Something to write home about...

Oh. My. Fuck.

In keeping with the theme of "this summer is an epic love fest of gigs", I spent the weekend seeing one band I saw a long time ago and never thought I'd see again, and another that I truly never thought I'd see.

So, on Saturday I made my seemingly weekly trip to London and to the newly re-branded Relentless Garage (because, y'know, selling naming rights to Coca-Cola owned energy drinks is awesome) for the first time since it's epic "refurbishment". I put refurbishment in quotation marks as I honestly believe the owners wanted to "close it for refurbishment" (i.e. close it permanently), failed to find a buyer, and then actually refurbished it. That aside though it looks, well, basically the same as the Garage of old.

Venue architecture aside though, being stuck in the queue meant we got in as Mouthwash had already started. A mate who was already in there informs me we probably missed a song or two, which is a bummer. What I did catch, though, was the usual awesomeness I've come to expect from the 'Wash, even more impressive as they had a stand-in guitarist. They ended their set with the now-trademark Rage Against the Machine riff except this time Nipa bounded back onto stage for a lightning-quick cover of Minor Threat's "I Don't Wanna Hear it". Ace.

Next up, The Grit, just didn't do it for me. I'm not a massive fan of rockabilly-infused-punk in the first place so they never really had a chance with me. The crowd seemed to be into them, and they definitely seem to be very good at what they do, I'm just not into what they do.

By the sounds of the crowd The Filaments, despite being main support, were the main event tonight and man, did they meet expectations. It's been a while since their last reunion gig, and tonight they were on form. Sure, they weren't perfect (and the trumpet player seemed a bit lost sometimes) but damn, they were fun. They played all the obvious 'hits' which drove the crowd crazy, and ending on "Trevor" resulted in a see of sweaty punks having their expectations suitably met.

Lastly then, Suicide Bid had to follow. Being a 'musical collective', as opposed to a fully-fledged band, means that members come and go, and you're never quite sure what to expect from them. Unfortunately tonight, it just didn't seem like all cylinders were firing. Babar Luck was notable by his absence, although the sporadic appearances of Itch from the King Blues and the Babylon Whackers' Majah Thunder helped. The set picked up right at the end when Sonic Boom Six turned up from their afternoon gig in Leicester, and Barney and Laila really added to proceedings.

All-in-all, either though I wasn't really into Suicide Bid or The Grit, it was still a fun night. The clubnight-induced early curfew even meant we weren't in any rush at the end to catch a train. Good times.

The main event of the weekend though was still to come. We only went to the Suicide Bid gig as I was going to be in London/Surrey for The Get Up Kids show, so me and Claire thought we'd find something to do on the Saturday.

So, fast forward to Sunday evening and we're at the Peel in Kingston, a venue I love in a place I wish I lived. Beautiful. The Kingston scene (read: Banquet Records) is so unbelievably great, so any chance to catch a show in the suburb affectionately known as K-Town is always welcome, especially when it's such a legendary band in such intimate surroundings.

Kicking off proceedings is Dave House, in his first gig with his new four-piece (i.e. four of them plus him) backing band and all I can say is wow. I've always been a massive fan of Dave House, be it solo or with other musicians backing him up, but tonight was something else, something even more special. Especially so when Dave put down his guitar to rock out with just a microphone, in the crowd, under a see of raised fists and shouted-back-at-him lyrics. Superb.

Of course though, tonight - and this weekend - was all about The Get Up Kids, playing their first UK gig for years and it was unreal. This was amazing. From opener "Coming Clean" through to fake ender "Walking on a Wire", through the encore (and actual set closer "Ten Minutes") this was a massive 200+ person singalong. Sure the band have got old, sure their voices are a little worn, and sure they weren't entirely perfect but none of this mattered. Tonight was about a tiny - and rammed full - room of people singing their hearts out to a band that mean so much to them. The band played for nearly an hour and a half, going through such classics as "Red Letter Day", "I'm a Loner Dottie, a Rebel", "Mass Pike" and everything else you'd expect from them. The encore even included covers of The Cure and The Replacements.

So, this was a truly spectacular weekend rounded off absolutely perfectly with the Get Up Kids' impeccable performance.