Face Up + Knock Off at Benidorm Punk Weekender (Day 2) in Benidorm, Spain on 11 April 2025

This is my first time in Benidorm, Spain. Not really a destination that I would normally think of for a holiday, but I’m here to attend the inaugural edition of Benidorm Punk Weekender. It’s a brave project by organiser Matt to attempt to bring a punk rock crowd and relevant bands to this part of Southern Spain, but it sells out quite a bit in advance and there is a sizeable crowd at the venue well before the first band comes on stage.

I spend most of the first afternoon at the venue, drinking local Estrella beer by the bucketload (literally) in the company of good mates and some of the bands who are scheduled to play later in the Festival (mainly Face Up and Deaf Devils). As a result, I am in no fit state to take any pictures of the bands once they come on stage, so photos of Day 2 and Day 3 (next post) only. 😉

I pop inside to see some of the first few bands on Day 1, but it is not until Fire Exit and then Resistance 77 hit the stage that I stay inside for full sets. Both are bands that I have seen live several times in the past, and both play solid sets of no-nonsense old school guitar punk rock. Great start to the weekend.

Day 2 is greyer than yesterday, both in terms of the weather and how I feel. But after a bit of a walk up and down the “strip”, I hit the bar of the venue again to indulge in more buckets of Estrella beer. Once more, I am well accompanied by mate John and members of Face Up and Deaf Devils.

My first highlight of day 2 is Zero Tolerance, another no-nonsense punk rock band who I have seen a number of times before. They play a great set as usual and there’s a mini stage invasion for their final song (not difficult, as the stage is barely any higher than where the audience is standing).

Next up amongst my highlights is (unsurprisingly) Face Up. I seem to have ended up in the company of these nutters for most of the first 2 days, along with my gig-goer partner in crime John, so no apologies for posting an excessive number of pictures of them. It’s fair to say that I love this band, and they give their usual no-holds-barred, energetic performance. It has been loads of fun hanging out with this lot, but unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for my liver), they are due to head off home tomorrow morning. See you soon, guys.

The other (obvious) highlight for me for Day 2 is Knock Off, who are amongst my favourite live bands of the moment. They put on a memorable performance which gets the audience singing and dancing along (well, at least I do, anyway).