LIVE REVIEW: Crashed Out + Rigid Digits, Trillians, Newcastle, Saturday 28 December 2019
Crashed Out’s annual Christmas gig at legendary Newcastle rock bar Trillians has become one of the must-see dates in my calendar over the last few years.
For a start, it’s free, they invariably have a cracking support band too, and it’s a great way to round off a year’s gig-going.
Opening proceedings tonight were Rigid Digits, who, as their name suggests, are a Stiff Little Fingers tribute band. Now, I don’t usually go to see covers bands, but I’d heard they were good, and had never seen them before, so got there early.
And it’s a good job I did, as the place was packed – as full as I’ve seen it since the venue reopened in 2015, in fact. Whether everyone was here for the gig or had just popped in for a couple of reasonably-priced pints after that afternoon’s football is a matter for debate, but the people who run it won’t care – the bar was doing a roaring trade.
The band weren’t half bad either. There’s five of them, all local lads, and they launched into a 12-song set, all from Jake Burns and co’s first two albums. It passed in a blur, prompting huge singalongs and, for At The Edge and Suspect Device, a small moshpit at the front of the stage.
They might be playing someone else’s songs, but if it’s a punk rock singalong you want, I’d wager there’s few bands better at it than Rigid Digits.
Another North East band, the excellent Kickback Generation, were supposed to play next, but had to pull out on the eve of the gig when their drummer had surgery on his arm and was left in plaster. Get well soon, Puss!
Instead, we moved straight to the headliners, who played a bumper set knocking on for 20 songs – I lost count. Anyone who’s seen Crashed Out knows what to expect; foot-to-the-floor punk rock ‘n’ roll from start to finish, and here they were preaching to the converted.
Half of their hometown Jarrow seemed to have come out for the festive bash, and it was a barnstormer from the start, as they launched into old favourite Fast ‘N’ Loose.
More old favourites were dusted off and given an airing, going all the way back to This Is Our Music from their first album of that name. We were treated to Fat Punks Don’t Pogo, I’m The Outcast, and Still A Fighter, the latter coming from the 2010 album Crash & Burn, which has just been re-released with extra tracks on the band’s own I Want It Records.
A couple of new songs were thrown into the mix too, with Against All Odds, early in the set, the standout. Otherwise it was business as usual, with band and fans connecting on songs like One Of The Boys, Raise Ya Glasses, and their own inimitable takes on Geordie classics The Jarrow Song and Cushy Butterfield.
Song of the night, for me, was a toss-up between The Town That Died, with the Jarra lads and lasses joining in with a lusty singalong, and – as the second of a two-song encore – a storming cover of Motorhead’s Ace Of Spades, dedicated, of course, to Lemmy, who died on this date four years ago.
Crashed Out celebrate their 25th anniversary in 2020, and are showing no signs of slowing down. With a new album in the offing in promises to be a belter. Here’s to next year’s festive bash, and a few more in-between. Cheeaz!
