The Warriors + Rebel City Radio - 25th July 2008
Reviewed by Justin Openshaw
Bedford use to be a hotbed of skinhead culture, and their fearsome reputation often left neighbouring towns crumbling in their wake. However, times have moved on, and judging by the meagre attendance at tonights gig, so have the skinheads.
The Warriors have built up their following mainly on the strength of vocalists Graham Saxby connections with Oi legends The Last Resort. For anyone who does not know The Last Resort were shrouded in controversy concerning their political leanings and unfortunately attracted a racist element that led to the bands demise. The Warriors were formed by Saxby in 1982 and have since released several albums and a split live dvd with The Oppressed. Gigs have been sporadic, mainly due to the band continually splitting and reforming.
Tonights support comes from Rebel City Radio who hail from Birmingham. As I walk into Esquires I can almost see the tumbleweed blow through the legs of the handful of people who have bothered turning up. The place is almost deserted , and I`ve seen happier faces at a wake. Out of the gloom, Rebel City Radio hit the stage. They are a youngish energetic foursome of punksters who bounce around the stage like Zebedee on caffeine. The music is fast, and a combination of punk and ska reminiscent of bands like Rancid, and Less Than Jake. They springboard off their monitors, and do all they can to muster some kind of reaction from the pitiful audience. They would have more chance of rising the dead than a handclap, but they seemed a cheerful bunch and played a decent enough set.
The Warriors climb on stage looking like they`ve just walked off a building site. Old, weary and tattooed, they could almost be the Dads of the support band. The singer Saxby has a quite formidable presence as he prowls around the stage like a caged tiger. The music is raw, basic ,street punk with catchy singalong choruses. Theres a distinct lack of tricky guitar solos tonight , what we get is choppy, buzzsaw power chords. This is Oi, circa 1980 and surprisingly enough the crowd starts to respond. The band plays a few songs by The Last Resort, intermingled with both new and old songs by The Warriors. Song titles, such as `Gary Bushell`, ``Horrorshow`, `Burn Down The Discos` and `Warriors` along with crowd favourites such as `Johnny Barden` and a cover version of Cock Sparrer`s `Watch your back`. The place is warming up , Saxby has taken his shirt off and the small crowd is jumping.
By the end of their set, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and the band were even called back to do two encores. All in all ,it was an enjoyable gig, and the people who did`nt turn up are the people who missed out. In times where we are inundated with manufactured pop bands , its good to see a bunch of honest , working class blokes jump up on stage and raise hell.