The Meteors and The Reverends Bring Punk Back to The Hairy Dog

On Thursday 24 September, we headed to The Hairy Dog to see Derby’s The Reverends support The Meteors. For a weeknight, the room was remarkably full. It was good to see that many people turn out for the sort of original punk bill that used to be the venue’s bread and butter.

The Hairy Dog has been working to bring more of those nights back. After customers commented on the number of tribute acts on its calendar, staff launched Breakout Promotions and WizardWaves to book more original bands. Breakout and the venue brought The Meteors to Derby, with The Reverends making the bill feel firmly rooted in the city.

The Reverends

We saw The Reverends at Punks Against Cancer earlier this year, where they played as part of a packed weekend of bands. Thursday gave us another chance to catch the Derby punks at The Hairy Dog, this time opening for a group whose audience would know a thing or two about loud, direct music.

The Reverends have the hooks and shout-along choruses that make old school punk work so well live. There is no long introduction needed with this band. They get on with it, play songs made to be heard in a room with other people and set up the headliners without disappearing into the background themselves. They were a smart choice for this show, and it was satisfying to see a Derby band on a bill with such a strong turnout.

The Meteors

The Meteors changed the feel of the room as soon as they took over. Their psychobilly mixes the twang and rhythm of rockabilly with punk’s rougher edges, all wrapped up in a taste for the darker and more ridiculous side of rock ’n’ roll. The guitar cut through, the rhythm kept driving, and P. Paul Fenech’s voice gave the songs their unmistakable character. It sounded exactly the sort of thing you want to hear at The Hairy Dog: loud, a little grimy and played close enough to feel its full force.

Fenech had recently suffered burns to his leg in a house fire, and there was a chair beside the stage in case he needed it. He spent almost the entire set on his feet, sitting down only once. His voice held up even while seated, and he gave Derby the full show despite everything he was dealing with.

That determination could easily have become the whole story of the night, but the music held its own. The Meteors’ mix of rockabilly drive and punk aggression made the room feel like the right place for them. Around us was a strong Thursday crowd that had come out for an original band with a sound and history of its own, with a local punk band opening the show.

By the end of the night, The Hairy Dog was still full and the reason was right there on stage. The Reverends had opened with punk songs that belonged in this room, and The Meteors followed with a set that was rough, fast and full of character. For a Thursday in Derby, it was an impressive turnout and a thoroughly enjoyable gig.

Breakout Promotions are building something worth following. Staff listened when people asked for more original bands, and this show put a Derby punk band alongside one of psychobilly’s best-known names. The Briefs and Cyanide Pills are already booked for November, giving us another night to look forward to. If this is the direction Breakout keep taking, the Dog’s punk calendar is going to get interesting.

If Thursday’s show has you keen for another night at the Dog, keep an eye on The Hairy Dog’s gig guide for the full line-up and tickets

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