Punk Rock Dabauchery at the Adam & Eve

A couple of weeks ago we ventured out to the Adam & Eve pub on the outskirts of Digbeth for a night of punk rock debauchery!  The journey to the gig was comprised of a dreary train ride into Birmingham, exchanging album reviews and overhearing the transvestite on the next seat arranging their steak and chips tea for when they got home.  We then had to walk from the Moor Street station next to the bullring out to the venue as the station we were aiming to get off is apparently only open part time (and looking at the station later that is being generous as it looked like it  had not be open since around 1989!).  Aided by a google map printout and a terrible sense of direction we meandered through the streets of outer Digbeth, Sam limping on his crutch and all of us feeling various degrees of bladder pressure. 

We finally arrived, got the beers in and settled down with a keen anticipation – the only band we had seen before was Pete Bentham and The Dinner Ladies so we were keen to see what else was on offer.  The Adam and Eve is the kind of venue I love, compact & bijou with the small stage and the bar almost tripping over each other in their pleas for your attention.
First up were Hung Like Hanratty – a band that clearly don’t take them selves to seriously and have a certain shock value.  They targeted various aspects of society, the overweight in their electric buggies, religion, trans-sexuals, the police, record label bosses with varying degrees of vitriolic and humour.  Not really my cup of tea but they seemed to go down well with the younger elements of the crowd and did a fairly rousing version of the Dead Kennedy’s ‘Too Drunk To Fuck’.

Next on were Angry Itch, a three piece outfit who caught me by surprise and really blew me away.  They were fast, tighter than a ducks undercarriage and blasted out songs with a great melodic undertow.  These guys are just recoding an ep “Scratch it til it Bleeds” which should be out soon and I seriously suggest anyone in and around Birmingham check them out soon!

Then came the Boggingtons, another three piece with father and son sharing guitar, bass and vocal duties.  They looked a bit modish but the singer was wearing an Angry Samoans t-shirt so with that thrown in the mix you knew to expect something a bit different, and they didn’t disappoint, thrashing out edgy new wave tinged tunes aplenty and another great new discovery to boot. 

Finally the headliners, with Pete employing a squad rotation system tonight and bringing in the Dinner Ladies reserve team, perhaps lacking a little match fitness but making up for it with bucket loads of enthusiasm.  Pete and the Dinner Ladies are always one of the first bands on our must see list at Rebellion and never fail to impress and tonight was no different.  Pulling together a varied set list from the albums New Underground and Hip Potato and the new Space Punk ep they had the crowd on side from the off and there were certainly a few song along moments (from our side of the room anyway!!)

All in all was truly a great night’s entertainment – all for a fiver, (okay that does exclude beer and taxi ride home cus we’d missed the last train – and I did buy a copy of Space Punx too!)