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Review: Stiff Little Fingers – O2 Academy
Time and tide wait for no man, but time always stands still every March for the return of Stiff Little Fingers, when they join their fans in a celebration of their splendid oeuvre. They’re a band confident enough of their abilities to consistently take out a damn good support band and this year was no exception with the presence of Ruts DC on the bill.
Back in those halcyon days of punk it’s fair to say that the death of Sid Vicious was a farce but the death of the Malcom Owen was a tragedy, ultimately robbing the world of a band that was on the cusp of great things. The band did continue on and off as a trio but were once again struck hard by the loss of Paul Fox so it’s exceedingly pleasing to report their resurrection over the past few years in to a formidable studio and live proposition more than living up to the promise of the original line up.
is needed now More than ever
Segs and Ruffy (bass and drums) reignited the band with the excellent Rhythm Collision Vol. 2 before teaming up with Leigh Heggarty (guitar and “The best dressed chicken in town”) for Music Must Destroy, which they have been touring relentlessly since its release. They played a blinder of a support, a lean, muscular set effortlessly blurring the boundaries between reggae, punk and rock received with rambunctious affection by the crowd.
Opener Surprise was frankly played like a set closer, a massive tune that opened with a Motown beat before kicking in to gear: killer topical lyrics and a rendition strong enough to support both an earthquake of a bass solo and a guitar meltdown of a solo. Thereafter the band scampered back to the original line-up’s work (every chorus raised to the rafters by the crowd), delved in to the new album and livened things up with a compelling Mighty Soldier from said comeback.
This was a set that was bittersweet for many, impossible to hear the likes of Babylon’s Burning, SUS or Jah War (how prescient does that tune remain?) without remembering the fates of Owen & Fox, and yet both performance and reception were celebratory. This was exemplified during Staring at the Rude Boys, the choruses tearing off the roof and reminding all that music can provide redemption and succour alike. Ruts DC are band reinvigorated, three consummate musicians happy to mine their back catalogue and yet not content to sit on their laurels and become a nostalgia fuelled juke box. Buy the record. Go and see them.
Stiff Little Fingers have been touring the UK every spring for quite a few years now, and they never miss Bristol. Every March they turn up and in front of a rabidly passionate crowd they deliver a set of tunes that are anthemic and (alas) enduringly topical; they play with passion & commitment; they play material from across their lengthy career and they are received with fervour and enthusiasm. This year they did all of that again. But with a couple of differences.
Firstly the set was re-jigged – much as the band have an enviable collection of tunes at their disposal, the set has remained…reliable…in terms of selection over the past few years, so it was a sharp move to adjust the set, drop a few tunes and reintroduce some deeper cuts. The band did this with alacrity and care, the majority of the “must play” tunes remained but the running order was revitalised and the reintroduced songs blended seamlessly.
Secondly the band revealed their first new cut in four years. Inspired by recent events (“…since America lost its collective fucking mind…and elected a monstrous ginger shit gibbon”) Tilting at Windmills was classic SLF. A melody to put a grin on your face, an instant ear worm chorus, a beat to get you jumping around like a loon and lyrics to send you running to man the barricades. With any luck this is just the opening salvo of a recording campaign.
As for the set, well Wait and See was a brilliant opener, the lyrics (maybe) a giant fuck you to the bands critics from the early days and (maybe) a rueful acknowledgement of more carefree times but definitely an unexpected yet joyous first song. Nobody’s Hero led breathlessly in to Gotta Get Away, a perennial set closer or encore delightfully early in the set for a change and was just the first of the full blooded singalongs, the crowd needing no prompting.
Thereafter the band rampaged through their recordings, the set paced well and the songs delivered with absolute passion, whether on the pogotastic up tempo tunes or the more considered numbers. There was plenty of banter from the avuncular Jake Burns as usual (a fascinating fella) and the rejigged set meant new stories, such as the band turning up to a video shoot based around Burns bidding a sad farewell as a train swept his ex-girlfriend away. Which was an odd interpretation of Can’t Believe in You “a song about the fall of communism and the rise of fascism…”
An early curfew gave urgency to the set and with the climatic closing duo of Tin Soldiers and Suspect Device the band were gone. Of course they got an encore, the epic Johnny Was could only be followed by Alternative Ulster and that really was it. Mission accomplished, band knackered, crowd sated. Hopefully next year’s visit will see even more new material and a new LP on the merch table because this is a band that remains relevant and still has something to say.
Stiff Little Fingers: O2 Academy, Saturday 10 March 2018
All pix by John Morgan
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