PETE BENTHAM AND THE DINNER LADIES - I HEART HERE

Pete Bentham & The Dinner Ladies - I Heart Here

 

 

The Kings & Queens of Kitchencore return with what is probably their strongest album yet.  This is a proper punk protest record.  Bristling to the brim with party and social politics, never preaching, often humorous,  all wrapped up in a DIY punk rock n roll that will have you singing along in seconds.

  

Proceedings kick off with opener Marcel Duchamp, a song celebrating the French-American painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Dadaism and conceptual art.  He also collaborated with John Cale and one of his most famous pieces of art, Fountain, was an upturned urinal.  It’s not everyday you hear subject matter like this in a punk song  but like all of the greatest punk songs it’s all packed into an explosive spiky two minutes.  And this encapsulates what is so great about Pete and the Dinner Ladies -make no mistake these guys are punk as fuck, but there’s a cleverness in the songs, never condescending, but often addressing important issues from slightly left of field and celebrating the truly unusual.     

 

Next up is the gender busting Can A Boy Be A Dinner Lady? Questioning how society pigeon holes and labels us all into what is deemed acceptable based on sex, age or other preferences.  And the protest songs just keep on coming, A New Way Of Living literally tells of everyday folks taking up the Power to the People call.  Dead’s Not Punk is a clever ditty stating it’s actually not clever, cool or punk to wind up a casualty of the many vices often associated with the scene.

 

On I Spy For The DIY, Pete proudly wears his DIY credentials on his sleeve questioning whether biting the hand that feeds is hurting the man, with the answer coming back ‘I’d sooner keep it in my hands’. 

 

The album is full of these gems.  Clever, thought provoking and sometimes humours lyrics all housed in a punk rock n roll with a hint of eastern folk and country thrown into the mix.  There is no major change in direction from the previous two albums, but this time out there is an added spikeyness to the songs and a consistency throughout – there is no room for any filler here!  And a saxophone has not sounded this good on a punk record since X-Ray Spex’ Germfree Adolescents!    

 

It’s a shame John Peel is not with us any more as Pete & The Dinner Ladies would certainly have been taken to the great mans heart and been regular favourites of the twilight airwaves.  This album has pretty much been on constant repeat for the last month and protest has never sounded so great.  This should feature highly in the end of year best of albums that we so love to compile and read about. 

 

Make sure Pete Bentham & the Dinner Ladies are top of your must see acts this weekend at Rebellion.  Catch them on the 8^th August getting a well-deserved headline slot on the Pavilion Stage.

 

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2013 - A brief reflection on some of my live highlights

It’s that time of year when we reflect on the previous 12 months and what fun we had. 

In no particular order here are some of my gig highlights from 2013. 

The Stranglers / The Godfathers – Birmingham Academy – March. 
Proving the old guard still have it this was an amazing double header.  The Godfathers still got the passion for it and some great new tunes.  The Stranglers were spectacular, a career spanning set, an eager crowd, still one of the best bands around. 

Stiff Little Fingers / The Men They Couldn’t Hang / Eddie Tenpole – Bilston Robin – April. 
The queue to get in shows the demand that Stiff still have.  Crowd pleasing set from Eddie, TMTCH were great and Stiff blew the roof off with a mix of hits and classics from their back catalogue, even throwing in a cover of Staring At Rudeboys as a encore. 

Ruts DC – Rebellion Festival – August. 
By the end of 2013 I’d seen the Ruts DC four times in 16 months but this was probably my pick of the bunch.  Playing at the end of a brilliant Saturday at Rebellion in the slightly more intimate Bizarre Bazaar stage they delivered a great set of new and older Ruts DC material but it’s hearing those old Ruts songs once again that gets the hairs on the back of the neck standing on end.  Truly Brilliant!. 

Pete Bentham & The Dinner Ladies / Angry Itch – Adam & Eve – June. 
Well this turned out to be a stormer of a night.  I’ve seen Pete & The Dinner Ladies quite a few times in recent years, usually at the Rebellion Festival but I always seem to enjoy them more in smaller more intimate venues (like most bands I guess) and this was a storming performance.  Making the night even more special was the discovery of one of the support bands, Angry Itch.  They just blew me away.  The Birmingham punks are only recently formed  so the fact they deliver their catchy fast tunes so tightly only adds to the summation that these guys are something special and worth watching in 2014! 

Beans on Toast – The Rainbow Pub – October.   
I love the intimacy of this venue so when Beans on Toast joins the crowd to perform half his set you know it’s going to be something special.  Brilliant, funny, though provoking and some great in-between song banter made this one of the best gigs of the year.  And support Gorgeous George weren’t bad either. 

Shellac – The Rainbow – November. 
Playing in one of the larger Rainbow venues round the back this gig was nothing less than superb.  One of the tightest bands you will ever see, all members are just so tuned in with each other the impact of each song is magnified.  The attention to detail in the songs is outstanding and the in-between song Q  & A sessions add another dimension to the night and show the band in a totally different light. 

The Damned / Ruts DC – Wulfrun Hall – December. 
The Ruts DC were on form again but the night belonged to the Damned.  Atmospheric stage props and a more varied set taking in most periods of the band added with some great playing and a great sound meant this tuned out to be a bit of a corker. 

Toy Dolls / TV Smith – Birmingham Academy – November. 
It’s easy to gloss over TV Smith and assume he’s just another ageing punk rockers treading water but there is much more than just those old Adverts classics.  A quite brilliant acoustic set showcasing the best of his solo material too, possibly the best performance of his that I have ever seen, not bad for the support.  The Toys Dolls are often passed off as a one hit wonder novelty band.  Sure there is a lot of humour in their songs but that belies their musicianship and the songs are catchy as hell.   

Birmingham Punx Picnic – Wagon & Horses – September. 
I only managed the Sunday but this was a great day out.  Ten band for a fiver.  With Eastfield kicking off proceedings and Hardskin finishing off, it was a great atmosphere and will be well worth visiting the Punx Picnic 2014. 

Punk Rock Chaos 2 - Wagon & Horses – September.  Hosted by Angry Itch another great night of Punk rock all for a fiver.  Angry Itch were brilliant again (and I got a song dedication!) and local heroes Rotunda rounded off proceedings – as the night ran behind a little things ended in a bit of a blurrr but another great night of Birmingham Punk Rock

The Undertones / The Nightingales - Slade Rooms - May
Apprehensive about seeing the Undertones as Feargal has such a distinctive voice but any doubts were immediately cast away with a greatest hits and more set, such a great back catalogue of tunes.  And the Nightingales were brilliant!

Louise Distras - Rebellion - August
What a year it's been for Louise, globe trotting the world (well some of it) spreading her political and catchy acoustic punk rock message.  Great set at Rebellion playing the highlights of her then soon to be released debut, Dreams From The Factory Floor.  Cannot wait to catch her in 2014.

In fact cannot wait to catch a whole bunch of live music in 2014.

REBELLION 2013 - FRIDAY

Friday started slightly sluggishly, as we all felt the effects of over indulgence on the first day. 

After grabbing breakfast and another hour or two kip we started at a more sedate pace listening to John Robb interviewing members of The Outcasts and The Defects about the punk scene in Northern Ireland and specifically Belfast and also their portrayal in the Good Vibrations film.  Really interesting and at times funny as fuck. 

We then decamped to the acoustic stage and listened to banjo maestro Jim Sorrow.  Next up on the acoustic stage was Attila the Stockbroker.  Seen him quite a few times before and as usual he didn’t disappoint with a mix of political, humorous and at times touching songs and poetry (despite several technical problems). 

We were beginning to get back into our stride so ventured down to the Empress to see The Skints, catchy ska from the Smoke and mighty fine too. 

Hazel O’Connor was on in a packed Pavilion with a more paired down sound of keyboards and sax but that didn’t stop her belting out a storming set, and slipping in a few amusing anecdotes too. 

Popped out for a bite to eat and bit of fresh air then it was back to see Mike Only (ex-King Blue) on the acoustic stage.  Thought he was really good and maybe doesn’t quite match the stage presence of someone like Vic Ruggiero the night before still went down really well. 

We then went down to our first visit to the Olympia to see Eddie & The Hot Rods who like most bands over the weekend in the Olympia suffered from a poor sound (especially on the larger of the two  stages).  But still went down a storm.

 

It was a real toss up then between long time favourites the Damned and new boys and girls Pete Bentham & the Dinner Ladies.  Pete won!  This time back in the Pavilion were we first saw them and still employing a squad rotation system.  They sounded as good as ever and they are the kind of band that truly make this festival great, a bit different to the mainstream but punk as fuck in attitude.  And a set packed with killer tunes.  Check out the recently released Space Punx ep for a quick fix and I have it on good authority from the horse’s mouth (well Pete’s) that a new album is in the pipeline. 

We hung around in the Pavilion for a short while but the endurance test that is a day at Rebellion was taking its toll on all of us, so we rather shockingly decided to call it a day and head off for an early night.  Felt slightly guilty for missing some great bands today but there were so many clashes it was impossible not to miss some bands over the weekend that I really wanted to see.  I suppose with something as large and great as this you have to focus on the good stuff you end up experiencing.

MY TOP TEN - SAM PARSONS

Okay, second in the occasional series of random Top 10's  This week it's little Sam. (That's my boy)

10. Kate Nash - Made Of Bricks

Feel good album all the way through, genius lyricist with a comedic value to her

 

9. Ramones - Ramones

First ever album I brought on vinyl. A great moment for my dad cause he knew in that moment, he'd succeeded in continuing the family's love for punk

8. Fall Out Boy - Infinity On High

I used to listen to this album religiously in my early years of high school, the quirky names, the catchy songs, not the perfect album, but definitely a great

7. Beans On Toast - Standing On A Chair



By purely getting through this album, you feel like you've achieved something great in life. It's like watching the Lord Of Rings trilogy consecutively, all your senses burn but it's worth it

6. The Feeling - Twelve Stops and Home

This is a bit different to the albums I usually listen too but everyone needs that feel-good album and this is mine

 

5. Leatherface - Stormy Petrol

This is more to do with the songs on this album contributing to an amazing gig experience.

4. Pete Bentham & The Dinnerladies - Hip Potater

This album has it's own genre; kitchen sink punk. It is catchy throughout and doesn't get the size of audience it deserves

3. Dan Le Sac Vs. Scroobius Pip - Angles



 

Everyone knows an album like this. Until you listen to it, no one can do it justice by trying to explain it to you

2. My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade

This album made me who I am today. An eleven year old in his room singing 'teenagers scare the living shit out of me' may seem unusual but it shaped my whole musical taste. Not one bad song on this album

1. The King Blues - Save The World Get The Girl

This band took the idea of punk rock and shaped it into their own style to make an album too perfect to be true. This album is the Pulp Fiction of music, it has something for everybody and everyone gets a catchphrase from it

 

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!)  

PETE BENTHAM & THE DINNER LADIES - SPACEPUNX EP

 

Check out the new EP from Pete and the Dinner Ladies - see link below:

http://petebenthamandthedinnerladies.bandcamp.com/album/spacepunx-ep-cat-free004?from=embed