Welcome to Gothcester! That's what it felt like at the Gloucester Festival on Saturday 19 July in the band tent. Hardly a blade of green grass could be seen for all the black clad people lurking around a small tent in the middle of Gloucester Park.

"So when's Badly Drawn Boy on?" A friend of mine asked as we surveyed the mass of black clad people. He wasn't. But I wouldn't have been surprised to see his less well known brother Badly Hanged, Drawn, Quartered and in a Rage of Adolescent Death and Mutilation Obsessed fury Boy.

Dark Heart and Abscess:

The first band I got to see was called Dark Heart. And like any band with a name like that, they were loud. Very loud. Slipknot without the masks - or vocabulary. Most of their lyrics stretched as far as "Come on" and "Are you ready?". But it was early in the afternoon, so I hung around for the next band.

Next up came Abscess. Abscess, I feared, would be more of the same: heavy, loud thumping, ear-bleeding music that could easily turn you to an early grave. Fortunately, this was not the case.

Labelling their influences as bands like Nirvana, Abscess have concentrated their efforts on crafting songs and fleshing out their sound as best they can. Not for them the how- loud-can-we-get-before-we-haemorrhage? policy of Dark Heart. No sir-ee. Abscess had quiet bits and loud bits and all stages in between.

Their song "Underground" is typical of their lo-fi meets grunge style. Think The Breeders. Think Nirvana. Think a combination of the two.

Unfortunately, they are not the most lively band in the world. At times, vocalist Clair and the two guitarists looked like they were only there because they'd been told to do it by their mum. Only drummer Joe defied the boredom. His concentration was so apparent, he might have been solving five different quadratic equations, translation Hamlet into Urdu and drumming at the same time.

Their apparent lack of enthusiasm (nerves, I assume) was a pity, because, hidden deep beneath the static stances was a fantastic band waiting to leap out at the audience.

After the set, I caught up with the band to find out more about them. Abscess are made up of vocalist Clair, drummer Joe, Rich (aka Raner ) on bass and Anthony on guitar. They were initially formed when Rich and Anthony met at St. Peter's School in Gloucester. After a while, Clair and Joe joined in when they met skating.

With gigs already in the bag at the Guildhall and Crackers, the band have good performance experience, despite their relative youth (they are all 16-17 year olds). Hopefully, given encouragement and more gig experience they will get the boost in confidence and lucidity in direction they need.

The Penance:

Following on from the swollen, pus afflicted ones, came The Penance. "Static" is certainly not a word that could be applied to Sam, Dan and Ben's band. They too cite Nirvana as their influences, but with The Penance, you really feel that the spirit of Kurt Cobain has taken over these boys.

Lead singer and bassist, Sam, who also writes most of the band's output, leaps around the stage like the proverbial lunatic. Standing still is a completely foreign concept to him.

They clearly enjoy putting on a show. In between songs two guitarists, Sam and Ben joke among themselves and with the audience. At one point, Sam criticises the audience: "That's not very enthusiastic," he says, before adding. "That's Gloucester for you!" It gets a good laugh. Later he rewards the cheering with a "That's more like it."

When I talk to Sam after their set, he explains more about the inspiration for his songs. "Most of them are about life experiences," he says. "Only we try to look at stuff in a good light rather than reflect the bad."

This can be seen in such songs as "Lost" which is about a trip to a Marilyn Manson gig in Bristol. The band got lost and ended up being given a guided tour of the city by a tramp who didn't know where he was going either. Or perhaps "The Bitch Song" which does exactly what it says on the tin.

"Who's it about?" I ask Sam. "Is this bitch real or fictional?"

"Oh, she's real," he replies. Significantly, he doesn't elaborate.

Sam also explains about the band's other influences, dismissing my charge that they

sound like a heavy, heavy Hives. "Don't say that!" one of the band's friends chimes in. She looks genuinely hurt.

"OK. I won't," I lie.

Sam would prefer comparisons to be made with Pantera and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. But such allusions are not entirely well made. As the anti-Hives girl says, they have a "fairly individual sound". It is, perhaps, fairer to say that The Penance emulate the spirit rather than the actual style of the bands they claim to replicate. "That's what I like about Pantera. It's not that we copy their style," says Sam. "It's their precision we're trying to reproduce."

Meanwhile, what of Dan and Ben, the drummer and bassist? "Go on, say something witty and profound," Sam urges Ben.

"What?" comes the reply. That's about as witty and profound as we're going to get.

Explosive Nzakomba and Murdoc:

Standing in the band tent was all very well, but after a while it can begin to reek with the smell of stale glass and even staler human sweat. And besides, there was plenty more to see. An example of this can be seen in the infectious reggae rhythms of Explosive Nzakomba who I caught a glimpse of while waiting for Murdoc to appear on stage.

A truly international band, with members coming from as far away as South Africa and Jamaica, Explosive Nzakomba play a selection of reggae covers - the nearest thing there is to capturing sunshine in a bottle.

With renditions of "One Love" and "No Woman No Cry", you could not help but raise a smile, imagine it to be several degrees warmer than it actually was, and maybe even dance a little.

In particular, what really caught my eye - or, to be more accurate, ear - was lead singer Daniel Vita's amazing vibrato voice. It was less "One Love" than "O-o-o-o-one L-o-o-ove". Introducing "No Woman No Cry", he announced that "Bob Marley is not dead". Judging by this performance, Vita is right. Bob Marley is alive and well and living in Gloucester Park.

The first rule of rock and roll is to stand with your legs as far apart as possible and play your bass guitar like your life depends on it. Yes. Welcome to Murdoc's world. As different from the sunny sounds of Explosive Nzakomba as it is possible to be, Murdoc followed on from the Reggae band with thumping, thumping rock.

Murdoc have been doing quite well for themselves recently, finding themselves on the Radio One web site being labelled as one of the nation's greatest unsigned bands.

If you read the review I did of them a couple of weeks ago, you'll find I was not entirely convinced by their E.P.. Fortunately, however, I am convinced by them as a live band (even if the lyrics are still of a somewhat questionable quality). Maybe it's just because you can't see the bassist's legs on the purely audio E.P. that I missed the point originally.

Murdoc already have a large fan base, many of whom were out in force on Saturday. Playing all of the songs off their CD (Time Out, Without You, Needful Things and Another Week), Murdoc were rewarded by large sections of the audience singing along.

They are bursting with confidence, drive and enthusiasm. The only thing they do seem to be unsure about is how much their E.P. costs. Two pounds or three pounds? Dino T couldn't seem to make his mind up. It was left to Jeni, the guitarist to put him right: Three pounds.

Get your copy now before they change the price again.

Demob and The Four Foot Fingers:

Back in the Band Tent, things were hotting up. The gothic doom and gloom was less in evidence and, in place, a more vibrant, colourful punky atmosphere had taken over. This was hardly surprising. Two of Gloucester's most vibrant bands were about to hit the stage.

First up comes Demob. Demob are an original Punk band. Perhaps that's what they should call themselves: Original Punk Band. They certainly deserve the title. Demob were last seen at the Gloucester Festival in 1979. Their appearance provoked a riot between bikers and punks that hit the national press. It seems that only now is it safe for them to return!

Formed in 1978, Demob have been persistent, despite their relative lack of success, and continue to entertain. Andy K, the lead singer, wears a T-shirt bearing the slogan "If It Ain't Punk, It Don't Rock" and, unfortunately, a back to front baseball cap.

He may be one of the elder statesmen of Gloucestershire music, and Punk music in general, but there's no excuse for a man in his forties to wear a baseball cap anyway round. I would say more, but Andy looks like the kind of man who would deck you half way between the pub and the kebab house.

So on with the music.

Sartorial inelegance aside, Demob are an excellent band. Their style is that of pure Punk, and all the dirtiness that comes with it. Their songs are dedicated to the injustices of the world, from wrongly imprisoned men ("Sussed") to complaints about kids having nowhere to go ("Nowhere For You").

Half way through the set comes a cover of The Clash's "White Riot". "Who remembers Joe Strummer?" asks Andy K? A cheer shoots up. It would be difficult to find a single person who didn't. If Bob Marley was alive and kicking on the main stage, then Joe Strummer was certainly following suit in the band tent.

There's also a song called "My Big Brother", although it's more recognisable as "If I Had a Hammer", complete with the "ooo-ooo, ooo-ooos" of the original. This is the great thing about Punk: a serious message conveyed with an infectious cheekiness that you can't help but join in with.

Throughout the band's hour long set, Demob's front man makes constant self-deprecating comments. When the audience cheers, he greets their enthusiasm with: "There's a lot of Pinocchios in the audience tonight." Later he asks, "Are you having a good time." The reply, obviously, is in the affirmative. "Liar, liar, pants on fire," he sings. Perhaps self confidence is something this band still lacks.

Elsewhere, the theme of other songs is clear from their titles: "Stand Up And Be Counted", "Making a Stand" and "No Fun", featuring the classic Ramones line of "1-2-3-4".

Watching Demob is a refreshing experience. It's fantastic to see men who should, by now, be respectable pillars of the community: doctors, lawyers or something equally boring, still setting a bad example to the rest of us.

They could easily teach a lesson to many younger and more successful bands. While groups as diverse as Radiohead and Slipknot have found that, by complaining about consumerism, more people consume your records, Demob have taken to heart everything that Punk was always supposed to be about. So perhaps it doesn't matter that the lead singer looks a prat with his baseball cap, because at least he means what he's singing. Every last word.

There is nothing funnier than the sight of a fully grown, butch, burly, be-tattooed man apologising to his mother for swearing and talking about "girl's boobies". Well, maybe a few things. But not many.

This was exactly what happened with the last set of the evening. The Four Foot Fingers (in case you didn't know) are an exciting Punk band from Gloucester. Their chief influences would appear to be American skate Punk, but there are references to bands like the Stiff Little Fingers floating around there as well.

Where the Stiff Little Fingers sang about themes from The Irish Troubles to "You Can't Say Crap on the Radio", The Fingers of the Four Foot variety sing with a similar diversity about the current political climate to women's breasts (hence the apology) and "someone who can't get his leg over" ("Hopeless Romantic"). With their song "One for the Road", they even go as far as offering advice about the foolishness of drink driving. If only Public Information Broadcasts were that much fun.

Perhaps the best song of the evening is one of their oldest (and, by rights, it isn't even theirs). It's a punkified version of "Bad Guys" from Bugsy Malone, complete with sing-a-long la-la-las. Fantastic!

The Fingers already have a huge fan base. Looking into the tent you can see their fans indulging in a half dance- half brawl. "Note for the security," singer Rob announces, "they're not fighting. They're just having fun." Then he adds, "Go on! Smash each other about like the good old days."

The band are clearly glad to be back in Gloucester. "It's good to be here," Rob says at one point. "'Cos we all know what we're talking about - like the pedestrianisation of the city centre."

I'm not quite sure what he's got against people freely walking down Gloucester's high streets, but here is probably not the place for a debate about City Council policy.

The Four Foot Fingers are the kind of band you always wanted to be in (assuming you can bear the thought of all-over body tattoos). They play cool music you can dance to, they spin round while play guitar at stupid speeds and they have their own little catch-phrase tune where they all leap in the air with a perfect timing. I don't know who their choreographer is, but I pretty certain it isn't Wayne Sleep.

"We're the Four Foot Fingers and you've all been fingered," they announce as a parting shot. And so we have.

Round-up:

All in all, it's been a great line up of exciting and vibrant bands. It may not be Reading, Leeds or Glastonbury, and the main stage may have only slightly outsized a typical garden shed, but you can't knock the quality of music that Gloucester is currently producing. Be it with Murdoc, the Four Foot Fingers, punk veterans Demob or up and coming bands like The Penance, Gloucester's music scene really is beginning to ROCK!

19/07/03 - First published on www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire