The Libertines | Supergrass | Gentle Play | Hak Baker | Lambrini Women
Gunnersbury Park, London
ninth Aug 2025
One other large occasion for The Libertines with a powerful choice of help acts takes place on one of many hottest days of the summer season in West London’s Gunnersbury Park. Keith Goldhanger finds some shade and stays hydrated.
So the place are we as much as with The Libertines then?
Nicely, it’s been greater than twenty years because the debut What A Waster got here into our lives, and since then the band appear to have publicly trawled themselves by way of extra sub-plots than anybody may have probably imagined. For the band to then come out of all this and stand right here at the moment, in entrance of an enormous West London park stuffed with beer swilling solar drenched (mud coated) followers is trigger for one more celebration of wounds being healed and associations rekindled.
Pete Doherty is holding court docket as we enter the sector. He’s promoting fanzines to keen punters on the entrance and because the day goes on is introducing every band onto the stage. It’s like he’s taking part in the a part of a vicar promoting raffle tickets at an area village fête, albeit falling wanting studying out the quantity plates of illegally parked automobiles. It’s a pleasant contact and makes the day really feel extra of a private occasion.
The Libertines’ efficiency on the finish of this lengthy day feels extra private too. They’ve been busy this yr taking part in related sized occasions week in and week out, nevertheless it nonetheless feels as if the four-piece have approached at the moment’s present with the identical enthusiasm as once they have been gatecrashing tiny venues once we have been all a lot youthful. There’s no massive introduction to their set, no massive firework show to finish the present and, not like many bands (together with one or two we see at the moment), they don’t really feel the necessity to latch onto the same old compulsory gimmicks that too many bands appear to suppose are mandatory these days every time they play in entrance of quite a lot of hundred folks.
For instance, Lambrini Women, who’re taking part in a carbon copy present to 1 seen a few weeks in the past at Truck Pageant (and each different present we’ve seen them play for the previous couple of years). The opening shrill of “Are you able to fuck?” that every present begins with, the crouching down, leaping up, telling us all to take care of each other and to Free Palestine earlier than coming into the group to face within the house they’ve already separated from the crash barrier…. Musically, the band are good at what they do. They’re tight, thrilling, shouty and barely chaotic, nevertheless it’s all very premeditated. There’s nothing to get upset about relating to the messages we’re being fed, however the anti-police chant they orchestrate lets them down. Generalising about any group of individuals is a harmful sport to play in 2025. It may be argued that some (a greater phrase to make use of than ‘all’) of these coppers we’re being inspired to hate are most likely standing outdoors a disused lodge in the mean time stopping the far proper from burning down a constructing stuffed with asylum seekers or one or two of them your Gran may need some assurance from after some crackhead robs her of her pension at a money machine. Even the 4 Skins stopped wanting powerful and convincing when chanting ACAB in 1982. This discredits a number of the opposite messages the band have on supply however they’re nonetheless an ace band with a very ace debut album below their belt, even when it’s a efficiency as spontaneous as a West Finish musical.
Gentle Play (who additionally remind us of an early Nineteen Eighties punk rock band however with a a lot bigger viewers in entrance of them) have a behavior of coming into the mosh pit at exactly the identical time in every set we see them play and appear to be repeating the identical introductions to their songs. Perhaps a few of us have seen these bands too many occasions now and this behaviour is extra large unfold than we’d wish to imagine? Any fury coming from the stage comes throughout very completely different on this century. Ought to we be laughing alongside to this or critically shedding our shit to this? The reply lies in and across the mosh pits being shaped it appears.
The shortage of public transport accessible over in East London means we missed Dutch outfit Actual Farmer who open up the proceedings. It’s the one downer of the day for a few of us. Hak Baker, in-between Lambrini Women and Gentle Play, is giving us some East finish cockney banter in between songs. Right here’s a person with a again story to enhance his spectacular and massively acclaimed 2023 album Worlds Finish FM, and his efficiency at the moment is greater than appropriate for the late afternoon slot.
Supergrass have as many hits to play us because the headliners at the moment. Caught By The Fuzz arrives early, Shifting slows issues down for a couple of minutes, and Pumping On Your Stereo rounds off a powerful show of bouncy sing-along pop spanning again three a long time that also sound as recent and thrilling as ever.
Pete Doherty is now in night apparel and has changed his blue and white soccer shirt for a extra dapper look. The 4 piece wander nonchalantly onto the stage and tear straight into Up The Bracket. We’re the very best a part of an hour in earlier than Carl welcomes us and asks us how we’re. The band look nicely, and early indicators point out that these intricately performed songs at the moment are second nature to them. They’re in a playful temper tonight; Gary sometimes has an informal stroll across the entrance of the stage, there’s a rendition of The Pet Store Boys’ West Finish Women throughout The Good Outdated Days, and the chance of every thing falling aside couldn’t be additional away. Just a few violins, a cello and trumpet sneak into the again of the stage and we all know that the times of excessive drama at the moment are behind us. We get an honest combination of tracks from the current All Quiet on the Jap Esplanade album, and rather a lot (all) of previous materials. It’s an exciting, crowd-pleasing couple of hours, with Time For Heroes and Don’t Look Again Into The Solar being the finale that leaves a number of the attendees exiting the park with arms round one another nonetheless singing alongside to the music that has now ceased.
As witnessed with a few brothers from Manchester just lately, the very best relationships are those that may finally be repaired with any earlier dangerous blood brushed apart. Pete and Carl stand nose to nose sharing one microphone on a couple of event, there’s an actual bond between them nonetheless that they’re most likely persevering with to construct on and perceive totally. We’re reminded how vital John Hassall (bass) and Gary Powell (drums) are. This isn’t all concerning the two guitarists.
This present, simply as each present the band play these days is a celebration of the place everybody within the Libertines camp is in 2025. The songs we hear may nonetheless remind us of the previous love/hate relationships inside the band or the chaotic inventive ambiance during which these songs had advanced, however tonight we’re listening to and seeing these songs being carried out higher than ever.
The Libertines go marching on.
Who of us sooner or later over the previous couple of a long time would have thought this was ever probably?
~
Phrases by Keith Goldhanger. Extra writing by Keith on Louder Than Warfare may be discovered at his creator’s archive. You can even discover Keith on Fb Instagram and Bluesky
Pictures by Mike Massaro/Howdy Content material equipped
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