Adicts - Barcelona (Terassa) May 8th 2009

As I was to be in Barcelona for the Grand Prix, Michelle had checked out if anything was on while I was there, and to her surprise an English Punk band, 'The Adicts' would be performing at the same venue I had seen the 'Arabian Orchestra' last December.

The Adicts are a band I have only 1 frame of reference to, that being someone had the clown face logo painted on the back of their leather jacket (Tacky I think). I had not heard anything by them, so going to see them would be if anything, interesting.

Punks in Spain? I was surprised.

On approaching the venue the concentration of mowhawks, studs and bondage gear became greater, until saturation point inside the venue. Everywhere you looked people had 'punk' t-shirts, and none of them Spanish. Dead Kennedys, English Dogs, Damned etc. This was going to be interesting.

First to tread the boards are a local Oi! punk band. Obviously they had brought their mates along, as they sang along (in Spanish), with no spitting, some stage diving, and plenty of arms in the air. It's a Spanish thing, or so I have been told.

From what I could gleam from the interweb, The Adicts would appear to have quite an interest in the movie 'A Clockwork Orange', borrowing imagry for both songs and costume. So it came as no surprise they came onstage to the theme from the movie, decked out in white boiler suits and bowler hats.

But what was a surprise was how well the audience knew the songs. From when the singer made his way to the stage and his first words in first costume, to last words in last costume, the audience continued to sing along. It was a bizarre singalong to a band I had never heard before, but obviously they are well known in this neck of the woods.

So what of the music, it was more party punk than a statement of anarchy, a fun band which did not take themselves too seriously. They know how to entertain, as the the singer informed us, he was nearly 50, but it did not matter, they entertained, and we were also. Despite how long they must have been playing the same songs, there was an air of freshness about it al, not because of my lack of exposure, the band themselves are uncontrived, hugely enjoyable, well crafted and theatrical.

I would like to see them again....sometime.

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