The Exploited at Rude Boy Club in Bielsko-Biala, Poland on 30 August 2024

A couple of fantastic gigs by The Exploited in the South of Poland at the end of last week.

The first of these is at the Rude Boy Club in Bielsko-Biala in Silesia, Southern Poland. A pretty cool club, dark and a bit dingy with a couple of areas with sofas which you need to reserve (and pay for) if you want to sit there. Thanks to Jano from Slovakia for the invitation to sit with him and his mate. On the bus from Katowice airport, the guy sat next to me recommends trying the owner’s special cherry vodka at the Club. A couple of these, along with a few beers set me up well whilst waiting for the headliner as the local support band plays.

Tonight’s gig is the first with The Exploited’s new drummer Garry “Gman” Sullivan, formerly of Cro-Mags and the B52s. Gary is a real machine on the drum kit, and makes it look totally effortless. With all due respect to the previous drummer, the double bass drum pedal adds real meat to the band’s sound this evening. After only a handful of rehearsals with the guys, Gman fits in really well with the band. I’m looking forward to seeing him again over the next few gigs and then particularly again in November after their lengthy N. American tour, once he has fully settled in.

Not that many successful pictures from this evening, as the cherry vodkas didn’t take long to make their effect felt. A really enjoyable gig at a nice small club. The temperature outside was in the 30s during the afternoon and hadn’t really cooled down that much inside by the time of the gig. So, I end the evening with my t-shirt soaked in sweat with no possibility of buying a replacement, since I have no Polish Zloty.