DUBBIN' UP A RIOT (AGAIN): AOS3 return after 13 years in the wilderness

Bands reform all the time, some times it is worthy of a yawn because the band were past their sell by date when they split, sometimes it stirs a grin because it brings back memories. Something very odd has been happening over the last few months though, several bands have got back together that we never expected to and they have made us sit up and think ‘Aye aye, this should be interesting, fasten your seatbelt’. This is mainly because bands that left us wanting more when the spilt are coming back to say hello. Omnia Opera, Tribe of Cro, R.D.F., Back To The Planet, Police Bastard, Crazy Pink Revolvers… now you can add to that list A.O.S.3.

As we get older the distances we travel to see a good band get less and less, but a 200 mile round trip to catch AOS3’s first gig for 13 years, hosted by skanking dub beats, was never in doubt though. The Bear Tavern in Birmingham is just how a venue should be, basic, no frills, frayed around the edges and with a staff that are pretty hands off and let everyone get on with having a good time.

Tonight’s crowd was a mixture of local people who had turned up to their local pub to see their favourite local hardcore band and a few old heads that had travelled to witness the rebirth of legend. The more energetic of the crowd were up early for the support, bouncing around like balls in a pin ball machine. When AOS3 hit the stage though the dance floor suddenly filled up as everyone jockeyed for position to get a good view of the AOS3 phoenix rising out of the ashes.

All those AOS3 classics that we have been listening to on CD only for the last 13 years suddenly came to life, only heavier and deeper, the dubby bits got more psychedelic and the punky bits got faster and harder.

We have another Bush in the Whitehouse, even madder than the first one, so ‘Bush Is On The Golf Course’ took on new relevance, as did ‘Warrior Nation’. We were also treated to a handful of cover versions, including ‘Unknown Soldier’ by RDF and everyone was caught off guard by the Jam’s ‘Down In The Tube Station At Midnight’. Given it is not strictly the original line up and there had only been a handful of rehearsals, after an hour they had exhausted their repertoire. They weren’t getting away with that though and an ecstatic crowd demanding an encore meant they had to rewind a bit and re-do some of the set, but nobody cared, they had been waiting too long for this and they were going to make the most of it.

Eventually they had to call time and bring an end to the night, with the general consensus that this is one reunion that will have people sitting up and taking notice this summer.

Check out Sam’s view of the night here