Duncan Reid & The Big Heads / Shock Treatment 21 / Hooligan
live @ Voodoo, Belfast, 20/06/14
There are some gigs you just have to go. For me, Duncan Reid & The Big Heads was one such gig. Ya see, Duncan 'Kid' Reid was a member of The Boys, one of my all time favourite bands who, sadly, I've never had the chance to see live. The Big Heads include a few Boys numbers in their set so I thought this might be the closest thing to actually seeing the Boys themselves I might get. Turned out to be a good call, as, despite the dismal turnout, this was a fantastic gig.
Kicking off the entertainment was left in the capable hands of hardworking Dublin punks Hooligan, on tour to promote their excellent 'Criminal Damage' EP. No strangers to Belfast (or even Voodoo for that matter) I'm sure even they were dismayed by the lack of audience when they took to the stage. In such circumstances it would be easy for a band to just go through the motions, but not Hooligan who gave it 100% as always. Hooligan fired their way through a set of classic Angelic Upstarts / Clash inspired tunes such as 'Back On The Piss Again', the brilliant 'No Blacks, No Irish, No Dogs', as well as tracks from their latest EP including 'Criminal Damage' and 'Street Punk Hero'. Another excellent, no-nonsense set from one of my favourite current bands and a great start to the night. I'll even forgive them for the Francis Rossi / Rick Parfitt style show-boating (haha, only kidding Dave)!
Next up were local act Shock Treatment 21, led by the indomitable Davy Treatment who never gives less than 100% effort on stage. Unfortunately, I got the urge to go outside for a smoke half way through the first song and needless to say I got chatting, this time to my old pal Punky Joe who I hadn't seen for quite a while. Before we knew it, Shock Treatment's set had finished and Davy T was outside standing beside us. Couldn't believe we'd missed the whole set, apologies Davy. This is a regular occurrence for me. I don't get into Belfast that often these days so I've always got a bit of catching up to do and nearly always miss one band's set per gig, so don't take it personnally, lol. I have it on good authority (from my two companions that night) that ST21 put on a sterling show. No doubt I'll catch them again.
Duncan Reid & The Big Heads - what a fucking fantastic band! Pure unadulterated rock'n'roll fun. This is a gig that will stay in the memory of the few who attended for a very long time. If the band were disheartened by the poor turn out then they certainly didn't let it show, they were firing on all cylinders from the off. I readily admit that I was there for that Boys connection, I wanted to hear Boys songs performed by an original member of that band. But Duncan Reid & The Big Heads are certainly not just a Boys tribute / covers band - they have their own songs and excellent ones at that. Stuff like 'Rolling On', 'All Fall Down' and 'Kelly's Gone Insane' - brilliant. They played enough Boys tunes to keep this old punk happy too - 'I Don't Care', 'Box No. 939', 'Terminal Love', the classic 'First Time' to name just a few, but the highlight of the night (for me anyway) was 'Brickfield Nights' - such a fabulous song, a true punk classic and one of my all time favourites. I got goosebumps just listening to it, worth the price of admission alone. I can't fault the set, or the performance, they even threw in The Yobs (Boys alter ego) 'Worm Song' for good measure. Top notch songs, Duncan's storytelling, his foray's into the crowd and a band who gave it everything on stage. This was the band's (and Duncan's) first ever gig anywhere in Ireland, north or south, and it was very disappointing to see such a poor turnout for what turned out to be a fantastic gig. I certainly hope it hasn't put them off coming back to Belfast. If they do return make sure you go and see them, you won't regret it. Thankfully, the band got a better crowd in Dublin the following night, they deserved it.
GT
Kicking off the entertainment was left in the capable hands of hardworking Dublin punks Hooligan, on tour to promote their excellent 'Criminal Damage' EP. No strangers to Belfast (or even Voodoo for that matter) I'm sure even they were dismayed by the lack of audience when they took to the stage. In such circumstances it would be easy for a band to just go through the motions, but not Hooligan who gave it 100% as always. Hooligan fired their way through a set of classic Angelic Upstarts / Clash inspired tunes such as 'Back On The Piss Again', the brilliant 'No Blacks, No Irish, No Dogs', as well as tracks from their latest EP including 'Criminal Damage' and 'Street Punk Hero'. Another excellent, no-nonsense set from one of my favourite current bands and a great start to the night. I'll even forgive them for the Francis Rossi / Rick Parfitt style show-boating (haha, only kidding Dave)!
Next up were local act Shock Treatment 21, led by the indomitable Davy Treatment who never gives less than 100% effort on stage. Unfortunately, I got the urge to go outside for a smoke half way through the first song and needless to say I got chatting, this time to my old pal Punky Joe who I hadn't seen for quite a while. Before we knew it, Shock Treatment's set had finished and Davy T was outside standing beside us. Couldn't believe we'd missed the whole set, apologies Davy. This is a regular occurrence for me. I don't get into Belfast that often these days so I've always got a bit of catching up to do and nearly always miss one band's set per gig, so don't take it personnally, lol. I have it on good authority (from my two companions that night) that ST21 put on a sterling show. No doubt I'll catch them again.
Duncan Reid & The Big Heads - what a fucking fantastic band! Pure unadulterated rock'n'roll fun. This is a gig that will stay in the memory of the few who attended for a very long time. If the band were disheartened by the poor turn out then they certainly didn't let it show, they were firing on all cylinders from the off. I readily admit that I was there for that Boys connection, I wanted to hear Boys songs performed by an original member of that band. But Duncan Reid & The Big Heads are certainly not just a Boys tribute / covers band - they have their own songs and excellent ones at that. Stuff like 'Rolling On', 'All Fall Down' and 'Kelly's Gone Insane' - brilliant. They played enough Boys tunes to keep this old punk happy too - 'I Don't Care', 'Box No. 939', 'Terminal Love', the classic 'First Time' to name just a few, but the highlight of the night (for me anyway) was 'Brickfield Nights' - such a fabulous song, a true punk classic and one of my all time favourites. I got goosebumps just listening to it, worth the price of admission alone. I can't fault the set, or the performance, they even threw in The Yobs (Boys alter ego) 'Worm Song' for good measure. Top notch songs, Duncan's storytelling, his foray's into the crowd and a band who gave it everything on stage. This was the band's (and Duncan's) first ever gig anywhere in Ireland, north or south, and it was very disappointing to see such a poor turnout for what turned out to be a fantastic gig. I certainly hope it hasn't put them off coming back to Belfast. If they do return make sure you go and see them, you won't regret it. Thankfully, the band got a better crowd in Dublin the following night, they deserved it.
GT