The Professionals
Rebellion Festival: Club Casbah, Blackpool, 5th August 2018
Review & Pictures

Twelve months ago The Professionals took to the opulent Opera House stage for their Rebellion début, benefitting from the wonderful acoustics. This time out, it's the down and dirty surroundings of the Club Casbah, a temporary construction which witnessed some of the wildest shows of the weekend. Back in the day the band were labelled a "great drunken rock 'n' roll band", so the transition would surely be seamless? Bassist Paul Myers was absent for health reasons. He'll be back soon, but in the meantime the band's guitar tech Toshi JC Ogawa makes a more than able stand-in, adding his own style and panache to the band. Well done, Toshi. "We're not punk, we're The Professionals" quipped Cookie as the band kicked into life. The success of the new album and a growing reputation as a no-nonsense live act has resulted in an ultra confident Pros. Check out the blitzkrieg set list; Payola, Northern Slide, Good Man Down, Join The Pros, Going Going Gone, and Silly Thing - just 6 songs in and all bases old and new had been primed and detonated, leaving the punters gasping from the energy unleashed. What's more, the band are now able to rest old time favourites like The Magnificent and Too Far To Fall without diminishing the set. Crescendo, Just Another Dream and Hats Off meant the middle of the set maintained the tough, steady sound that is so central to the band's identity. The home straight was a killer with a treat in store. Kick Down The Doors and Let Go kept the old/new pairings coming right at us and then it was time for the live début of Lonely Boy. Dedicated to Steve Jones by Tom Spencer, this song from The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle has never been performed live before by Paul. It was a pleasure to finally hear it - along with the extra guitar oomph injected into it by Chris McCormack. 1-2-3 brought the show to a close on its customary high. Modern day Pros may not be the "drunken rock 'n' roll band" of old, but they can mix it unfazed regardless of the stage or crowd. The intervening 12 months between Rebellion gigs have seen them established as the band they should have been 3 decades ago. They've proved this time and again by carving out their own rock 'n' roll niche. As Cookie remarked at the start, they are... The Professionals. Review & pictures by Phil Singleton

Soundcheck

Review & pictures by Phil Singleton

©Phil Singleton / cookandjones.co.uk / www.sex-pistols.net 2018
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God Save The Sex Pistols / Kick Down The Doors ©Phil Singleton / cookandjones.co.uk / www.sex-pistols.net 2018