The Scavengers are in a line-up of veteran punk bands set to bring the roof down at the Montecristo Room. Photo / Supplied by John Baker
It's nearly 30 years since the release of classic local punk compilation AK79. Now some of the rough and ready bands who featured on it are getting together for a reunion gig.
On the line-up for AK79: A Celebration, at Auckland's Montecristo Room on November 22, are Proud
Scum, the Spelling Mistakes, the X-Features, the Terrorways and the Scavengers. This lot were just some of the bands who fuelled Auckland's heady and rowdy late 70s punk scene.
The AK79 album, which also included bands like Toy Love, the Swingers, and the Marching Girls, among others, was the brainchild of local DJ Bryan Staff, who wanted to record and document the music of the punk rock underground.
Only 500 copies of the resulting record were printed and over the years it has become a collector's item. It was later released on CD in 1993 and songs like the Scavengers' Mysterex and Proud Scum's I Am A Rabbit were heard by a whole new generation.
While the Montecristo Room may not have the same grimy vibe and fiery intensity of punk clubs like Zwines, or punk pubs like the Windsor Castle, this will be a unique gig because the Terrorways, Proud Scum and the Features have not played together for 28 years - and don't hold your breath for them to play again.
So check them out, along with the other bands, while you can.
Tickets go on sale tomorrow from Real Groovy and undertheradar.co.nz and are limited to 350.
