It’s the final day of Rebellion Festival, and the day of the LOUD WOMEN takeover on the Introducing Stage! Unsurprisingly, all of todays reviews will be from that stage as, with the exception of the occasional toilet break, that’s where I spent my Sunday, and it was definitely the right decision.
All photos by Sinead Ferguson
Kicking things off, we have Brighton’s Playing Alice. Part way through their set, they play a fantastic cover of The Gossip‘s Standing In The Way Of Control; this means that, not only did I get to hear a cover of one of my favourite song, but I also get to make a Gossip comparison without it seeming lazy! Their music has the energy of The Gossip’s early albums, as well as elements of Be Your Own Pet and Sons and Daughters.
I feel confident in saying that the next band, Nottingham’s Arch Femmesis, are like no one else on the line-up. They play hard, industrial-driven electro punk, with elements of everything from Peaches, Miss Kittin, Throbbing Gristle, Soft Cell… trust me, just give them a listen. Greeting the crowd with a cheery “‘ey up, slags!”, vocalist Zera Tonin is mesmerising on stage. Songs like Androgynista and Rejectile Dysfunction have everyone on board, and judging by the people waiting by the merch table afterwards, they definitely gained some new fans today.
With a lot of people still hanging around after Arch Femmesis, London based SNM take to the stage next, taking us in a grunge-fuelled direction. I can definitely see this band blowing up, they have a confident stage presence, bringing to mind bands like Hole, Veruca Salt, and Bitch Alert. They even throw in an impressive cover of Nirvana‘s Anuerysm, with Mimi’s vocals suiting the song perfectly.
The Empty Page are up next, and are a perfect band to follow SNM. Their set largely shows off their latest album, Imploding, with Medication Nation and Cock of the Fifth Year going down particularly well. Frontwoman Kel, adorned in a “No SWERFS, No TERFS” t-shirt, takes a moment to call out transphobia, before going into one of their earlier singles, Wardrobe Malfunction. Their set flew by, and I hope we see them on the line-up again next year.
Portsmouth pop punks, Baby Said, made up of Italiana/Punjabi sisters Veronica and Jes Pal, follow The Empty Page. Their music translates really to well to a live setting; each song of theirs feels like a potential anthem, with raw pulsating energy and big choruses. Yet another band that are clearly destined for bigger stages, it’s great to see even some of the most cynical looking punks embracing the pop sensibilities of Baby Said.
It’s time to go in darker, more goth-tinged direction next, with NXKXTA aka Nikita Andrianova. Just as much a visual artist as a musician, Nikita employs a dark aesthetic to enhance her alt-rock, art-punk sound. Her smokey vocals have the crowd entranced, and I can’t wait to see where she goes from here.
Things seem to have been taking off for Fraulein over the past year, yet another impressive band on today’s line-up. Unfortunately, their set is cut short after just one song, as frontwoman Joni Samuels manages to break her tooth on the microphone. That one song though, was amazing, and I really hope they get another chance to play Rebellion.
Hailing from Las Vegas, The Dollheads have already filled the Pavilion before even taking to the stage. Possibly the youngest band on the line-up this year, with the members aged 14, 16, and 17, they bring an exciting energy to the stage. Their music leans to the harder side of pop punk, with Angela’s impressively strong vocals and guitar-playing, while Samantha (bass, backing vocals) and Austin (drums) never miss a beat. Any cynics passing by will surely have been won over by an impressive cover of Circle Jerks‘ Wild In The Streets. The Dollheads are proof that punk isn’t going anywhere anytime soon – the future is in safe hands.
Next up is Hipersona, twin sisters from Turkey who play bouncy, danceable pop punk. They bounce around the stage, clearly happy to be here, and their youthful energy is infectious. While they write songs in both English and Turkish, today’s set mostly consisted of English lyrics – they do throw in a couple of Turkish songs in though, even trying to teach the crowd how to singalong with one of them. The world is a dark place, and we need bands like Hipersona to keep us sane and remind us to make sure we still have some fun!
With only three bands left to go, and with it being the last night of the festival the pressure is on to keep people’s energy levels up – luckily, Baby Teeth, a trio from High Wycombe, are up to the task. Vocalist/bassist Lock introduces one of their more personal songs, Too Cool, about being in an unhealthy relationship as a trans person. They end their set with White Van, a song that deserves to be heard on bigger stages.
Twat Union are a 7 piece (though they’re performing as a 5 piece today) feminist punk band from London. They write fun, comedic bangers about topics like sexism in the music industry, and urinary tract infections. A first for most people in the crowd, I think, was when they whipped out a vibrator during Little Pink Drill, and used it as a guitar slide – you can’t buy memories like that! They ened their set perfectly, with the catchy and hilarious anthem that is UTI.
The grandfinale to the LOUD WOMEN takeover is Manchester’s The Red Stains, a band I already love, but haven’t seen live yet before tonight. They didn’t disappoint. Talie Emslie is well on her way to becoming an icon within the UK diy punk scene – she’s like an enigmatic mix of Wendy James, Manda Rin, Poly Styrene, and Angelyne. Between songs, the band find time to talk about Palestine, sexism, and trans rights. Before playing Mannequin, Talie rightly calls out the pest that groped her during The Stranglers set, making it clear that there’s no room for that in the punk scene.
I think it’s safe to say that the LOUD WOMEN takeover was a success. Am I biased? Yes. But I’m also right. Same again next year?