Uproar formed in the early 1980s in Peterlee, County Durham, UK, and they released a few EPs and albums before disbanding shortly after. In 2007, they reunited.This July marked their first visit to the States, and they came to Milwaukee to play at the Shorewood Legion Hall, of all places.
The show started an hour late, and before the second band even took the stage, the cops had already arrived to check everyone's IDs and corral anyone who was drinking into the basement bar area. The crowd's energy was running high when the old school British punks finally took the stage.The band was thronged by rowdy kids-most of whom weren't even born when Uproar formed-slamming into one another and shouting along with songs like "Dead Rockers," "Addicted," "Have A Good Laugh," and "Die For Me."
Stu (vocals), Dave (guitar), Baz (bass), and Gav (drums) fed off the vigor of the throng, and though I never saw them back in their heyday, I think it's safe to say the show was every bit as passionate and raucous as any gig they did twenty-five years ago.They performed a solid ten songs, blasting from one right into the other, with occasional pauses where Stu made requests like, "All you fellas, clap, and all you ladies-shake your thing!"They closed their set with a cover of The Dead Boys' "Sonic Reducer," and the entire crowd went bonkers, even those who'd been standing on the sidelines for the rest of the show.
Uproar didn't do anything mind-explodingly original, but they put on a tight, loud and lively performance.If you like a little pogo with your politics or if you enjoy good old-fashioned British punk rock in the vein of Subhumans UK and Exploited, Uproar will not disappoint.
