Rewind Festival – at Scone Palace – Perthshire, Scotland – July 21 – 22, 2012

Set it in the idyllic setting of Scone Palace, where the kings of Scotland used to be crowned, is Rewind. This is the super little 80’s festival bringing you some of the best bands of the era, along with that great nostalgic feeling. Many people dress up as 80’s stars and objects – ranging from Mr T to the Rubik’s Cube – even an Evil Knievel on a chopper bicycle!



There was plenty on to keep punters happy, it wasn’t just about the bands on the main stage. The fun fair rides had increased since the previous year and seemed to entertain quite a few people. As well as the wine bar and cocktail lounge this year had some real ales on tap. The circus tent entertained little and big kids alike, proving too much fun for some adults who managed to laugh so much they ‘leaked’!! The School Reunion Band returned belting out fun classics and even letting people join in on stage throughout the Live Karaoke. The silent disco was a hoot as ever, unfortunately though this year it didn’t open until after the bands finished on the main stage. One of the most fun ‘random’ bits of the festival was the New York Brass Band who played funky hits whilst strolling around the arena and campsite, complete with tartan trews.

There was so much going on it would be difficult to review every band over the weekend, so a few of the highlights are below.

Starting the proceedings on Saturday was a stunt bi-plane flying over head doing plenty of tricks. Gasps of appreciation were heard all over site. Following swiftly on the stage was Les Mckeown from the Bay City Rollers. There were plenty of tartan scarves on show like in their hey day.

Right Said Fred played a fun set doing their hits “Deeply Dippy” and “I’m Too Sexy” - for this Richard Fairbrass came back on stage with an inflatable chest with ‘muscles’! He jokingly said “Well I am too old for steroids now” which brought a laugh to the audience.

Katrina from Katrina and the Waves brought a more rock n roll feeling to the proceedings with her version of “Walking in Sunshine”.



Chesney Hawkes pulled a big crowd and didn’t disappoint – doing a couple of covers and of course finishing with “The One and Only”. Considering how many years he must have been doing that hit he seemed to genuinely enjoy it! We all forgave him for actually being from the 90’s!



Sinitta came on looking fantastic for her age - with hardly any clothes on and certainly perked up the men in the audience! Particularly one fan who she chose from the crowd to dance along with her to “So Macho”. Her male dancers went down well with the women so they didn’t feel left out!



Five Star performed their Rewind Festival debut, celebrating their first gig with all original siblings for 17 years. 
Stunning crowds with his amazing range was Jimmy Somerville, packing a huge voice for such a small person (and a surprisingly deep voice for talking!).



Big Country finished the night off with many of their hits including “In a Big Country”.  The crowd went away happy ready for more fun the next day.

Sunday kicked off with The Christians closely followed by The Straits. The Straits played with 2 original members and sounded so good they could have easily headlined. They played such classics as “Brothers in Arms” and “Romeo and Juliet”.



Despite being a stand in for Squeeze (who pulled out) Adam Ant really got things moving with his ‘The Good, The Mad and The Lovely Posse’. It was amazing seeing how many people had dressed up as him! He belted out favorites like “Prince Charming”, “Ant Music” and of course the 80’s staple “Stand & Deliver”.

Altered Images’ Clare Grogan was a live wire darting about the stage like a woman still in the 80’s enjoying herself. She told the crowd “I am just like you - a mum out for the weekend to enjoy myself!” She sang her hits “I Could be Happy” and “Happy Birthday”.



Roland Gift from Fine Young Cannibals played some of their favorites.

Two of Marc Almond’s classics “Something’s Gotten Hold of my Heart” and “Tainted Love” both left you with a tingling on the back of your neck. It was hard to say which went down with the crowd the best.

The Village People came on with their trademark costumes and of course it was “YMCA” that had all the crowd spelling the letters out with their arms. Like it or not it is a crowd pleaser – even the security guards were dancing along complete with costume hats!

Closing the festival was Holly Johnson. He stood there in his suit, white gloves and wrap around shades, belting out “Power of Love”, “Two Tribes” and of course what the crowd had been waiting for: “Relax”. Fireworks finished off the night, literally with a bang!



Of course there was the silent disco still going on, as well as tunes and bands in the other tents. A newly formed group called ‘The Bandanas’ played in the ale bar, a really lively fun way to end the weekend.

Rewind is a really well organized festival. Artists are not on too long (it can vary between 15 minutes and 45 minutes) and the turn around is pretty quick. This means even though there is only one big stage people are kept interested, and not waiting ages for ‘one hit wonders’. The side tents and stalls really make the weekend, as does the friendly and fun atmosphere.

 

More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 

-Dod  Morrison-
Big Wheel Overseas  Correspondent

 

Go HERE to see all the latest show reviews

 

Send your comments to the editor HERE

 

Frontside Five – Fall Out Of Line

I will be honest, I was scared to hear this because of where the band is from (Denver, Colorado). I have been to Colorado a gazillion times and In my opinion have never found a big Punk scene, decent record store, or anything related to "Punk". I hate saying this, but I wasn't expecting much and I'm glad to say that I was wrong. If there's one thing I love (even if I don't like the band), is music that makes me want to pit and makes the tough side of me come out. Frontside Five's "Fall Out Of Line" does exactly that.

While listening, I pictured them opening for old skate Punk bands. The band that not too many people know, but they're feeling the music and are down to keep the pit going throughout the set. If you open up the booklet it shows show fliers of them playing with bands such as JFA, The Dwarves, CH3, Agent Orange, just to name a few.

It's easy to spot the Punk and metal influences in most of the songs. They're a bit heavier than the typical fast and predictable Punk songs that we're used to hearing. Another cool thing about this band is they have a girl bassist. There aren't enough women in bands, so props to those who are. She gets to play a lot of intros and breakdowns where its just her playing, Overall this album was pretty good. Maybe I'll have to take an other trip to Colorado to scope out what I had been missing out on.
 

 

-Corrina P.-
Big Wheel Staff Journalist
 

 

                                           Go HERE to see all the latest record reviews

 

 

Send your comments to the editor HERE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Punk Rock Academy Fight Song – A Hangover and a Black eye

It wasn’t in mid July but it was a pretty muggy night in may of my second junior year of college. Yes you read that correctly my second junior year-I was on a bit of an extended plan in college. Anyway that's when it happened. The hangover and the black eye. now there was nothing particularly noteworthy about the hangover, I’d had plenty before and I’ve had a few more since and really who wants to remember a hangover anyway? What makes the incident memorable was the combination and the circumstances. I wish I could say I got in a fight over a girl that was out of my league and some dumb jock and his buddies kicked my ass for being a Punk at the wrong party but that would obviously be a blatant rip off of Valley Girl( which is one of the greatest film of all time) though that would be pretty cool if things happened that way. Alas my story is a bit different in that there was no romance involved but there were meatheads who had it out for me. Apparently a few months earlier I had broken up a fight in which one of the meatheads friends was involved but due to my penchant for wearing Hawaiian shirts and leopard spotted hair I was easily recognizable and it was assumed that I was part of the fight instead of being the guy who saved said meathead from a certain beat down. Oh well the devils in the details and no good deed goes unpunished. So my reward for trying to keep my friends from beating up a stranger wound up being a trip to the ER-complete with a smart ass doctor who told me I needed to learn to fight better, thirteen stitches over my right eye with a pretty huge shiner, and the worst part of all my favorite Hawaiian shirt was a total loss. I didn’t necessarily  get beat up strictly for being a punk rocker with crazy looking hair I got beat up because being a Punk with crazy looking hair made me stand out among a group of  friends that looked nothing like me. But hey I’ve never liked fitting in so sometimes that’s the price to be paid for being a little different. It’s not like I was a martyr for a cause I was just some kid getting in a fight on  a hot almost summer night just like kids tend to do in the summer all over the world since the dawn of time. Too much beer, not enough beer. Too much girls not enough girls. Punks  metalheads, jocks, greasers and socs( yup it’s an Outsiders reference-check it out kids) , pretty boys and on and on. It doesn’t really matter who it just seems like its a natural part of summer when your growing up. I'm not condoning violence but sometimes fist fights are as much a part of life as a first kiss maybe its a yin/ yang thing.

This all brings me to something my old friend Dario once said right after we graduated high school. “You really haven't lived unless you’ve gotten drunk, been in a fight or spent a night in jail” or something to that effect. its like a rite of passage part of the journey into manhood. So I guess two out of three ain't bad for a single night. Now I’ve gotta go and take me wife and kids to the beach-cause that’s what you do in the summer and thats also part of growing up.  Oh and naturally black and mostly gray hair is still kinda like leopard spots, right?

-Daniel N-
Big Wheel Staff Columnist

 

Read more from Punk Rock Academy Fight Song HERE

 

 

 

Send your comments to the editor HERE

 

Dave Gahan and The Soulsavers – at Capitol Records Studio A – Hollywood, CA

My Saturday morning began with news that a “secret” “invite only” “private” concert was to take place somewhere in Hollywood at an undisclosed location by one of my favorite singers of all time, Mr. Dave Gahan of alternative mega giants Depeche Mode. The info was vague, but the chance of catching him at a private concert was too good to pass up on. I’ve seen Dave perform to crowds as large as 90,000 and as small as 15,000, this gig sounded more like a once in a lifetime opportunity; I had to be there, no if’s and’s or but’s about it, it just had to happen.

As lunch time rolled around I realized time was not on my side by any stretch of the meaning, I’m sure the guest list for this event was tight and as it got later would be next to impossible to make any sort of connection. The shows location was still unknown to me and my crew, and with the abundance of venues in Hollywood it seemed almost relative to finding a needle in a haystack. Hope was not entirely lost though, I knew someone was bound to accidentally share the good news with the world, and with the click of a twitter search the “secret” location now became Capitol Records; a building I’ve been fascinated with entering since the first time I walked by it as a child. It now seemed I might get to see a show take place there, how unreal!

I can’t disclose my method of getting by security (what I imagined would be difficult), though I can say this much; you can learn a thing or two from growing up watching Mission Impossible and James Bond spy films. With the hard part now behind us it was time to enjoy what would be one of the coolest gatherings I have witnessed in my short life. With our free coca colas in hand thanks to the open bar, we scooted our way up front and waited for the band to hit the stage. There was no barricade or security, just a small crowd of maybe 70 friends and family and a stage only a few inches off the ground floor, this was as intimate as it gets and we were front row. I thanked the rock gods up above for watching over us as we went from not knowing where or how to get into the show to finally being there with the best spot in the house.

Dave and The Soulsavers hit the small stage shortly after 9pm and proceeded to play 7 tracks (about half the album) from their new record “The Light The Dead See”. The songs are fairly new and perhaps unfamiliar to most, but they are amongst the heaviest and deepest Gahan has written in his career and that is exactly how they were delivered live. Some tracks are on the acoustic side of the spectrum while others have the beautiful work of a cello, which makes for a haunting live experience as Dave lets it all out. The emotional outpour  during the bands 45 minute set was moving in a way I’d never witnessed before, it was like a spiritual experience through the power of music. Some songs took on a Nick Cave’ish gospel feel with the aid of soulful female backup singers, it had a feel that could not be faked, this was real and direct from the heart. With a band that relies less on synthesizer and drum loops in favor of a more traditional setup, Gahan is able to let his vocals shine in a way that brought him closer to his audience than perhaps he expected. Halfway through the set he mentioned “I’m not used to being this close to people” as he smiled before kicking into his next number. The stand out tracks were definitely “In the Morning”, “Bitterman”, “Take Me Back” and the set closer “Gone to Far”

Unfortunately the set would soon come to a close as the band only planned to make this short and sweet. Thankfully it was recorded by at least two professional cameras placed in the studio above the crowd and straight to a soundboard where I believe KCRW is going to be broadcasting it more sooner than later. Instead of the night coming to an end, it continued with more free drinks at the open bar and a cool atmosphere where everyone seemed to discuss that what they had just witnessed was beyond amazing and certainly a once in a life time opportunity. Unlike the usual concert experience where the band would hide away backstage, Dave and the co. hung out with the crowd and chatted with everyone around. Any notion that he was a rock star with no time for fans was thrown directly out the window, Gahan was there and his fans took the rare chance at talking to him on a casual yet personal level. This was the place to be and quite the night for an unusual level of fun.

As I walked out of the Capitol Records building and onto Vine St I felt pretty damn good about what had just happened. Not only did I get to witness a crazy once in a life time kind of show, but I got to do it in one of the most famous building’s in the world. I then realized how Dave Gahan sells out the largest venues in the world but chose to debut his new work in the smallest capacity possible and still own like its nobodies business. My respect for the man went through the roof so to speak as it sky rocketed to the heavens.

In related news, Dave is currently recording with the rest of Depeche Mode in Santa Barbara for their as of yet untitled 14th studio album. With the Soulsavers material going over so well Saturday night it may be possible that Dave and Co. will set up a proper show in LA for the public to finally witness between his time in the studio. Lets hope this time next year we will be reviewing a live Depeche Mode concert for all you readers out there.

Set list
Presence of God - In The Morning - Bitterman -Just Try - Take Me Back Home - Tonight - Gone To Far

-Louie Bones-
Big Wheel Staff Journalist

 

 

 

 

Go HERE to see all the latest show reviews

 

Send your comments to the editor HERE

 

Government Issue – GI 5

The good people over Dr. Strange records in Alta Loma have had the pleasure and privilege of re-releasing the back catalog of D.C. legends Government Issue’ on vinyl over the last few years. We have just received their fifth installment, the self titled 5th release commonly known as GI 5, and what a treat it is. Unlike previous pressings on vinyl which are next to impossible to find at a decent price, this release is fully re-mastered and includes bonus tracks which aren’t available on any other release including the more common CD format. The LP also contains a liner notes describing the circumstances surrounding the albums production and inner band turmoil that erupted before the albums completion.

As for the music itself it’s great and sounding better than ever without being polished up beyond recognition. The people in charge of the mixing and mastering did this album justice and fans of it before are bound to take a few more listens this time around with more satisfaction than previously remembered. The late 80’s post hardcore sound is completely showcased here in a fashion similar to the experimental styling of later TSOL. Alternative college radio stations must have played songs off this album to death which likely isolated some of their earlier crowd, but this album still has the balls to get the testosterone crowd moving on the dance floor. Since this is an album that Government Issue fans are likely fans of already, for the new listener - do yourself a favor and pick up this record, you will love it, plus you’ll be supporting a great record label responsible for keeping the Punk tradition alive.
 

 

-Louie Bones-
Big Wheel Staff Journalist
 

 

                                           Go HERE to see all the latest record reviews

 

 

Send your comments to the editor HERE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dwarves – Mondo Generator – Boobie Trap – The Hitchikers – Tod Harper – at The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA

Yes, the Dwarves were back in town for a bunch of shows in the southland. A great line up of bands provided support for them at The Observatory in Santa Ana and Pix Tracy was there to catch all the action and brought back this review in photos.

 

                                       Tod Harper


                                       Boobie Trap


                                       The Dwarves


             More photos of the show can be seen HERE

-Pix Tracy-
Big Wheel Contributing Photographer

 

 

 

 

Go HERE to see all the latest show reviews

 

Send your comments to the editor HERE

 

« Previous Page — Next Page »