Skunk Anansie // Garbage - Scarborough Open Air Theatre 20.06.2026
- 41 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Skunk Anansie
Garbage
Du Blonde
It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since the last run of summer shows here at Scarboroughs’ Open Air Theatre and this years selection is as wide ranging and eclectic as ever.
It’s my first trip this year and it’s a belter! Couldn’t have asked for a sunnier Saturday to be dressed in black with a big bag of camera kit on your back haha!
First up from my neck of the woods up here in Newcastle was Du Blonde and despite them being around for a while it was the first time I was seeing them. A short very enjoyable set of fuzzed out riffs and indie pop catchy versus songs like Dollar Coffee and Next Big Thing certainly got the crowd bouncing! Must’ve been a dream come true having already had both Skin and Shirley Manson collaborating on songs and now being out on tour with them.
It’s a revolving headliner tour and tonight it’s Garbage who take to the stage next kicking off with two from their most recent album 'Let All That We Imagine Be The Light' - 'There’s No Future In Optimism' and 'Hold' set the bar high from the get go Butch Vig leading the way from behind his drum kit as Shirley Manson strides across the stage looking like she means business tonight.
Her voice is just brilliant throughout the set and we are treated to the double banger of 'I Think I’m Paranoid' and 'Stupid Girl' early in the set reminding everyone what fantastic songs they have and how they’ve lasted the 30 years plus since release.
Watching fans young and old singing along word for word (both bands) shows how great songs withstand the test of time!
The guitar partnership of Duke Erikson and Steve Marker is slick both trading kicks and sounding huge. The original four members are joined by Nicole Fiorentino on bass Formerly of Veruca Salt and Smashing Pumpkins she fits in perfectly as half of the rhythm section along with Vig and the sound is perfect even up in the seats.
The set is well balanced with tracks from six of their eight releases.
'Chinese Fire Horse' and 'Control' sound awesome but it’s the likes of 'Vow' and 'Special' that get the biggest reception.
The irony of 'I’m Only Happy When It Rains' isn’t lost on me today watching a smiling Manson whilst the sun blazes down on the Scarbados bouncing crowd! It’s somehow the first time I’ve ever seen Garbage and they’ve lived up to all I could wish for and more.
As the sun starts to set Mark Ace and Cass take to the sage to a huge roar only bettered by the one that goes up as the one and only Skin appears and they kick straight in with the 1999 single 'Charlie Big Potato'. It’s one of my favourite songs of the band so it’s a brilliant start to the set. I love the way each element of this song comes together both guitar and drums playing the same riff while Skins dream like vocal weaves in and around it and live it’s just a wow of an opener! Sticking with the big hitters 'Because of You' is up next and a fellow photographer and I just look at each other at one point mouthing “holy shit!! “ as Skin hits those high notes perfectly whilst she bounces and spins around the stage.
Skunk Anansie just get better and better each member of the band giving 100% and the crowd love it! Mark and Cass are a force to be reckoned with on drums and bass while Ace rips out riffs for fun and Skin has the fans in the palm of her hand and they do as she asks - when she wants a space cleared for her to go out into the throng with the SkinCam for a jump about with them all they do it no questions asked and similarly when she goes for a crowd surf later.
Like Garbage before them Skunk Anansie aren’t here to rest on their laurels and songs like 'An Artist Is An Artist', 'Animal' with its almost NIN like vibe and 'Cheers' from the last album 'The Painful Truth' are destined to stand alongside their classics no bother at all HOWEVER it’s 'Shame' from that album that really bowled me over tonight it’s one of the most powerful, and by her own admission, personal songs she’s written. Dedicated to all the outcasts and those who have to find new families to be able to live the life they need to be happy living.
When Skin sings
"I got the love from my mother
I got the pain from my dad
I got the blame from my brother
Shame, I got it bad"
The shivers just run down the spine !
'Weak', 'Twisted' and 'I Can Dream' serve up a triple treat and has the audience from front to back screaming every word! 'Little Baby Swastikka' finishes out the main set but there’s more yet to come.
'Hedonism' is as huge an anthem as you can want and it’s just as well there’s no roof here as it would be gone no bother at all!
Throughout the night the band are clearly enjoying every second of this but at one point Skin has her arm around Aces shoulders both of them looking out over the thousands of people and that unmistakable beautiful huge smile of hers just expresses more than a multitude of words ever could.
It’s a home gig for Mark Richardson being a Scarborough lad so it’s a family affair with his wife Erika helping out with vocals earlier on 'Love Someone Else' and after a rousing cover of 'Highway To Hell' she’s back out to help see the night off with a blistering Intellectualise 'My Blackness'. I could be wrong but I’m sure I’ve seen Erika perform with Skunk Anansie on a previous tour and it worked so well her adding to the huge voice already there!
Whoever put this bill together needs applauding both Garbage and Skunk Anansie compliment each other so well on record and even more so live!
On paper both bands could have easily just played the nostalgia card with just the hits but both are still relevant in todays music scene and they both went out there showing that the newer stuff is every bit as good as the old.
They are both formidable acts indeed!
On leaving I chatted with a friend who was buzzing saying “I think that’s the best time I’ve seen Skunk Anansie“ and I laughed and said “but don’t we say that every time we see them though“ and that’s true they better it every single time!!!
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