21.06.2026 - Marina Zispin/SQ Mice/Modern Heaven - The Lubberfiend, Newcastle

 

Another hot night at the Lubberfiend on a Sunday!

Don't really know much about Modern Heaven, they are a duo from Melbourne, Australia.
A bit of mix of shoegaze/dream pop, some pretty catchy tunes from their set.
Looking them up online they do have an EP from 2018 and nothing much else though believe they do have an album coming out.

Second up were SQ Mice who also I don't really know much about, looking them up they seem to be based in Paris, which makes sense as sure in their final song sounded like the lass was singing the word 'la bouche'(?!) which is definitely French! They are down as a three piece but they played as a duo this night.
Decent enough set, again a mix of dream pop and electronic beats - nice music for a warm evening into night!

Mainly came out for the headliners, Marina Zispin.
Known Martyn for a few if not more years through the Newcastle noise scene via his solo offerings as Depletion, don't know Bianca well, though know she is local and have seen her do a short solo set a few years back at one of the Tusk festivals and believe she has a lot of solo lo fi ambient/electronic releases herself.

Together they do some really good synth pop, it's a bit daft it's the second time I've seen them play!
Really great set with a couple of new tracks played? Catchy as always! Pretty cool to see how far they have came as been playing all over the UK and a few dates in mainland Europe.

Was also the first time when going home when stopped by someone asking for money if I could just make a bank transfer to their account!

03.06.2026- Gorilla Biscuits/Unified Action/Turn Your Back - Anarchy Brewery, Walker

Good night of hardcore with NYC legends Gorilla Biscuits playing Newcastle for the first time! Last time they were up North was back in 1989 when they played the Casbah (which later became the infamous After Dark nightclub) in Sunderland.

Opening up were local straight edge band Turn Your Back, decent band and think this may be like their fourth gig, I'm not sure.

Only thing I found a bit off putting is the singer saying he won't play unless the empty space got filled, mean understand get more people near the stage so everyone isn't packed at the side but can see the point where some people won't go near the front when some kids are going apeshit and karate kid all over the shop. I think it's something that will always happen. Anyway the crowd did pick up and the young folk were enjoying themselves though did notice some Max Cavalera look a like trip some kid over on purpose which was a bit shit!

Though speaking of look a likes, a one point I thought Moby was at gig, mean wasn't him as dude had no tattoos like Moby!

Another great set from Unified Action, really enjoyed the bit where some kid staged dived in the area I was knocking the person in front of me drink all over me! Next time at gig I'll wear darker shorts and not light sandy tan ones so it would look like I pissed myself! Also same kid somehow managed to get me in the bollocks!

Finally Gorilla Biscuits came on and it was just fucking class, I stayed at the back as knew it would be full on plus I'm too old now for that sorta stuff!

Played all the good stuff with added Minor Threat and Clash cover! Kids stage diving, jumping in for singalongs. Civ did gave out a shout out to the OG's that saw them back in 1989 and was happier that now compared to 1989 it was easier to get more vegan food!

Was cool to see a bucket list band and great Conviction Records/Byker Grave managed to get them here as it was a short UK tour of 4 dates, also great seeing a ton of people I hadn't seen for a while.

26.05.2026 - Ayucaba/Diall/Dead Stare/Proposition - The Lubberfiend, Newcastle

An awfully hot day in the North East to go a gig but in the end worth sweating like a motherfucker!

New kids on the block Proposition opened up, think maybe their fifth gig and were solid, nice mix of 80's inspired hardcore with a hint of fast hardcore and a nice Negative Approach cover thrown in, looking forward to a demo but has also made me think I need to start taking my recorder to gigs and try get sets recorded in case bands never release anything.

Another brilliant set from Dead Stare, heavy hardcore. Really like how they just blitz through there set, proper relentless as fuck! Think I saw they have recorded some new stuff so will be on the look out for that when it drops as their demo is pretty good.

Diall were class as always and think we are overdue a new release by them!

Ayucaba come from Barcelona, Spain, with members hailing from Argentina, Colombia and Spain and are current members of Muro (who played the Lubber last year and killed it) and Inyeccion. Some absolute class Japanese esque hardcore in the vein of The Execute/The Comes maybe Nurse but with a but UK82 to them. Really enjoyed their set, despite them being tired as they have been on tour for the past two months they still gave it 100% and regret not picking their LP up!
Was a fairly decent turn out for a Tuesday night and a day after the Bank Holiday Monday! Plus a nice early finish so wasn't to much of a fanny on getting home!

11.05.2026 - Pharmakon/Pale World/Public Affection - The Lubberfiend, Newcastle

 

A decent turnout for a Monday night gig in Newcastle and had been looking forward to seeing Pharmakon as she was originally scheduled to play back in November but had to cancel the Euro tour to a medical issue.

First up was Public Affection, Mark from Diall's solo noise/ambient project. Was a decent set, nice mixes of ambient then heavy noise bits and only the second gig he has played as Public Affection, look forward to see how other gigs/releases may turn out.

Pale World replaced Natural Causes who were unable to play. Really decent dark ambient, heavy noise machine! Was hard to see him play as the lights were off but set was decent and loud! Did laugh a bit as there was nice quiet bit then hit with a loud load of noise which made a few people shit themselves!

Was definitely worth the wait to see Pharmakon play, nice loud noise, maybe edging on power electronics. Jumping into the crowd and screaming and creating from what I saw some people to feel uneasy with her being in their face which was class! Think she played for over an hour, really excellent stuff!

It also reminded me that I have still to pick up her last album, Maggot Mass up! Will sort that out soon!

10.05.2026 - Smote/Death Wvrm/Andi Jackson - The Cluny, Newcastle

 

A nice Sunday evening of music at the Cluny.

Andi Jackson opened up the night, replacing Louse who had to pull out. Don't really know much about him but he is part of Thraa.

Really great drone set with him using a Taishogoto through guitar pedals, that built up in a way that if I was at home I'd probably just sink into the ground and be away into the void! A lot of people missed out on how great his set was.

Not sure where Death Wvrm are from but a decent set, a bit post rocky/heavy psych, should have an album out soon so will probably check that out when it drops.

Smote as always killed it live, this time as a 6 piece, sure every time I've seen them their line up differs but think that what also makes what they do excellent, like slight changes. Always to me, feels like your watching something very special, kinda hoping from they played with Water Damage set gets released when they joined Water on stage as that was fantastic!

Did notice that Andi for the last song got on stage to play guitar with them but I had to dash for the bus home (Sunday night busses have shit last times!)

25.04.2026 - Penelope Trappes/Rún/Earthball/Nëwsün/Sage Over Syringe - The Lubberfiend, Newcastle

A bit of a mad rush to get into town for this gig, had been in ASDA doing my shopping round 5:30pm when I got an email saying the door time was now 6pm instead of 7:30pm! Still managed to get there before the first band started! 

Opening act were locals Sage Over Syringe, thought they were alright a bit sort of no-wave stuff going on with them. Did wonder during their set what the lass was doing as she was sitting down and writing/drawing? Anyway I liked their set and interested to see how they go.

Nëwsün are from Glasgow and reminded me a bit of Electric Wizard, someone later said a lot like OM but I didn't see that like, wished they had stuff for sale as would have picked something up.

Was really impressed with Earthball, from Canada, they are a nice mix of free jazz(?), experimental and psychedelic rock! Think they have played the Lubber a couple of times now and will definitely make sure the next time they are here to see them play again.

Not sure what I was expecting when Rún played as only briefly hard a snippet of their music while at work. The three piece were fucking class live, synths, drone and folk blended into to something quiet extraordinary to see and hear. They didn't have anything for sale from what I could see though have picked up their debut album from Rocket Recordings this morning!

Penelope Trappes set was fantastic! Glad I got switched onto her music when she supported Smote last year. Dark ambient shoegaze tunes and fog machine!!!!

Only shit part of the night was some arsehole talking really loud at the start of her set, he was very drunk which isn't an excuse and he did get told more than once to shut up. Final straw was when my mate asked him again to be quiet and the dick told him to get fucked which led to the blokes mate talking him out of the venue!

21.04.2026 - Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O./Sister Ray Davies - Cluny 2, Newcastle

 

Always find it weird that I saw Kawabata Makoto solo and with his other band Mainliner (who when I saw them had apparently rarely played outside of Japan?) before seeing Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. play! Now the fourth time seeing them, would have been the fifth but missed when they played the Lubberfiend. This time it's a bit different as they are joined by original member Cotton Casino on synth and vocals.

Openers Sister Ray Davies are a two piece shoegaze band from Alabama. Strangely their debut album is called Holy Island and actually references the Holy Island that isn't two far up the Northumbrian coast, one of their tracks is even called Lindisfarne (Holy Island's other name.) Singer did explain that when he toured with a previous band they cam down and went over to Holy Island and really enjoyed it! Their set was pretty decent, a mix of ambient and shoegazey tunes, kinda wish I picked up their CD now.

Sister Ray Davies

Think this is the best I've seen Acid Mothers Temple play, as always solid 90+ minutes of absolute class psych/space rock and I liked seeing Cotton play as it deff seemed to add a bit extra especially when they played Pink Lady Lemonade to close the set. Enjoyed being part of the gig when Kawabata put his guitar into the crowd for us to add a bit of noise!

Also the first time I never picked anything up from the AMT merch table, which was very hard as they normally have a load of stuff I don't have! Had to restrain myself due to a dentist appointment coming up which may be pricey due to a chipped wisdom tooth!

Was good to see some mates I hadn't seen for years too! Also a bloke whose name I didn't catch who had came with his son who has autism and according to the bloke decided he wanted to go to gigs, pretty cool and both him and his son have seen some class bands together!

Acid Mothers Temple

04.04.2026 -JJ and the A’s/Sweet Fantasy/Diall - The Lubberfiend, Newcastle

 

Was a quite a few gigs on over the Easter Bank holiday and I only went to this one, realise now on the way to the gig I saw me mate Rich while on the bus and waved to him and think he assumed from the interaction I was going to the Cluny for the Dextro gig!

Locals Diall opened up with a fairly shorter set than usual but still good as always and probably now one of the longest serving bands of the local scene in the past 2/3 years!
Hadn't heard anything by Shrewsbury's Sweet Fantasy, I had tried looking them up online but for some reason couldn't find them (though as I write this I have found their bandcamp!) Thought they were pretty decent, had like an old 80's hardcore maybe anarcho punk sound to them. Still trying to think of the band they reminded me off but can't remember! Wish I picked up their demo now, definitely one to watch out for and hope to see them again maybe?!

JJ and the A's set was class, sorta hardcore meets garage rock with a bit of synth! All the way from Copenhagen, Denmark, though a mix of people from the States and Spain (as well as Denmark?).

Enjoyable set, no fannying on just getting on with it! 
Ended up picking up their LP and talking to the guitarist for a bit, asked if he had played in Born/Dead and he had and said I had seen them back at the Chilli Arms way back, which helped answer a question he had as wasn't sure if he had played up here before! 

27.03.2026 - Jim Bob/Interrobang?! - Anarchy Brewery, Walker

Anarchy Brewery has changed the venue since I was last there for Napalm Death, layout has moved the bar to the bar instead of the side so a lot more room than before. Also noticed they sell pizza which looked pretty good, if I hadn't already had my tea before coming would have picked up a slice!

Opening up were Interrobang?!, an anarcho-pop cabaret group with two members of Chumbawamba and one from Regular Fries.
Wasn't too sure about them during their set but looking back it is pretty much what I would expect of ex-Chumbawamba, not conforming to certain norms.

Part art/spoken word, part techno/rock. Normally a three piece but performed as a duo. Despite not and still not too sure about them, it was a fairly decent set.

Jim Bob's set was very good, played for nearly 2 hours! Really great song writer and I kept think he looked a bit like Olga from the Toy Dolls!

Also the closest I'll get to a Carter USM reunion with a few of their songs being played! Was way too young to have seen them in their hey day and missed their reunions back in 2014 (maybe earlier?).

Really glad I picked up a ticket as he was class live as well as his band, will definitely see him again, also need to pick up some of his solo and the rest of the Carter releases I'm missing!

Was also great to see a couple of mates I hadn't seen for a while, should also point out, still not keen on Anarchy's beers like....

21.03.2026 - Bong II/Louse - The Lubberfiend, Newcastle

 

Rainbow Grave were to headline this gig but had to pull out due to personal reasons. Was a shame, but can't be helped and Lubber will try get them back at some point.

Still a decent night with a great set from Louse again!
Highlight of the night was Bong II's debut gig and it did not disappoint.

Still got the old drone sound of Bong, but think Dan from Smote on guitar adds something  bit different to it, like they are a bit more freer to experiment with the sound. 

 
Looking forward to what ever they release and to see how it goes! Was pretty goof to catch up with a lot of people I rarely see at gigs now as we're all old buggers!

13.03.2026 - The Dogs/Mass Hallucination/Draft Dodgers/Wasted Harvest/Proposition - Downcast Studios, Gateshead

First time down to Downcast Studios over in Gateshead. A weird but fairly decent venue, weird as in the live space is sort of outside but not, maybe something of a barn with a metal sheet as a roof? Could imagine in the summer it's like a sweat box and it was a bit cold when I was there but they did have heaters on. Bit gutted that the kitchen was closed as heard they do some decent scran there!

Opening up were Proposition, new fast local hardcore band, second show for them and it was pretty decent and a nice SSD cover near the end of their set which got the crowd slamming all over!

Wasted Harvest are a band spread across from Leeds, Liverpool and Newcastle, members have been in pH People, No Ambition and Life Expectancy. Would say they are a mix of post punk and heavy fuzz hardcore, really good stuff. They have a tape out soonish with Flower Power so ging to be keeping an eye out for that.

Was siked to see Draft Dodgers play as their demo is fantastic, 5 songs in about 5 minutes! Absolutely blinding set from them, fast hardcore punk, and back up here later this year! Think during their set I nearly fell into the bin during the mosh when standing at the side!

Mass Hallucination's set was very short, saw one song, went for a can, then a piss and heard them say last song! Good stuff from what I heard, bit d-beat/noise rock stuff.

Up last were The Dogs, now a five piece compared to when I saw them the first time when they were just a trio with a drum machine! Another band that is spread across the UK, one member in Sheffield, another Leeds and the rest in Cardiff(?), did over hear one of the guitarists say they don't really get to practise much but to be fair you wouldn't know if you saw them play as they were tight! Great set of OI/Punk rock goodness!

Check the video of them below from this gig!

27.02.2026 - Self Immolation Music/Louse/Diall - The Lubberfiend, Newcastle

 

Late one at the Lubberfiend with this gig starting at 11pm!

There had been a gig on earlier here, Onsind doing  benefit gig for the Lubber, which I would have went to if it hadn't sold out extremely fast!

The Lubber was heaving with the remains of the previous gig however that sharply dropped before the first band of the second gig played.

Another decent set from Diall who are slowly becoming one the most local bands for me.

Slight line up change for Louse tonight, Lucas from Contentment/sound man for the Lubber was on guitar as Tom was away, though think he may have joined as their third guitarist anyway? Been a while since I've seen Louse and first since they dropped their LP Creep Call. Smashed their set I thought, seemed to be a bit more heavier, always good!

It may have been about 1:20am when Self Immolation Music got up to play and another blinder of a set, always great to see live and being playing their newish album a lot of the last couple of months. 

Ended up leaving when the gig finished around 2am and headed home as I had plans to go out for a mates birthday on the Saturday night.

I'm still wiped out a bit, getting to old for the gig game think!

25.02.2026 - Mint Field/Avishag Cohen Rodrigues/Spider Noises - The Cumberland Arms, Byker

Wasn't sure how this night would be seeing how when I got into Byker I witnessed drunk radgies kicking the shit out of each other along Shields Road!

Fortunately, the rest of the night was good and no violence anywhere else.

When I got to the Cumberland Arms, I had just missed the Morris Dancers playing in the bar, apparently there was a rapping Morris Dancer, which I wish I had seen.
Small crowd for tonight, again a school night and think there has been quite a lot on around Newcastle at the moment.

First up were locals, Spider Noises. I had gave them a quick listen during the day and thought it was a bit shit to be honest, lo fi indie pop/folk stuff. However live they weren't bad, maybe it was just the way the songs had been recorded? Plus think the recorded stuff I heard was solo stuff where live they were a full band? Again, live I enjoyed them more, they had a mid-90's college rock sound going or at least to me they did, I'm still trying to think of the band they reminded me of

Second up was Avishag Cohen Rodrigues from New York, first time hearing any of her stuff but it was pretty good stuff, a mix of ambient, sound collage and shoegaze. For some reason I wasn't expecting what I saw and heard. Ended up picking up her tour lathe cut 7" and will need to try track down her LP. Looks like she has done another couple of bands so will be checking them out at some point.

Mint Field from Mexico City, Mexico were fucking amazing live, been wanting to see them since I discovered them on Youtube when I went down a rabbit hole of just watching random music videos. Really good mix of shoegaze and psychedelic rock, really enjoyed their set, just wish there had been more people to see them play.

Picked up two of their LP's they had on sale so that's me sorted for Sunday when I get round to spinning them!

Avishag

Mint Field

24.02.2026 - Ultimate Disaster/Diall/Burial Plot - The Lubberfiend, Newcastle

 

Was a busy night in Newcastle due to the second leg of Champions League football with the Toon playing Qarabag FK.
This may have affected the turnout at the show, but there were still plenty of people here, plus always think it's hard to pull a crowd on a school night for any gig really.

Great sets by both locals, Burial Plot and Diall, felt like both were slightly heavier than usual.

Ultimate Disaster are a three piece d-beat band from Richmond, Virginia, absolute belting set, fast and straight to the point.
Their set may have been about 20 minutes but top notch, with stuff like that it's probably better it's a short set and not one that drags for ages!

Do wish there was a cash point close to the Lubberfiend, as would have picked up a LP from them, could have done PayPal but rather have gave them cash direct and plus I'm getting old and technology has changed that I can't figure how to use the daft PayPal app!!!

21.02.2026 - Vibracathedral Orchestra/Limp Mode - The Lubberfiend, Newcastle

 

Nice night of drone at the Lubberfiend.

Starting the night off were Limp Mode, local duo of Joe Murray (Posset) and Craig Stewart (Rovellasca).

Lo-Fi drone, that wasn't amplified through a PA/Soundboard, battery powered drone!

Really good set, they had set up Bluetooth speakers and were performing in a new redesigned part of the Lubberfiend near the bar, a small cubby hole which I think added to the whole set. Due to the Bluetooth speakers, sometimes you would hear the sound from behind you while watching them, a bit of 360° sound!

Was a short but decent set!

First time seeing Vibracathedral Orchestra play and it was a treat!

Think they played near on 90+ minutes if not a bit longer? Not sure if this was a one off gig as I don't think they play much nowadays.

Great drone in a dream like way, would have been more better if I had sat down instead of standing as I could have just drifted off to sleep!

Also good to tick off a band I've wanted to see for a while and ended up spending the day after digging out my CD's I have if them!

Also didn't realise that one of the Vibracathedral Orchestra members, John is John Wriothesley who designed the cover for The Fall's first album, Live at the Witch Trails.

He also played in Total and Skullflower with Matt Bower. John also goes under the alias Herb Diamanté, a psychedelic lounge karaoke singer! So need to dig that CD of Herb's out I have somewhere!

Enjoy the pic below of Vibracathedral Orchestra during their set!

04 .02.2026 - Combust/Speedway/Imposter/Burial Plot/Dead Stare/Turn Your Back - The Lubberfiend, Newcastle

6 bands on a school night and another sold out show put on by Conviction Records!

Debut gig of locals Turn Your Back and it was a great first show, if it hadn't been mentioned that it was their first show you may think they had been playing for a lot longer. Good youth crew/straight edge hardcore and the crowd popped off for it. Just released their demo on Conviction which has sold out, another good band for the North East scene.

Dead Stare were up second, really short set, maybe three or four songs? But none the less good shit, heavy hardcore.
Last of the locals on, were Burial Plot who just recently put out their second tape on Brainrotter records, again the crowd when mental during their set. More heavy hardcore.

Not sure why, but had assumed Imposter from Brighton had a female singer, thinking now I've mixed them with a totally different band altogether!
Decent fast/heavy hardcore, probably will track the LP down at some point as it was pretty good.

Speedway are from Stockholm, Sweden and have members that have been in/are in Existence and Neighborhood who I've seen before plus a ton of other bands.
Really good hardcore, fast and not too heavy, got that Euro hardcore sound going! Regret not picking the LP up before I left!

Wasn't too sure about New York's Combust before seeing them, but live they are canny, got a sort of Agnostic Front/Cro Mags hardcore feel to them and they proper raged  while playing and the crowd loved it. Mean not a band I'd listen to at home but live they are worth seeing.

30.01.2026 - Contentment/Pleb/A Trophy Wife - The Lubberfiend, Newcastle

First gig of 2026! Always find it a slow start to the year, or maybe I just can't be arsed to get out much in January?
Anyway, this was Contentment's final gig as the singer is moving away from Newcastle.

They had planned to play 10 gigs then disband and that is what they have done.
Really good set to end being  band on, utter chaos from the crowd running round like lunatics and beer being split all over!

Didn't get round to picking up their tape which I'm sure I will regret later!

Local band A Trophy Wife opened up the night, good mix of Mid Western emo with the jangly guitars and screamo, look forward to seeing them again and hopefully they have a demo or some release soon.

Pleb are a two piece from Leeds, reminded me a bit of Iron Lung but a bit heavier and slower. The guitarist's guitar was interesting as it had three leads, so assume (never bothered to look) that it was plugged through effects and into three separate amps? Also had a contact mike connected to one of the pick ups to make extra noise! Good stuff and enjoyed their set a lot.