Enjoy a solid couple of nights of punk pop activism as Petrol Girls, ONSIND and Irked play venues in the region
Image: Onsind by Matthew Schwarz
The Lubber Fiend announced a gig some time ago that saw the magnificent Petrol Girls make a rare visit to the North East, supported by an equally rare appearance from ONSIND, the gig being a benefit to raise funds for Abolish Detention – Hassockfield and Kill The Bill Prisoner Support Fund. It sold out so quickly that a second gig in aid of the same campaigns was announced for the night before at Sunderland’s Pop Recs with ONSIND this time supported by Irked (and some secret special guests).
Petrol Girls first got noticed by most of us when they released the stunning feminist anthem Touch Me Again back in 2016 and have weathered a few storms (including losing members) and have since relocated to Austria, but the band – and frontperson Ren Aldridge in particular – have maintained a steady release schedule and some excellent activist activity, and it’s no surprise that their visit to Newcastle is for such an important cause.
ONSIND (One Night Stand In North Dakota) hail from County Durham, include three quarters of punk pop heroes Martha and rarely play these days, so to find them on stage two nights running is a rare treat. Support for the Pop Recs show is Irked, the fairly new Newcastle-based supergroup including members of Blöm, Weekend Faithful and lots of other bands. And the aforementioned secret special guests. I wonder…
ONSIND and Irked play Pop Recs, Sunderland on Wednesday 5th April, Petrol Girls and ONSIND play The Lubber Fiend, Newcastle on Thursday 6th April