Cockney Rejects – Youth Brigade – Sharp Objects – and Sydney Ducks – at The Uptown Night Club – Oakland, CA

Cockney Rejects, Youth Brigade, Sharp Objects and Sydney Ducks live, in Oakland, on a friday night, does it get any better than that, I couldn't wait for this show. I got there just as the doors were opening,

 

 

straight away i thought the bar and venue were pretty cool welcoming. The Uptown Night Club in Oakland is really great because the stage and pit area is in a different room to the side of the main bar. In the bar room there are huge screens showing the stage, not too mention a nice little smoking area at the back were the bands could sell merch. As the first twenty minutes or so went by lots of people starting arriving and there was a good mix of Punks, Skins and regular Bay Area gig goers. I was super excited to see all the bands and couldn't wait for the show to begin.

First up, was one of San Francisco's finest Punk and Oi bands Sydney Ducks, They always put on a great live show and I love their singer Carl's gravely vox and killer backing vocals and stage performance of their guitarist Gabe. This band is really great and it's no surprise their on one of the best Punk labels Pirates Press Records. They started the show off with a bang and the venue was pretty much full by the end of their first song. They played a great mix of killer tracks from all of their records Straw Dogs, Esprit De Corps among other releases and the entire crowd was feeling it. This band has a nearly European feel but remind alot of The Templars. Their sound is quite unique and totally rad. They put on a really really good show and I can't wait to see them again at Thee Parkside in San Francisco this March.

Next in line was Sharp Objects, I was really looking forward to seeing this band, as the members come from other really good bands including The Briefs and The Bodies. There sound is fast, energetic, and they're just killer to watch live. The crowd was even bigger when these guys took stage and as they played on the mosh pit got more and more intense. Their set was raw, and like The Sydney Ducks, I really enjoyed the amount of gang vocals. It was my first time seeing these guys and i cant wait too see them again. You can get all of their stuff from Modern Action Records and trust me, it's worth checking out.

L.A.'s Youth Brigade were third on and I was super stoked because I had never seen them before and have been a fan for many years. It's seriously hard to be part of the Punk scene and not know who these guys are, if not for their killer band or their amazing label BYO, you should know them for all the other stuff they have done for the Punk community since their formation in 1980. They rule and have inspired many of bands including Rancid, Bouncing Souls, Pennywise and a whole lot more.

As Shawn and the boys got up on stage, the wanting crowd were getting really intense and circle pits, moshing etc took off nearly instantly. They were really fun and exciting to see live and after all these years still have so much passion for what their doing. They played a bunch of songs, many old classics from albums like Sound and Fury, What Price Happiness, Happy Hour and others. Their set was amazing from start to finish and judging by the splashes of beer and movement in the crowd everyone seemed to be having a great time.

Last up was Cockney Rejects, again like Youth Brigade, I hadn't seen them before and they have years and years behind them. They formed in the east end of London, England in 1978 and have many classic and iconic songs under their belts. Once the working class hooligans hit the stage the whole place lit up and Jeff “Stinky” Turner had everyones attention as he paced back and forward throwing his iconic and well known boxing air punches. The whole band were super into it and after all this time still rule. The crowd was all over the place at this point and people were jumping around and falling down all over the beer and sweat soaked concrete.

Every song was good and there was great interaction between the band and the crowd, they played hits from the power and the glory, the wild ones, out of the gutter and newer ones from last years release “East End Babylon” which is equally as amazing as their earlier releases. The Rejects played for quite some time and the highlight of their show was “I'm forever blowing bubbles” everyone was singing along and it was just fantastic.

I was so battered and bruised by the end of the night but luckily I had strength through Oi! Fantastic night.

            More photos of the show can be seen HERE

-Brian McCann Jr.-
Big Wheel Contributor

 

 

 

 

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