Oh yes indeedy, the Subhumans are in Abertillery. Too fucking right.  When this gig was announced there were a few people pinching themselves and re-reading the posters, but yes, it came to pass that punk legends and all-round good guys the Subhumans pitched up and played my mates' pub and, fuck me, was it good or what?

First up were local upstarts Red Riot who pulled off a pretty decent set despite frontman Stan having virtually lost his voice. Running through live regulars 'War Is Our Religion' and 'Symphony', amongst others, they tick all the boxes you expect them to tick, but I've got to be honest here and say that they really do need to be looking to kick on and move up a level pretty soon, because they've certainly got the potential.

Local crusties Rejected should have been next up, but a recent operation laid one of their members low, so it was left to Über Röck faves This System Kills to stand-in at fairly short notice. Not wishing to shun the opportunity to play, they even recruited ex-drummer Simon as a one-off, as regular drummer Wedge was off travelling. Not that any of these factors made a blind bit of difference as TSK delivered yet another spot-on gig. Drawing on their recent magnum opus 'Private Speech' they fly through '30 Years', 'Little Moscow', 'Grief And Hangovers', 'Under Banners' and the aforementioned title track. Being a support slot we're spared the Stick Of Doom for once, but a storming finale of 'Red Brick' more than compensates for this.

Which brings us nicely to the Subhumans. It's hard to find something new to say about a band who have been flying the flag as long as most of us can care to remember, and you can't help but admire the enthusiasm Dick Lucas still has for rallying against all that's wrong with this country. Whether it's putting the younger generation to rights via 'This Is Not An Advert' or just ripping through any one of the topics from their superb back catalogue, Dick and his cohorts really are the business. The crowd really gave them a great reception as well, culminating in an absolutely hectic version of 'Religious Wars', sparking a truly memorable pit, including the venues' proprietors, Jammy and Southy, flying around with Cheshire cat grins.

A truly top night, which should be a launch pad for similar gigs in Abertillery and the surrounding South Wales valleys. See, there are good venues and crowds outside of major towns, all they need are a few like-minded promoters prepared to take a chance.