roared through a monstrous set. Thanks for coming all that way, gents!

Once again, DJ Panter played his usual glorious set of songs, and a big thanks must go to all the crew at The Electric Bar, who had massive grins on their faces all night. Looks like we've got ourselves a proper new home! Onwards!

Hackfest #6.1

Just when we thought we had everything up and running nicely again there came a small succession of moderate disasters. After weeks of trying to contact our historic venue, the old Belvoir, we learned that they had closed down in the interim months. Oh no! But out of the blue one of the most famous and long-running rock'n'roll venues in the land, Moles, stepped in to help us out. Phew! Proper venue, staff used to band traffic, and fabulous sound. It was going to work a treat. Until...

Out of the blue one of the most famous and long-running rock'n'roll venues in the land, Moles, announced that it was shutting up shop two short weeks before it was due to happen. Bah! Unable to find another Bath venue that was available at Christmas, we thought all was lost for Hackfest #6 - until we decided to have a New Year's holiday to Bristol for one year only!

Our good friends at Moor Beer (before the dodgy investor incident) were glad to help out, and we went proper industrial in the wilds of The Dings. Sadly, some of our original line up couldn't make the new date, so we had to lose the terrific Cornish noise warriors Rash Decision, the then still pretty new rock'n'roll punk of Split Dogs, and the amphibious Gods of metal Froglord from the line up. And once again, we had to lose Dead Sheeran from the bill - which was by now becoming something of a tradition.

(Let's have a look at what you could have won...)

But we did manage to rope in at very short notice the fabulous festival ska of Fidget & the Twitchers, spunky young locals Zpangled Henz, the slowest gothickest prog metal of Warrior Pope, and the gloriously unhinged South American (via London) hardcore tornado that is Jawless. Sadly the Marvellous Mutilated state had to bail because of work commitments at the last minute, but George's other band, T.A.T. (There's Always Time) stood in at the last minute - as they were all going to be there anyway.

So how did it all go down? Pretty decently, as an entirely different kind of crowd joined all the regulars to make one heck of a mix up bill.

First up were Bristol's Zpangled Henz, a punky, ska-filled bunch of brilliantly bouncy tunes to start the day. And much to our surprise, the dance floor filled the moment the first bass note got twanged. Extra points for the amazing high-pitched wails that spewed out from time to time in utterly random places. Great openers!

Next up, from Western-super-Mare was the splendidly noisy Nettle. Ludicrously young, and sounding like bands that even most of us elderly punks have never heard of, they spewed out an infectious guttural stomp that turned a heck of a lot of heads. I hope we see loads more of them in the future!

Stepping in at the very last minute to plug a Mutilated State shaped gap was our George's other band T.A.T. (There's Always Time), who went to prove that you're never too old to finally get that punk rock band going. Brilliant punk rock stuff that got the older kids grooving!

I don't think I've ever seen such a digital reaction to a Hackfest band as when Warrior Pope took to the stage with a robed incense ritual and an attendant wizard. Three bars into the first song nearly all the elderly punks streamed out to the bar, leaving the youth nodding their heads and getting down to the impossibly slow metal grind. And when the trombone came out the kids nearly fainted. A classic Hackfest moment of the kind that still makes it all worthwhile!

Next up were them West Country hardcore punkin' stalwarts Bad Blood, who ripped a proper noisy big hole in the night. We've known all of these lads for years, and they're all terrific geezers, so go and see them when they play by you!

Hacksaw were their usual bumbling selves, of course, but you wouldn't have expected anything else, and you don't really need to see a pic to understand their dreadfulness. But we also forgot to take a photo of the most skanksome Fidget & the Twitchers, who set both the youth of today and the old puns of yesteryear into a skanking frenzy. We must have been too busy dancing to get the phone out!

And last but very much not least were the incendiary Jawless. Theresa Vendetta is surely one of the most intense singers in all punkdom, and she had us all hanging from the rafters and punching the air at her every instruction. To be honest, we'd probably of all hijacked a bus from the yard up the road and gone to invade Thornbury if she'd asked us, we were so much in her thrawl. A brilliant end to an unexpected, but very well received trip down the road from our usual location.

Full marks, as always, to the splendid DJ Panter who pushed out his usual blend of cracking tunes, and equal propers to everyone at Moor Beer who got us a date at the last minute, and looked after us perfectly.

Now what the heck are we going to do next year?