Thought I’d share some thoughts on Rebellion Festival 2013
Being veterans of six or seven Rebellions (or Wasted) we kind of knew what to expect. It’s a coming together of the weird and wonderful in a four day punk and alternative festival but is actually far more diverse that the title suggests
We managed to check in a bit early at the travel lodge, quick beer in the room while Sam spiked the Mohican, steady stroll to the Winter Gardens, wrist banded up and another beer and it was first band time:
The Dipsomaniacs from Sunderland in the Arena. Massive surprise that Dickie Hammond wasn’t on stage with them although he was down the front watching and got a couple of song dedications from Steve Smith. Sound was a bit iffy for the first couple of songs but then it all clicked into place and they sounded great with their catchy but edgy punk rock tunes. Should be on everyone’s to see list. And California on the front Line is a veritable punk rock classic.
Then it was a quick sprint to the new band stage at the Pavilion to catch the end of the Maid Of Ace set. They had drawn a large crowd and with good reason, the singer has got a voice bigger than Blackpool Tower with a powerhouse of a band and they did a cracking version of We’ve Got A Fuzzbox’s ‘ Rules & Regulations’.
We hung around in the Pavilions to catch another new band, The Minx from Manchester. Decked out in Dr Martens and Fred Perry's (except for the keyboard player sporting a PIL t-shirt) they sounded a bit post punk, a bit indie with a healthy shot of Buzzcocks thrown in and they sounded every bit as good as that combination suggests. 
We decided to decamp to the acoustic stage where Max Splodge was just starting a short set accompanied by a man with a kazoo, musically perhaps a bit lacking but hell this is a punk festival and in pure entertainment value more than made up for any technical shortcomings.
Popped out for a quick Harry Ramsden then back in time for The Talks from Hull in the Empress Ballroom. A crowd pleasing Ska tinged set that left everyone in a good mood and set up the rest of the night nicely.
We caught the Cundeez and The Surgeons in the Pavilion who were both good then it was back to the acoustic stage to see Vic Ruggiero from the Slackers performing a solo slot. He had literally just arrived before going on stage but that didn’t stop him delivering a blistering set of solo stuff, Slackers tunes and some great covers including Rudie Can’t Fail and Beat on The Brat. Despite having to rush back to catch the last train he hung around for a chat and was definitely an early highlight of the weekend and is coming back to the UK later in the year with a full Slackers tour. 
Next up for us was the self- proclaimed original rude-boy Neville Staple. No longer part of the Specials he still plunders their back catalogue for his own take on their tunes as well throwing in plenty of ska classics. Always a crowd pleaser.
Managed to catch part of the Ramonas set, an all girl Ramones covers band, you get the idea. By this time of night the drinks had been flowing, everyone was in high spirits and this was just perfect. And it just re-iterated what great tunes the Ramones had.
Headlining in the Empress were New Model Army. I’ve not seen them for around 20 years and until fairly recently had only picked up the occasional album by them. Now expanded to a five piece they opened with a couple of new numbers from their forthcoming album, a brave move but one they easily pulled off. They have never been a band to rest on their laurels and rely on greatest hits oldies set, so we got a great selection of tunes covering their 30 plus years back catalogue. The band have an amazing fan base who were very much in evidence and it was great to see people standing on shoulders of friends during some of the slower songs, a real hairs sticking up on my arms taking me back to the old days moment. Was a great performance, will try to catch them again on their tour later in the year and cannot wait to get a copy of the new album. A great first day.
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