So I was back again at the iconic Hope and Anchor, home of a thousand punk gigs going back over 50 years. And home this evening to Shake Some Acton’s latest insane offering of bands, this time from Germany, Mexico and Italy.
The evening was launched by a frantic set from Spleen, from Florence in Italy. Blending Nirvana’s grunge energy with grinding riffs from Green Day taking a day trip to hell, they blasted their way through their set with barely time to take a breath.
Just when you were checking google for the Italian for “ballsy garage rock”, the mood took a turn for the macabre with the arrival of the devil’s own horror rock merchants from Mexico, Bloody Benders. Named after America’s first serial killer family, I wasn’t expecting light-hearted, and I wasn’t disappointed. The only surprise is that there weren’t any murders actually committed on stage. Wearing a variety of costumes suggesting that they weren’t just named after serial killers, Bloody Benders put on a full-on horror punk rock and roll show that made you nervous about meeting them in a dark alley on the way home. They finished their set with a rollocking rendition (is there any other way to do this song?) of Blitzkrieg Bop, just to try and fool you into thinking there was anything remotely normal about them.
Relieved just to have survived the Benders’ set, a level of some normality returned to the venue with the headliners, all the way from Düsseldorf, Dead Dates. Despite their name, I am pleased to report that no dates were actually killed during the course of their set, and they attacked their uplifting collection of anthems full of high-octane guitar and melodic punk rock. Reports suggesting comparisons to The Clash and Cock Sparrer were not wide of the mark, and they finished the evening with their version of The Clash’s Somebody Got Murdered.
With all three of tonight’s bands moving north later in the week to appear at Rebellion festival in Blackpool, I can absolutely imagine that they will be making an amazing impression there.
Bloody Benders: Instagram / Facebook
Dead Dates: Instagram / Website / Facebook
Shake Some Acton: Instagram / Website / Facebook
Photographs and review by Phil Watts
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