Having seen, and really enjoyed, Republica at a couple of festivals (Glastonbury and Reading) in the summer of 1997 I was really keen on seeing them live again. Dingwalls was packed. Really packed. And very sweaty. But there was a great vibe and it was obviosuly people were ready to party.

I’d been very surprised to see the amount of crowd surfing and the intensity of the mosh pit for Republica’s set at Reading Festival, so it shouldn’t have surprised me that their own gig was going to duplicate that by quite a factor – which was particularly impressive when you compare the size of the field for Reading with the front of stage area at Dingwalls (which is certainly no where near the largist of venues in London). Keyavn, John, Anna and myself had somehow had the good sense to protect ourselves (and our drinks) by standing on a slightly raised balcony area to one side of what turned in to a mosh pit that would put a number of metal gigs to shame.

Republica were on fire and certainly gave the fans what they had come for. Excellent evening.