LIVE REVIEW: HEKATE HEADS, THE SCREAMING VIOLETS AND CANDIDE AT THE HOPE AND ANCHOR, ISLINGTON, LONDON

So here I was once again at the Hope & Anchor. Thankfully, there wasn’t an Arsenal home game tonight, so I even stood a chance of making it home after the gig! There was a keen sense of anticipation about what international rabbit and Shake Some Acton promoter Mannie would pull out of his musical hat this time.

Kicking off the evening were London trio Candide, who weren’t the easiest band to pin down in terms of what they might be playing. Their own blurb managed to throw Baroque, Chernobyl, northern soul and theatrical into the mix, which gave some idea of the musical territory they covered. They churned out upbeat, highly musical punk rock, featuring some of the longest guitar breaks I can honestly remember hearing at the Hope & Anchor, courtesy of Eddie and his Les Paul. Eddie had a frighteningly manic stage presence and, had he been given a bigger stage, I had absolutely no doubt he would have been jumping off monitors and anything else he could get his feet on. I found Candide incredibly easy on the ear, and I’ll definitely be making an effort to catch them again very soon.

Shake Some Acton’s trashy grunge favourites The Screaming Violets took to the stage next, bringing their own brand of raw, two-minute post-punk garage rock with them. I’d had the good fortune to catch them a few times recently, so I knew roughly what to expect, but that didn’t make them any less enjoyable. Strong on social commentary, with “Boring”, “Maladjusted” and “Society” among the highlights, they’d somehow managed to create a singalong sound that made the early Stooges sound a bit like Val Doonican. You might need to take a minute to think about that one.

They finished, as they had the other times I’d seen them, with their anthemic “Panic Button”, which, to my ears, combined a Hawkwind-style beat with a Public Image Ltd chant. How do they do that? You’ll need to come and see them for yourself.

The headliners were up next: the Hekate Heads. Their Instagram claimed they were from Barcelona, although with an Italian singer, an Argentinian guitarist and a Brazilian drummer, they could certainly lay claim to being a multicultural outfit. They played good old-fashioned punk rock ’n’ roll, with no frills and, above all, a clear determination to have fun doing it. This was their first time playing in England, and they looked determined to enjoy every second as they punched their way through a feisty set. Highlights included “Everyone Is Gay” and “I’m a Dad”, along with a verse of “Anarchy in the UK” and the opening chords of “New Rose” thrown in for good measure, just to make us feel at home. I reckon they (and everyone else) had a brilliant evening, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing them back on these shores before too long.

All in all, (yet) another brilliant Shake Some Acton evening!