Insurrection at The Fermain Tavern last Saturday. The band had not played live in the line-up since 1989. (Picture by Tom Tardif, 0906575)

The Fermain Tavern took on the feel of a wild-west saloon bar for a few minutes on Saturday as the theme tune from spaghetti western For A Few Dollars More was piped over the PA system.

It signalled the arrival on stage of Insurrection, a band that hadn’t played live in its classic line-up for more than two decades. The last-minute addition of the cowboy intro could have been incongruous, but it worked.

The five members sauntered on stage, corralling the faithful to gather in the downstairs area – which is a mean feat for any local band. The anticipation among the crowd was apparent, the excitement palpable.

Plenty of old faces were present, several in T-shirts displaying Crass motifs – a declaration, as if one were needed, of their support for the anarcho-punk/political movement of the early to mid 80s.

You could have been forgiven for thinking the clock had been wound back to those halcyon days of feedback and full-throttle hardcore punk, had it not been for the fact that most of those present (myself included) are a little thinner on top and thicker round the middle.

Before the band launched headlong into their sonic assault – and it certainly was an assault – I couldn’t help but think back to when groups such as Insurrection would never have been allowed to play the Tavern, and in turn would never have wanted to play there.

Times change but the five-piece can still deliver a terrifying wall of sound – the first few songs were pounded out with machine-gun-like ferocity and a sub-sonic bass that pummelled the walls.

Mark Le Page is still a formidable presence on stage and he and fellow vocalist Ian Allsopp spat out their diatribes with suitable vitriol.

However, this is where this particular style of punk rock doesn’t work for me.

I couldn’t make out what the band were saying in 1987 and I couldn’t make out what they were saying last Saturday, so it has never been easy to understand what they are railing against.

I felt like stopping the band mid-song, grabbing a mike and saying: ‘Yes, I understand you are angry, but could you explain your grievances in a more coherent and lucid manner?’

But, grumble aside, the two-vocalist format seems to work for their audience – in a kind of two-pronged attack.

Speaking of the punters, there was plenty of leaping around in that traditional pushing and shoving way that moshers tend to favour.

There was a fair smattering of young punks too, who I’m pretty sure weren’t old enough to see the band first time round, if indeed they were even in long trousers at the time.

It was good to see Rene Tostevin back behind the drums and his rapid-fire drumming resonated throughout the live scene in the 80s and always impressed.

Pete Riddle was as solid as ever on the bass and birthday boy Jon Langlois had me guessing how he managed to play a blistering riff while punching out power chord after power chord.

The evening wasn’t just a nostalgia trip, though, as four or five songs in, the band played a new tune.

‘It’s taken us 21 years to write this,’ said Mark.

It signalled a turning point in the evening for me. Rather than the full throttle of their older stuff, this one actually had a – dare I say it – groove to it.

Maybe I’ll be slipping some Insurrection songs onto the iPod after all.

Earlier, Silas the Assyrian Assassin from support band the EJs was the only member to turn up. He played a set of acoustic numbers with skewed lyrics.

It wasn’t to everyone’s taste but full credit to him for doing so.

Mention must also go to Mark Guillou who multi-tasked like no man has done before, flitting from light desk to sound desk like a man possessed and providing the band with a monstrous sound.

So Insurrection are back with a bang.

As vocalist Mark Le Page said at the beginning of the evening:

‘Nice to see you, to see you, nice.’

And as a Brucie bonus, the band have been asked to play a festival in London called Scumfest.

Didn’t they do well?

OK, I’ll stop now.