COCKNEY REJECTS - JACK THE LAD
It’s a cold, wet Sunday night and the last thing I wanna be doing is queuing outside the Waterfront in the rain waiting for the doors to open ten minutes after they should’ve done. Dammit, when am I going to learn that the doors rarely (if ever) open on time here?
Last time I caught JACK THE LAD, I thought they were okay. Tonight, they take things up a notch or two. It is still standard punk/oi fare but mixing up originals and covers with the likes of Who’s The Enemy, Ave It and Running Riot makes for an entertaining show.
COCKNEY REJECTS are inextricably linked to the Oi! Movement, with all the baggage that brings with it. As always when attending shows by acts associated with Oi!, I approach this with some trepidation. More often than not, the nerves are totally unfounded and that proves to be the case here. Some of the audience look more than a little intimidating - remember, boots and braces don’t make a racist! - but the pit is friendly and good natured. There is none of the testosterone fuelled menace and fisticuffs to be found in the audiences of some of the Rejects contemporaries and this is all the better for that.
From opener Fighting In The Street, vocalist Jeff Geggus shadow boxes and pulls sparring moves throughout the set. He expends more energy in that opener than some younger performers put into an entire tour. And he doesn’t stop for the rest of the set either. On guitar, Mick Geggus brings to mind both Malcolm and Angus Young. Maybe it is the AC/DC vest that makes me think that! Bassist Vince Riordan is rock solid. Newest member Joe Perry Samsome is a revelation on drums, never missing a beat as he smashes out hard-hitting but complex patterns.
In an hour and ten minutes, the Rejects burn through twenty one songs. The set is heavy on early stuff - seven songs from debut album Greatest Hits Vol. 1, eight from follow up Vol. II, the title track from third LP The Power and the Glory, standalone singles from ’79 and ’80 – with only one song from their post-82 output. With songs as good as We Are The Firm, I Love Being Me, Headbanger or The Greatest Cockney Rip Off, that is no bad thing. Highlights are a terrific Bad Man, a raging Hate of the City and the encore of The Sweet’s Blockbuster and Rejects anthem Oi Oi Oi.
I may not be ready to shave my head and don oxblood DMs, Fred Perry, braces and a Harrington like a good percentage of tonight’s crowd but there was a real sense of community here and the Rejects played a corker.
