Live Review: Hits & Pits Festival

A late shift in the opening of doors saw quality superband Implants playing to a pitiful crowd of about 25 on-the-ball fans, however the punk spirit was alive and well as the experienced line-up blazed through their incredible set. Heartsounds took over and continued on with the bounce and vigour of their predecessors.  The quick riffs of Unconditional inspired the first of many singalongs for the night. Hailing from Madison, Wisconsin, colourful criminals Masked Intruder lightened the mood with a looser set mixed with some hilarious banter and upbeat vocal harmonies. Bubblegum pop-punk at its finest.  The first and only ska bad on the bill Big D & The Kids Table filled the stage with their brass section's '50s inspired grooves. The whiff of catchy and insane tracks such as Fluent In Stroll could only be erased by the biggest theme change of the night when Death By Stereo took the stage and absolutely shredded. Chris Aiken from Strung Out joined the band on guitar moving flawlessly through the technical style of DBS in a show of true musicianship. Welcome To The Party and I Give My Life were exceptional and injected energy into the room. The big finish was completed with Slayer's Raining Blood and a perfect Araya impersonation. Ten Foot Pole took to stage and immediately provided a '90s nostalgia blast with hits from their Punk-O-Rama legacy – A.D.D. and The Getaway for the fans.

Obnoxious and unapologetic, New York City's The Casualties got dirty and traditional with giant mohawks and the loose raw feel of their street punk. Chicken fights sadly resulted in no stacks. They filled the stage with patrons for their anthem We Are All We Have and a night of chaos now seemed inevitable. The loose and rough was replaced with true, polished professionalism with SoCal legends Face To Face. Trever Keith, one of the most well respected faces in punk rock, commanded the stage with his signature raspy tone and tight riffing. From 1988 till 2014 Face To Face are as strong and perfect as they've ever been and quality oozed from every note. Strung Out took over keeping with the SoCal theme. The now packed house erupted to Razor Sex and teetered dangerously on the edge of sanity for the rest of the set, with Solitaire receiving the biggest cheers of the night. Unwritten Law made it onto stage and wisely focused on their outstanding self-titled album. Teenage Suicide, Cailin, Lonesome and Coffin Text killed it. A treat for the long-term punk fans was cut short as a midnight curfew saw the power cut seven songs early. Frontman Scott Russo led a singalong for Up All Night backed by nothing more than drums before grabbing the kick drum, smashing it and vacating the stage.