Resistance 77 in the Beer Tent at the Rock and Blues Custom Show
Resistance 77 are a solid punk band, formed in 1980. With a brief hiatus between 1983 and 1988, the band have released 3 albums with a live album to appear soon. With a solid touring history, it's no wonder they grabbed my attention away from beer and the main stage.
Despite my interest, the crowd was quite small and didn't seem to move so much, which was a pity as the rock was punky and the energy came right at me. Every song was highly frenetic with the guitarist thrashing away like a man possessed. Perhaps its because although the songs are original, they do sound like something you've already heard before. That, and the fact that the bassist's mic was either mixed badly, or not even plugged in at all didn't help matters. In fact, the guitarist's levels didn't seem right either.
Nonetheless, Resistance 77 played a solid set, despite the setbacks. Halfway through the set, the band paused to read an announcement about some lost children, and later on, the drummer decided to rush to the front and take some photos of the crowd for what seemed like no apparent reason. These odd little pauses did little to detract from the overall passion of this band. The bassist was playing a mean bass line and screaming away as hard as he could, despite the lack of amplification. The guitarist thrashed away and the screaming vocals were powerful.
The band did slow it down for a few numbers, finishing with cover of the Clash's White Riot. Of all the bands I saw in the beer tent that weekend, Resistance 77 were certainly the "punkiest", meanest and most powerful. It's just a shame the mixing was off. Certainly worth seeing again.