The Exploited + Maid Of Ace at Les Gueules de Bois Festival in Valzin en Petite Montagne, France on 23 August 2024.
A bit of an odd one this one, located in the middle of nowhere up a small mountain in the Jura region of France, so a real bugger to get to. The Festival is a mix of live music and BMX bikers performing stunts in between bands. This means that there is a much longer gap than is usual between the bands hitting the stage whilst the riders do their thing. The stunts are quite impressive, but after you’ve seen a few, it gets a bit samey. To make it worse, the 50 minute drive back to the hotel afterwards means that there is no beer to be drunk to fill in the gaps. 
Maid Of Ace open the Saturday festivities at 15.40 hrs, coming on in blazing sunshine and blazing temperatures to match. Fortunately, the height of the stage blocks the sun at the front, so there is some shade for those of us at the barrier. This is the third of 3 MOA gigs that I have been to in just over a week, and they have all been brilliant. I still reckon the ladies are one of the best “young” live punk rock bands on the circuit at the moment.
This is also the last gig of the Maid Of Ace’s lengthy European tour before they head back to the UK. Alison admits that it has taken a bit of a toll on her voice, but this is barely noticeable as she belts out the words with her usual energy. Guitarist Anna manages to break a string once again (as she did last Tuesday) and takes an eternity to tune her second guitar yet again. 
I have already volunteered to act as guitar tech next time they play. 
All-in-all a great set by the 4 sisters which is enthusiastically received by the already sizeable crowd. I’ll hopefully get to see them many more times in 2025.
Following Maid Of Ace there is a lengthy break as the BMX bikers perform their stunts, and then Les Fatals Picards play their set. I am not a fan of these “festive” bands, although the largely French audience are really up for it. They seem to go on for an eternity. Once you think they’ve finished, they play more. Once they do finally end, they are followed by even more BMX stunts.
At last, The Exploited come on stage around 19.30 hrs and perform as the sun is beginning to set. Down at the barrier I’m just in front of the mosh pit which gets pretty manic as soon as the band starts to play. It’s nice to see the security people helping the crowd surfers across the barrier with good humour. The security guy in front of me even sings along to a couple of the songs. Wattie appears to be on really good form, relaxed and smiling, which is great to see. 🙂
The band play a really tight set despite the chaos in front of them. They invite members of the audience up to sing along with “Sex And Violence”, as is tradition. It’s not easy to get across the barrier and onto the high stage, but I mange to get around the side and join in with the singing into Rob’s microphone. Once the crowd leaves the stage, there is time for “Was It Me” and then it’s over. I learn later that this drummer Dominic’s last gig with the name, so a great gig to bow out on.
I escape soon after The Exploited finish for my drive back to the hotel and then to make up for the lack of beer drinking at the festival. (Un)Fortunately, I thereby miss Mass Hysteria, who close the day at the festival. Copious amounts of Grimbergen beer and a sneaky Lagavulin 16 whisky at the hotel top up my alcohol levels, and members of the band join for a couple of drinks before we are kicked out of the hotel bar.
Both bands were brilliant, although I could probably have done without the pauses due to the BMXers. But, a very good afternoon/evening and it was certainly a festival in very beautiful surroundings.
