{"id":23510,"date":"2023-11-11T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-11T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=23510"},"modified":"2023-11-11T07:33:05","modified_gmt":"2023-11-11T07:33:05","slug":"wonk-unit-the-pleasures-system-reset-le-pub-newport-5th-november-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=23510","title":{"rendered":"Wonk Unit\/The Pleasures\/System Reset \u2013 Le Pub, Newport \u2013 5th<\/sup> November 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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It might be Bonfire night but the only fireworks I\u2019m interested in seeing tonight are those being generated by this stellar three band bill. It\u2019s a line-up that has more than a hint of Slugfest about it too seeing as all the bands have shared the floor\/stages at the (now thankfully, once again) annual event. There\u2019s also more than a whiff of the UK\u2019s number one free festival within the crowd tonight too with the X15 bus seemingly standing room only to ensure that Blaenau Gwent is very well represented early doors. And who can blame them for picking up a rover ticket?<\/p>\n\n\n

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Fresh from recent support slots with the likes of Discharge, Raw Brigade and a whole host of other bands, System Reset have certainly come a long way in there still relatively short time together (as a five piece) with their back catalogue of songs maturing with them. Songs like \u2018Anxiety\u2019, \u2018Fail Safe\u2019 (my fave song by the band) and \u2018Big Business\u2019 all sound huge played through Le Pub\u2019s impressive sound system, and there\u2019s an immediate smile on my face when they kick in with the \u201cwoah oh\u201d gang backing vocals and an even bigger one when there\u2019s a nod to James Williamson\u2019s time with The Stooges creeping into the riffage at one point too. System Reset\u2019s soon to be released new single \u2018Gas Light\u2019 is a cracker, which alongside a handful of additional live shows brings to a close a very impressive 2023 for the melodic punk rockers. A slot at Rebellion 2024 awaits methinks.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Pleasures are not as you might first expect, being an avid reader of RPM, the German glam rockers of the same name. Nah, this four piece are from the Gwent valleys and are a world away from anything even remotely glamourous. These four lads hail from one of the most deprived areas in south Wales and as you might expect have the anger and attitude by the bucketload that comes with such a dubious claim to fame. There\u2019s also something that I cannot quite put my finger on about this gang, something that I last felt when I witnessed IDLES open a three band bill in Bristol\u2019s Exchange just a few years back and before that when The Guns first broke on the south Wales scene. Not that they necessarily sound anything like either of the bands you understand, it\u2019s just they have that special ingredient some band\u2019s simply don\u2019t have\u2026 charisma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Singer Caethan Tucker is literally all over Le Pub\u2019s stage and dance floor, he\u2019s also shirtless and dripping sweat after just one song, such is the intensity of the band\u2019s performance, and then when it comes to songs, popping up mid-set they have this monster of a tune called \u2018Grandfather\u2019s Bones\u2019 complete with a mantra of \u2018Don\u2019t bite the hand that feeds\u2019 that literally sounds like it\u2019s ready made for when the boys get their chance to wow a Glastonbury\/Reading type of crowd. They have the same kind of breakthrough potential that I witnessed in HotWax when they played just a few yards up the road in McCanns cellar bar and are now touring enormodomes in the US with Royal Blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go give the band\u2019s single \u2018Lies\u2019 a listen on YouTube (with coincidently the video being directed by Alex from the aforementioned Guns) and turn the fucker up loud. Oh, and before I forget, any band that can cover the mighty LCD Soundsystem and make the song (\u2018Daft Punk Is Playing At My House\u2019 in case you are wondering) sound like their own tune, really does deserve your attention.  \u201cWoo!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Croydon\u2019s Wonk Unit have always had a reputation for having great support bands on the bill with them, it\u2019s almost like their singer Alex welcomes the challenge this poses his band, but when it comes to the current six piece band he has carefully assembled he\u2019s more than capable of batting off any young shavers looking to steal the band\u2019s crown as undisputed champions of the UK DIY punk rock scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve seriously never heard Wonk Unit sounding as essential as they do here tonight, be it the classics like \u2018Guts\u2019, \u2018Go Easy\u2019 or \u2018Lewisham\u2019 that first introduced me to the band, or the tunes that immediately followed these like \u2018Je M\u2019appelle Alex\u2019, \u2018Awful Jeans\u2019 and \u2018Day Job Wanker\u2019, tonight\u2019s set has more bangers than the rain-soaked pyrotechnic display just over the river at Rodney Parade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also get to hear my first Christmas song of the year tonight, but when it comes all wrapped up in the shape of \u2018Christmas In A Crackhouse\u2019 you certainly won\u2019t hear any complaints from myself or anyone else packed in down the front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As always with a Wonk Unit their show is as much about Alex\u2019s between song chats and tonight he\u2019s on tip top form, sharing the hilarious back stories regarding tunes such as \u2018She Cut Her Finger\u2019 and \u2018Horses\u2019 whilst also displaying his more sensitive and private side ahead of new tune \u2018Overwhelming\u2019 (the first of two played) a song that keyboardist Vezzy insists could even have chart potential.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Of course, Wonk Unit live are anything but sensitive and the chaos that ensures once (Johnny) \u2018Rambo\u2019 enters Le Pub for the band\u2019s finale is all you\u2019ll ever need in your camouflage jacket pocket if you ever had to give evidence of this fact in a court of law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve said it many times before, but I\u2019ll say it again, Wonk Unit really are something special, there\u2019s no one else quite like them out there, and in fact they fast becoming something of a national treasure when it comes to DIY punk rock bands. They are no heritage band though, the new songs really sounded great tonight, and the current, settled, line up of Alex and bassist Pwoison, alongside Vezzy, drummer Max and guitarists AJ and Ryan really look like they are relishing every second of being in a band together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t forget to honk if you Wonk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HONK!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author: Johnny Hayward<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It might be Bonfire night but the only fireworks I\u2019m interested in seeing tonight are those being generated by this stellar three band bill. It\u2019s a line-up that has more than a hint of Slugfest about it too seeing as all the bands have shared the floor\/stages at the (now thankfully, once again) annual event. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23512,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[208,7333,800,8361,8360,1833,8362],"class_list":["post-23510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-live-review","tag-le-pub","tag-newport","tag-punk-rock","tag-sstem-reset","tag-the-pleasures","tag-tourlife","tag-zooport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23510"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23510\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23538,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23510\/revisions\/23538"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}