The Bayonets & Red Union - Live in Novi Sad

A fan's proposed design for a Red Union pin. Best one they ever had!

 After yet another hiatus, we're back with a couple of short, yet cool shows by two excellent Serbian antifascist street-punk bands, The Bayonets and Red Union. Both bands have by now created admirable legacies in ex-Yugoslavian countries as well as abroad, having released vinyl LP's for the German Bandworm label (Red Union) and a split CD with England's Dypsomaniacs, along with a full-length CD of their own (the somewhat younger - as a band at least - Bayonets), and have crisscrossed Europe on numerous tours. Both play fun and energetic shows which you should visit if you have the chance, and both are composed of great individuals who I'm proud to call my friends. Here then is a show the Bayonets have performed in 2006 at a promotional event for the book "Novosadska punk verzija" about the punk scene in their hometown of Novi Sad, accompanied by a 2004 show by Red Union, and the original Bayonets demo for good measure. The first Red Union song from this show was released in a better quality on the "Novosadska punk verzija vol. 2" compilation, but you should buy the CD to get it; this, somewhat lesser quality recording, is still good enough for us punx, ha ha. The Bayonets show used to be available via RapidShare from the Parapunx blog but the link has since expired, and I took the time to divide the songs into separate tracks for your convenience. Enjoy!

A very flattering photo of the Bayonets taken when they were playing in Osijek; note the bottle of locally-loved, universally-reviled Osjecko beer in Miljan's hand.

Track listing:

1. The Bayonets - Intro (0:42)
2. The Bayonets - Rebel Forever (1:55)
3. The Bayonets - Try to Recall (3:36)
4. The Bayonets - Never Forget (3:00)
5. The Bayonets - Sound of the Streets (4:16)
6. The Bayonets - Mr. Know It All (3:47)
7. The Bayonets - Stay Young (2:36)
8. The Bayonets - Riot Squad (2:52)
9. The Bayonets - Plakati (1:55)
10. The Bayonets - Our Fight (4:08)
11. Red Union - No Lesson Learned (3:18)
12. Red Union - In the City (2:07)
13. Red Union - W.M.D. (3:26)
14. Red Union - Land of the Living Dead (2:33)
15. Red Union - Drink Up (3:49)
16. Red Union - Career Oportunities (1:49)
17. The Bayonets - Never Forget (demo) (2:45)
18. The Bayonets - Try to Recall (demo) (2:53)
19. The Bayonets - Friday Night (demo) (4:14)
20. The Bayonets - Leave Behind (demo) (2:59)
21. The Bayonets - Our Fight (demo) (3:09)

Red Union's Dasko singing at the Dirty Old Festival back in 2005. I remember him asking me before this show whether I'd like to sing "Career Opportunities" on stage with them, to which I replied with a scared "no way!". Of course I would have accepted a repeated offer, but the bastard never asked again! It should have been me on this photo!

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