Anvil, Bournemouth 10.10.19
The start of three gigs in three days for me. The venues couldn’t be more diverse and in three towns and cities. Tonight, my 59th gig of the year, is a short hop on the train to Bournemouth and the tiny Anvil Rock Bar for The Professionals with Poole punks The Mistakes and Self-Abuse as the support bands.
Small venues
The venue can’t hold more than about a hundred in its basement bar. It opened around 2011. I didn’t know about it as a venue until going to see The Ramonas and The Skones here earlier this year, in March.
Not sure about the precise capacities but there are a couple of other classic small venues in this region – I’m not sure I have been to anything smaller than the Winchester Gate in Salisbury, where I also saw The Ramonas in April this year – surely no more than 60-70 able to squeeze in there. Then there is The Railway near Winchester Station which is about the same as The Anvil. I saw Kirk Brandon do an acoustic gig there with a guy playing a cello a few years back. These are great places.
There must be some crackers out there waiting for me still. Any more I should check out?
The Anvil Rock Bar
The Anvil is half a mile down from the main Bournemouth train station, going towards the town, in a bit of a student heartland. The Old Fire Station is opposite, another venue – next size up.
Tonight a substantial merch stand greets on entry instead of downstairs. Fabulous range of t-shirts tonight but these are on the aging punks rather than the merch stand. (I’ve gone with a Pete Shelley number.)
The Anvil’s street level bar, with its wow factor engine block beer taps and decent beer range – including a the Anvil Stout (£3.50 a pint) – is the landing stage before being invited down to the basement.
Tonight’s support bands
First, Self-Abuse (make up your own jokes) from Bournemouth with a chance to play about six songs to this full house… and use Paul ‘Sex Pistol’ Cook’s drum kit.
Original material – plenty to draw on I’m told – with ‘Over the Top’ the winner for me. Lead singer was soon back down the front very actively enjoying The Professionals.
Next, from Poole, The Mistakes. They have been having some success in Europe and supported the UK Subs in a rare Wimborne gig recently – which I went to – a lot of familiar faces from that gig here tonight (including Rob from Wimborne Square Records).
There was substantial piece about them in Vive Le Rock in the Summer.
The Professionals
The Professionals were bulging out of this small packed venue from the start. The 4 inch high stage could barely contain them. Loud and punchy. ‘Silly Thing’ and ‘Kick Down the Door’ the big ones with plenty of new stuff in there. We got enough but wanted more.
Not great for pics in the cosy basement so more of an image to confirm my presence.
An ex-Sex Pistol in the Anvil in 2019. Wouldn’t have predicted that one.
Paul Cook was escorted upstairs and away afterwards. What a legacy the Pistols left and he was part of it.
Last year in Birmingham
As I haven’t been recording my rock’n’roll manoeuvres very long, I’ll just park a few photos here that I took at their O2 Academy gig in Birmingham last summer, supporting Billy Idol.
June 2018
Gigs with Ivan 