There are challenges at every Fringe show — late arrivals, thunderous aircon, someone coughing like they’re trying to leave their body — but Californian punk rock alumnus Joe Sib is facing a big one: the screens are down. With minutes to spare, the brilliant tech people at Gilded Balloon have a solution. His highly visual show, originally relying on VT and old-school gig flyers blown up to eye-watering size, is now being beamed through what looks like a 2003 Dell monitor plonked on a table. Fringe-level punk lets put on a show chaos.

But just like in his career, Sib adapts seamlessly and turns the mishap into magic. “Lo-fi” becomes the vibe, and suddenly we’re all gathered around the punk campfire as Joe launches into a high-energy, full-throttle memoir told with warmth, wit and absolute commitment.

California Calling is a nostalgic, exhilarating dive into Sib’s life — from a teenage skateboarding kid obsessed first with the Village People (yes, really) to discovering punk proper: The Sex Pistols, Black Flag, The Clash. These formative influences fire him into starting his first band, Wax, and from there it’s a blur of tour vans, record labels, and absurd encounters with legends like The Ramones and Metallica.

Sib is a born raconteur. He doesn’t name-drop for flashy effect; he builds the scene. He brings you into the van, into the mosh pit, into the phone calls and late-night decisions that shaped a life lived fast but with care. This isn’t rock ‘n’ roll arrogance or a victory lap of excess — it’s something far more generous. A tribute to the power of hard graft, community, and holding on to your teenage obsessions long enough to make something out of them.

There’s a sweetness beneath the leather-jacketed tales, too. He speaks with love about his parents, his label SideOneDummy, and the fans that stuck around. The show is as much about resilience as rebellion.

And it’s clear Sib’s genuinely delighted to be in Edinburgh — not just because the Fringe is his kind of chaos, but because two of his favourite bands, The Exploited and The Rezillos, came out of this city. He feels the punk legacy in the cobblestones.

Tonight’s workaround may have stripped away the flash, but it leaves the heart fully exposed. In fact, it might have made the whole thing better. It suits the DIY, build-it-yourself ethos that Joe Sib’s entire life has run on.

So brush off your band tee, grab a beer, and head down to what feels like the best seated mosh pit in town. Because this isn’t just a story about punk — it’s a punk telling stories the way it should be done.

 ****

Reviewed by Steve H

Gilded Balloon Appleton Towers Pip

21.00 to 22.00

Until 24th August