Butlin's at Bognor Regis brings us the inaugural Rockaway Beach, a necessary move as Sixties artists and disco hasbeens won't be around for ever so a new direction is required for music events at such resorts. ATP have obviously lead the way with this over the years and it makes sense that their format be taken on by the sort of places they themselves have utilised.

Awareness of this doesn't though lessen the surprise of seeing Du Blonde playing on stage in a tent-enclosed fairground whilst ordinary holidaymakers wander about their business and the odd grandparent or two looks on and wonders at the change in entertainment style since their day. The band are clearly not really expecting the scenario either despite having signed up for it. They're a game bunch and make the most of it with Beth Jeans Houghton ribbing guitarist Michael and chatting away to the crowd about the generally surreal nature of the experience. A surrealism that you expect will last the duration of the weekend.

'After The Show' and much of Welcome Back To Milk are run through as well as a couple of good new songs which show there's no end date in sight for performing in this guise just yet. A pleasing fact. Unfortunately they're the last act on this particular stage today so it's time to get a quick bit of dinner then hunt down the other two stages which, although very close by, are not initially very obvious.

The successful identification of the Red stage found John Knox Sex Club hard at work. Picture David Morrisey in The Walking Dead firing up a sparse, post-apocalyptic crowd of fellow survivors and you'll have some idea of the powerful goings on as Sean Cumming made the most of the extra space available in front of the stage, taking ownership and hugging many punters into the bargain. A performance enjoyed by the crowd and band alike, as confirmed by a chance encounter in the hotel lift the following morning.

A swift trip next door to the main stage where the unknown quantity of Grasscut are playing. The hall's about as densely populated as the Highlands but there are clearly some dedicated fans of the group's folk-meets-Public Service Broadcasting style with one chap very keen to hear older song 'Richardson Road' although he's ultimately out of luck. 'The Field', 'Red Kite' and others go over well and all concerned get the most from the combined experience.

Volume levels are up and the music far noisier back in the Red once The Telescopes come on. They've drawn a bigger crowd too and proceed to make the sort of racket you'd expect from current album Hidden Fields with no deviations into their more shoegazy older material. A lack of engagement with the crowd makes the show a touch self-indulgent as it progresses, however, so stimulation needs to be sought elsewhere. Luckily Emma Pollock is on hand to provide just that with 'Adrenaline' from 2007 album Watch The Fireworks and songs from her most recent album The Law Of Large Numbers. Apologetic that she and the band haven't played together much of late she's engaging, chatty and clearly very much at home in a live setting with the only minor issue coming from her AAA pass slipping between her guitar strings, requring it to be ripped off and chucked on the floor.

Audience sizes are obviously increasing with each new act in Red as John Robb and The Membranes enjoy a good reception when they bring punk into the proceedings. Most folk are to polite too pogo but there's more movement than witnessed up until this point and the band are tight and leave few gaps in the set. Robb expresses his liking for Bognor Regis, being a seaside boy himself. It's lack of a tower does though make it lower down the pecking order than his native Blackpool. Next door the clear, bright sounds of Errors provide a more restful alternative for those in need of it. Looking good on a large stage as opposed to the ground level performance of their Incubate set last month, the extra height lends their material an element of gravitas and melancholy somehow, making for a performance that satisfies on a number of different levels.

The Fall seem to have been the main draw for many of this first night's attendees and their lateness appearing onstage fairly heightens the partisan crowd's excitement. The band come on first, leaving Mark E. Smith to lurk, golem-like in the wings for a short time as they kick things off. A great roar greets him and he's on predictable form in his ramshackle way. Fiddling with the volume and other knobs of the various amps, making some largely unintelligible comment about Bognor being in Wales and later on singing through two mikes at once he's up to all his tricks. The audience noticeably thins out by the halfway point, leaving the hardcore to enjoy their hero so many have obviously expected something different but MES won't be losing any sleep over that.

Tonight's other headliners are Echo & The Bunnymen, an act I've never previously seen before having not been greatly exposed to their work in the past. Their prescence has lead to the main hall being practically full and, following the odd use of a Gregorian chant entrance tape, they launch into playing with no preamble and a garage-like urgency. Ian McCulloch is obviously a bit hot as he queries whether the fan before him is working but performing without a coat on might have been of some benefit in terms of overheating. He knows his audience well and exchanges a good bit of banter between the first few songs but I opt for a bit more of The Fall when an odd medley of 'Roadhouse Blues' and 'Jean Genie' is embarked upon. A comment on the nature of playing a show at Butlin's? Whatever the reason it seemed utterly pointless for a band with as much of its own material to do such a thing in their main set, let alone as an encore, after such a promising start.

Words:Alex Watt

Photos: Julia Stryj

A Tuesday night in the Liquid Rooms with a band and audience hell-bent on having a good time. What could be better?

The View are promoting their new album Ropewalk released on 4th September this year. Tonight is the last night of three sold out ones in Edinburgh. Why the demand for tickets? – loyal fans and the first new material since Cheeky For A Reason in July 2012.

It is obvious from about 15 minutes before the gig begins that the audience are prepared and ready to go – chanting the familiar cry ‘The View are on fire!’ They couldn’t be more right and wrong at the same time. Musically they are bang on, but in the sweat soaked pit that the venue becomes you couldn’t have started a fire with napalm and a box of Zippos.

The View launch into familiar old favourites to raise the temperature. An initially up-tempo version of ‘5 Rebeccas’ seems at odds with the nostalgic sadness of the lyrics but is turned around by a perfect soft, keening finish to the vocals from Kyle Falconer. A fine, bouncy outing of bad neighbour ‘Grace’ keeps the mood going and even in the chastising of ‘the Don’ the uplifting atmosphere is maintained.

Bringing their latest work into play, initially, the band seems almost as unfamiliar with the newer styling as the audience, who are slightly unsure of the lyrics but this is merely warming things up as we reach Pete Reilly’s excellent guitar jangling ‘Under the Rug’.

If there were any criticisms then the two noticeable ones are a lack of tightness of the band and the failure to capitalise on some fine lyrics by sometimes chewing and grumbling them like Marlon Brando. But, overall, the View know what they are about and have the material to close out a 90 minute gig with a rendition of their hit, ‘Superstar Tradesman’, that moves the crowd like waves in a force 10.

In an old interview, Kyle Falconer once said, “All I ever need is to see people dancing.” His desires were fulfilled tonight at least.

The No-Things know how to warm up a crowd, albeit a small one, at the Electric Circus tonight. Having only reviewed them a month or so ago, I’m not going to go into too much detail (link to the previous review can be found here). However, they are up to their usual standard, and are certainly one of the best garage punk bands around at the moment. Although a little bird tells me that they might not be around for much longer, and I certainly hope that this isn’t true ...

Barrence Whitfield - a bit of a legend I’m told, is a young 60 year old; and quite a striking character in his purple paisley shirt and headcoat. Conversely, we have unassuming guitarist Peter Greenberg (ex-Lyres (or as an old friend said to me 'it's easier to name who hasn't been in the Lyres at some point')). The quintet are touring to promote their new album Under A Savage Sky released on Bloodshot Records in July this year.

Whitefield and The Savages 'garage rock and soul titans' open up with the musical equivalent of a big fat exclamation mark, and by the second song in we are left in no doubt of Whitfield's screaming ability; before tearing through stomper (and best song by far) ‘Cornerman’, which is 2 and a half minutes of well, The Sonics basically! Not to take anything away from them. Their performance is tight, and very powerful stuff. It's also a shame that the sound isn't great; it's loud for sure, but a bit too clean in places. Having said that, the band work extremely hard, and they are certainly giving it all they have got.

Barrence talks in-between songs about a variety of subjects like having tried haggis earlier in the day (I didn’t quite get whether the response to this was negative or positive) before linking in to 'Incarcerated Casserole' from the new album. The sax player leaves the stage at one point through the front entrance (pee break?) and then as if by magic, he reappears.   

After a brief encore, the band are kicked off just before 10pm when the venue turns into a club night. Not the best venue (with hen and stag parties traipsing through the bar every 10 minutes to fetch jugs of cocktails) with rubbishy sound, but all considered they did a sterling job, and the fans obviously appreciated it.

Under A Savage Sky is available from amazon & iTunes.

“I'm going to sing ‘The Doom Song’ now” – Gir, Invader Zim

The Academy is packed out this Sunday night. Paradise Lost are here for their first Dublin show since 2003. Latest album, The Plague Within, is their best in 20 years and the anticipation is dripping off the walls, along with whatever else that is. Before the band even appear, there is 90% humidity in the room. The gothic metal veterans have just come off a frantic worldwide festival tour and are kicking off the European dates for The Plague Within tour tonight. Credit to Dublin Metal Events who have done a great job recently of bringing quality metal acts here that previously might have passed us over.

At the appointed hour, the stage fills with smoke and organ music. An expectant hush comes over the crowd. The set begins with the opening song from the new album, ‘No Hope in Sight’. This catches the sound engineer napping, as the guitar fanfare that announces the song is initially deafening, then briefly silent, before settling.

Singer Nick Holmes has never looked better. The short hair and long beard suit him. All the long distance cycling has him looking healthy and has done wonders for his delivery. He is at ease on stage and between songs he banters with the audience with typical humour;

“ I hope you like the latest album?/ We're going to play quite a bit of it tonight/ So if you don't like it…/ Tough shit really”,

“First time we've played that song in a long time/ I'm glad we didn't fuck it up…/ There’s still time though”.

By the time they break out ‘Tragic Idol’ the balcony is dripping on to those below. Gregor Mackintosh’s dreadlocks are flailing and Aaron Aedy is his usual effervescent self. You can always spot the metal bands that are the better songwriters because the volume isn’t quite as high. Paradise Lost want to be heard.

‘Enchantment’ from 1995’s Draconian Times is very well received. Along with ‘As I Die’; “An old favourite/ a bit like Jaffa Cakes”. There are no moshpits tonight. It's more like a heavy metal version of a trip hop show, all nodding heads and existential angst. Some songs are so slow, Massive Attack would be in awe. Holmes introduces ‘Beneath Broken Earth’ as “The slowest song we've ever written” and ponders the ever-changing nature of metal subgenres; “I believe it is called funeral doom/ In our day it was just doom.”

The audience is noticeably split between fans of the older and new material. The repeated requests for ‘True Belief’ and ‘One Second’ are ignored but the set is peppered with classics, of which Paradise Lost have written many in their 25 year career. The new songs are meatier without losing the melodies that set this group apart from their doomy peers. ‘Victim of the Past’ provokes some air guitar playing and the devil horns are raised for ‘Cry Out’; “This is a song about being pissed off/ They're all songs about being pissed off/ But this one in particular.”

The encore break comes after only an hour and it’s far too soon. There is no pretence, the crowd just watch the stage expectantly. The mock-epic intro of ‘Return To The Sun’ is a great way to reintroduce the band and the extensive encore section also includes ‘Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us’ and ‘An Eternity Of Lies’, the standout track from The Plague Within. The fans of their populist years are sated as Paradise Lost finish with their most commercially successful number, ‘Say Just Words’.

For a band that specialise in doom, these guys certainly know how to make people smile. As well as writing catchy tunes that are made to be played live, they put on an exciting show and interact with the fans like they are old friends. The audience are grinning broadly as they exit, the sound of doom echoing in their collective ears. Doom, doom, doom …