There was supposed to be a strong Uber Rock presence lining up at the Croft to catch the opening night of The Old Firm Casuals UK tour but one by one the soldiers fell. Shot down by the perils of everyday life like transport issues and a holiday in the sun until it was down to me, the last man standing, to hold the Uber Rock Fort alone like it was some sort of Punk Rock Alamo......The Oi!lamo perhaps? Unflinching at my post I stood on the front line and faced the explosive fire power of a three way noise invasion spearheaded by Argy Bargy, Control and The Old Firm Casuals.

Some may say I'm stuck in my ways and I suppose I am in many ways but when it comes to music I'm always ready to let down the barriers and engage freely and pretty much give everything an equal shot. That's why I always like to get along to gigs early and make sure I catch the support bands even though they may be a band I haven't heard anything by before. Sometimes this approach backfires spectacularly and I've ended up witnessing some utter shit (Avengedclub Sevenfold at Twickenham Stadium take top prize) but other times it feels like you've been rewarded for your efforts and you end up discovering something amazing that could have passed you by so easily. Getting my first introduction to the band Control was about as rewarding as it can be. Having known nothing about them (shame on me) beforehand I found myself hooked within seconds. Grabbing the stage with the determination to convert everyone or die trying the opening blast of 'Hooligan Rock N Roll' struck a chord that resonated deep within my cider soaked soul. Backing it up with the title track of their recently released second album, 'Punk Rock Ruined My Life...But I Wouldn't Change A Thing', showed that it wasn't just a lucky first shot that hit me like a bitch slap out of nowhere. Control's take no prisoners approach kept me positively enthralled throughout their fiery thirty minute set. 'Rebellion In My Blood', 'He's A Skinhead', 'Ian Huntley', 'Job To Do' and 'High Time I Hung Up My Boots' all pulled from the new album are infectious anthems full of passion and self belief as well as that all important ingredient, hatred, the latter aimed mainly at the politicians who have driven this country into the ground and of course that cunt of a caretaker from Soham. Straight after their set I bought the back catalogue my life had been lacking, on both cd and vinyl such was the impact they had on me, and by the time I'd driven back to Plymouth the next morning 'Punk Rock Ruined My Life... But I Wouldn't Change A Thing' was sitting pretty at the number one spot in my albums of the year list. If you're willing to take my word for it you can pick up a copy here, including an impressive selection of coloured vinyl versions: http://www.mainstagemerch.com/

Never a fella to sit idle and twiddle his thumbs for very long Lars Frederiksen has kept his fret fingers busy during Rancid's hiatus with the formation of The Old Firm Casuals, a back to basics tribute to the style of rough edged UK street punk that young Lars first cut his teeth on as a kid. The Casuals are, as Lars is keen to point out from the off, a band of equals. "We're not Lars Frederiksen And The Old Firm Casuals, and we're not The Old Firm Casuals Featuring Lars Frederiksen, we are The Old Firm Casuals." Point made the trio, made up by bassist Casey Watson and Paul Rivas on drums, dealt out a hand of stripped down punk rock 'n' roll much akin to days Motorhead spent On Parole.

The action started with the one, two attack of the first two singles, 'Old Firm (D.M.S)' and 'We Want The Lions Share' and descended into a riot through the sounds of the street, smashing skulls and winning hearts with b-sides that are already like old friends. 'Don't Worry About Me', 'Lone Wolf' and the Clash City Rocker 'Apocalypse Coming' were mixed up with new songs 'The Rabble', 'Death Dealers', 'The Wire' and 'Army Of One'. The new tracks certainly whetted the appetite for further releases and it's a credit to the quality of the new material that I wasn't once left wishing for the odd Rancid song or Bastards track. A couple of the newer numbers saw Lars trading vocals with Casey, a guy with a fucking demon in his throat. I'm guessing the demon gets his gravel from the same satanic supplier as Matt Freeman cos Casey can growl like a fucking grizzly bear. 'A Gang Like Us' had Lars paying tribute to his late brother Robert on a track that will surely become a future classic once it's officially released on a spit 7 inch with The Last Resort on August 19th. And talking of The Last Resort 'Casual' and 'Ignorant Ones' provided some raucous bookends to a bloodthirsty cover of 'Violence In Our Minds' which sent the scarlet braces brigade circling around the floor like tail chasing pit-bulls. Lars had stated during the set that this was only the eighth live gig The Old Firm Casuals had played together and the following night's performance in Exeter (yes, I was there too) seemed even tighter and more potent. That could've been due in some part to the narrower confines of the underground Cavern, channelling the aggression down into a more cramped and confrontational pit but one thing is for certain The Old Firm Casuals have lit a fire and it's spreading by the second.

There were three bands on the tickets, three bands on the posters, and three bands milling around the Croft but for some reason a quite a few people fucked off after The Old Firm Casuals. With so many Ramones shirts and patches dotted about earlier in the night I would have thought these celebrity spotters could have at least managed to count to three if not past four. Maybe I'm being over cynical, after all The Casuals had been given top billing on pretty much every advert I'd seen for the show before the gig so I guess some people could be forgiven for thinking that once they'd finished that was it. So disappointingly as Argy Bargy struck up the agro onstage with the almighty 'Attitude' there was precious little life lurking around the main room of The Croft. About 20 or 30 people were all that remained to watch one the UK's finest Oi! outfits kickstart their set. 'Natural Born Loser' both deafened and delighted before the London boys led by the formidable Oi! machine that is Watford Jon jumped right back to first album, 'Drink, Drugs and Football Thugs', and pulled 'Get Out Of My Life' out of the bag and stabbed its broken glass edge straight in the face of negativity.

'There's Gonna Be A Riot' and 'Immaterial Girl' were two high points for me and thankfully by this time the crowd had started to thicken up a bit and add a bit of life in front of the stage. Stragglers who'd been filling out the bar area waiting for a photo with Lars who was busy signing everything in sight were starting to flood back into the back room to get a master class in Oi! from true kings of the genre. 'No Regrets' was just the right lesson to wrap around the heads of the ignorant ones who'd missed the start of the show then it was on with 'Disappear', My Life' and 'I'll Be There For You', all of them giving good reason to champion a band of working class heroes who were in their element entertaining the likes of us. With Argy Bargy's next gig after the Croft being at the huge Rebellion Punk Fest in Blackpool I really did feel like I was getting what was close to a private performance from one of my favourite bands. I may have passed by the chance to see Alice Cooper play the 100 Club but being in the back room of a Bristol boozer with Argy fuckin' Bargy in full flight just inches in front of me more than made up for it. Treats like that don't come along very often and when the main body of the set wound up with 'Stand Strong' and its "...this is where we belong" anthemic chorus I knew I had been lucky enough to have been part of something really special.

There was still the matter of a few extra numbers for the much called for encore however. The obligatory Cock Sparrer stomp of 'Argy Bargy' looked like being the final treat but with a few cards still left up their sleeves Lars appeared back onstage alongside Watford Jon for a rampage through Sham 69's 'If The Kids Are United'. Having already done his stint of work for the evening though and always just a fan at heart more than your archetypal rock star Lars soon jumped off stage to tear up the floor shoulder to shoulder with everyone else. Never thought I was gonna end up next to Lars Frederiksen in a mosh pit but life certainly has that way of throwing up these not to be missed moments and I wouldn't have missed this for the world. Finally, with only a matter of minutes left and Lars still grinning like a lunatic and bouncing off the sticky walls of the Croft, Daryl Smith set off the sirens, Watford Jon barked like a Cockney Alsatian and everyone piled back into Sparrer territory for an unforgettable showdown with the 'Riot Squad'. Total fucking chaos ensued. The End!