Vanity Project Extra Live

Wills & The Willing + The Counterfeits - Messclean @ The Frog On The Front, Portsmouth.16/06/06.

2006-06-19T16:02:00.000+01:00

The Counterfeits are in the middle of a long trek taking in such delights as The Frog before they head back to their native south-west home; tonight they give a good account of themselves to a small but vocal audience who clearly appreciate the effort and the quality of the songs. Best described as a power trio, the urge is to say they sound a little like The Jam jostling for stage space with Nirvana before The Who nip up with some power chords. These boys clearly have a love for their history as they slip in some blues to the mix and some impressive slide guitar but manage to keep it sounding modern and urgent; indeed they demonstrate an abundance of energy both in performance and in the tunes themselves which come across as heavy yet melodic and full of decent hooks. Well worth making the effort to see if they hit these parts again or you see them advertised for a pub near you, especially if you like good, guitar heavy tunes.

I like the look of Wills & The Willing before they even get on the stage, equipment squashed onto the small stage, big screen erected at the back and god knows where all the band are going to fit on the stage...but you just get that feeling as they come on that you are going to witness something good. In fairness, I knew nothing about them before the gig (my internet search for just Will & The Wiling proved fruitless...that S makes all the difference on Wills!) so I had no idea what to expect. Wolfie on the door of the Frog had informed me they were top notch in soundcheck and that I was in for a treat and they didn't disappoint. The band is fronted by Ian Willis, who comes across as a Cockney wide boy with a voice that he could have nicked from Ian Dury himself; he lets rip with a flow of gritty words best described as street poetry as he talks/raps/sings us around some fantastic stories; to counteract his gruff approach you get the more angelic voice of co-vocalist Gerri Cunningham who floats in and out of the songs as needed and gives a nice balance both vocally and visually. Musically the sound is impressive, a mix of rock n roll, funk and damn fine tunes from a talented band who all have various links to the music business in one form or another; over there is Jason Knight who used to be in Reef and behind the guitar is Jesse Wood, son of Ronnie Wood, so they know their stuff and they do it in some style too. Behind them runs video footage including a surreal piece that seems to be Ian Wills tarted up in a wedding dress and sitting on a sofa next to a chap who looks suspiciously like that Reg Hollis bloke from The Bill (was that his name? I have some distant recollection but I don't watch too much TV!) but it all adds to the fun and the general charisma that oozes from the stage. Of course, as I'm standing there taking it in I do think to myself, what the hell are they playing here for? It's a small crowd and with only two out of town bands on what is essentially a local band night, it gives the feeling of being at something special, one of those gigs that you will be able to look back on and think, I saw them down The Frog, because mark my words, Wills & The Willing are a special band and they fully deserve to be selling out at least The Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth if not bigger venues. While the music is good and funky there is no escaping that the star of the show is Ian Wills, his down to earth attitude and poetic words are mesmerizing and he gives off the air of being someone who has been there, done it and probably ended up down the Police station because he did so, but has lived to tell the tale which just adds to the earthiness of this project and makes you want to listen. Easily the best band to have played The Frog this year, shame on you if you didn't come down to investigate, just don't do it again. If you see Wills & The Willing on the gig list, get in there down the front and have a good old knees up and make sure you listen to the words because you won't find anyone who can tell a story like Ian Wills can.

The Mescalitas + Star Collector + The Good Time Charlies + The Family + Alex Creesh - Messclean @ The Frog On The Front, Portsmouth. 09/06/06.

2006-06-15T11:25:00.000+01:00

Not sure what Alex Creesh is doing on the busy bill tonight, but his acoustic mellowness is lost on a lively crowd looking to party and most of his set is carried away on a wave of chatter before hitting my ears so we'll move on quickly to The Family who sound like the early Rolling Stones playing The Beatles. If Oasis had leaned towards the Stones rather than the Fab Four they would probably have sounded like this, indie blues with that Gallagher swagger and some decent tunes that are raw with a good beat. On a personal level it does little for me as it sounds like too many other bands but there is no doubt that they are good at what they do and they go down well with the slightly drunker elements in the crowd who enjoy a good singalong and dancing session.

The Good Time Charlies ooze quality tonight, no bullshit, just good quality rock n roll that's as tight as an emo ladyboys jeans. The Charlies have somehow managed to get to their 4th album so tonight sees them airing new material alongside some old classics and its chunky riff after riff of good time tunes with Brother Nish conducting affairs centre stage with his flying bass and rock god poses while to his right Craig is the epitome of cool knocking out sexy riffs while fellow guitarist Steve does battle with a limp mic stand and provides classic one liners. Up the back is Andy, who quite frankly scares the shit out of me, a more solid drummer you'll never find and a menacing look that many would kill for. Combined they make classic rock n roll that draws on many influences, a hint of punk, a whiff of the sixties with those tasty vocal melodies that come over as a souped-up Beach Boys, some Turbonegro deathpunk, a few pop hooks and you have hard hitting songs that drip with sing-a-long choruses. Tonight they are sounding tight and full of burning energy, the old and new songs go down a storm and even headliners The Mescalitas are down the front getting down to the rock n roll groove; the good thing about the Charlies is that even though you know they are following a well worn rock n roll path, they still come out sounding like The Charlies rather than a mix of their influences which is no mean feat and tonight shows they are still a valuable asset to the Pompey scene...long live the Charlies and Rock N Roll.

Canadians Star Collector are over for some UK dates and are friends of The Charlies hence their appearance tonight. They are a slightly more polished band in terms of sound taking their cue from that very British power pop kind of sound that nods towards the like of The Who with big songs, big melodies and big power riffs. Indeed, live they are a cracking band full of energy and they seem genuinely pleased that we should be giving them our attention on this hot evening and it kind of endears you to them and I'm more than happy to stand and watch them run through a catchy set. In personal terms it's all a bit nice and shiny for me, I like my rock n roll with a rough edge, a hint of danger and something to really get your teeth into; Star Collector are very good at what they do, there is no doubt about that, if you want big shiny power rock/pop then look no further, you'll lap them and their big tunes up but for me they just lack that dirty element.

Finally we arrive at the much hyped part of the night, The Mescalitas and their little rock n roll circus. Three high-heeled clad ladies with enough attitude to take on the whole of Guildhall Walk in one go and a drunken rabble already worshipping the very ground they walk on...so are they any good? Well, there's no doubt they look good, Gem Jones up there dark eyes smoldering and a pout that could kill at 100 yards strapped into a guitar and letting rip with an impressive voice while ice cool Mel melts hearts with those throbbing bass lines and Gabi Woo over there on the drums has one of those don't mess with me faces; musically they sound pretty decent knocking out fizzing indie garage rock, not as hard as The Good Time Charlies or as polished as Star Collector, but somewhere inbetween...perhaps if The Charlies were female and had added some Shangri-Las into the mix. It would be easy to say they've arrived on the scene on the back of bands like Baby Shambles but they are better than that and while I can think of a good number of bands playing decent rock n roll that are far better in the tune department and probably won't get the exposure that The Mescalitas are going to get eventually, I hold out hope that they will turn into a pretty decent band. At the moment I'm in two minds, I love the tunes on the website and parts of the gig I loved but you get the feeling that all that rock n roll nonsense that overshadows certain bands could happen here which would be a shame as the seeds are there and it depends which way they turn. I feel I need to see them again which is a good sign, there certainly is a good amount of energy flowing around the band and most people seemed impressed by the performance and I'll be keeping an eye on them to se how the sounds develop in the future and let's face it, you can't beat a bit of sexy high-heeled rock n roll as Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction proclaimed once upon a time in 'High Heel Heaven'!

Halls Of Hecate - Frog On The Front, Portsmouth. 06/06/06.

2006-06-14T15:55:00.000+01:00

A satanic seaside special to celebrate the 06/06/06, hosted by those nice dark souls over at Night Of Pan who for a while ran some fetish club nights here in Pompey before upping sticks for London. For this special night they are back with a gig/disco type thing that brings a few old faces out to play, though the fetish element is sadly lacking tonight!

There are three bands to enjoy tonight, the first being $10 Hookers who look like cheap little sluts and rough as hell, but in fairness, it is Dev and Matt from tonight's headliners Little London with friend Brian on bass, dressed in drag for a short and sweet set of raw rock n roll cover versions. They look and sound under rehearsed and no doubt they probably are as they probably got pissed instead. At times it descends into laughter, cheap sexual jokes and just plain old chaos. But it is fun and Matt sat up the back there with his bunches, bashing away on his drums looks surprisingly attractive dressed as a lady which can't be said of Dev whose nipples keep falling out and the deadpan Brian who is a comic genius. They try to end with a version of the Divinyls' 'I Touch Myself' though they fail to reach a climax as it all falls apart in spectacular fashion. Instead we are left with Brian treating us to a bass solo version of 'The Theme From M.A.S.H.', short and sweet, messy and chaotic just like sex with a $10 hooker.

Kolkarma have travelled down from London to make their live debut and take to the stage with youthful energy and a sack full of guitar solos and metal riffs. Their Myspace page lists bands such as SOAD, Tool, Opeth and Deftones as an influence and that's pretty much the kind of area they are working in; classic metal that is hard hitting, forever changing direction and certainly not afraid to stick in a number of screaming guitar solos. The material they play is solid and energetic but lacking in personality at the moment as is their stage manner, but they are decent musicians and I am confident that they will mould new tunes that start to sound like Kolkarma rather than a number of other bands ploughing a similar furrow.

With a weekend stint at the Isle Of Wight festival looming, tonight is an opportunity for Little London to cut loose and enjoy themselves. Veterans of NOP events, they look at home on the stage, unfazed by the rather gothic crowd; in true LL style they grab us by the balls, squeeze hard and make us all a little moist with their potent rock n roll. You should all know the score by now as I've reviewed them often enough...low slung, dirty, balls out rock n roll. Nice and easy, no fuss, straight in there, do the job and get back to the Jack Daniels. In terms of LL gigs it's a little messy, I've seen them hit harder, I've heard them clearer and I've seen Dev less drunk (& more drunk!) but they never fail to impress. As individuals they are top notch performers, Tom slapping away on his bass while Matt delivers perfect shots on the drums. Fuller, who cannot ever die apparently, whips out crunching riffs while frontman Dev just looks pretty for the ladies and does legs apart rock star poses while wearing cowboy hats and singing about JD, coke and Love Reactions. Great band to end the night on and looks like others have realised too as they destroyed the IOW festival and those nice Nokia people have asked them to play at the Reading Festival...result. Check them out if you are round that way come August.

With DJs Hell & Khem rounding off the night with lovely dark and heavy sounds we are treated to one last performance that is more in line with NOP events; a semi-clad lady covered in paint jumps up on the bar, climbs across tables cuts her clothes off with a knife and proceeds to dance around with not much on and engages in a bit of girl on girl action while being whipped and spanked. It's what we expect from a NOP event and is treated as normal behaviour as we watch, laugh and hope we don't get attacked with the sharp looking knife. A fine end to the evening & a pleasure to have the Night Of Pan people back in Portsmouth for a night of dark delights.

Trash Money + Buswell + Lee Cooper & The Outsiders - Messclean @ The Frog On The Front, Portsmouth. 02/06/06.

2006-06-13T13:26:00.000+01:00

Another sauna at Messclean as the heat draws in and the sun belts down; just the three bands to entertain us tonight and all is not well in the sound department as some big rumbling sound randomly attacks Lee Cooper & The Outsiders that gradually frustrates the band more and more, but fair play to them, they battle through but they strike me as the type of band that really need a big perfect sound to capture their true essence. Musically they stray between country twang and dark Nick Cave inspired folk rock and it's a shame that the violin can't be heard more tonight along with the female backing vocals as they would really add something to the mix. I suppose we are talking good old fashioned singer/songwriter material here except backed by a full band, so lyrically the songs have depth and are backed up by well crafted, melodic tunes. They will probably put it down as one to forget, but the quality still shone through.

Swindon based Buswell are an absolute delight, a melodic surprise that deal in epic hooks with sweeps of fiddle and keyboards playing upon the acoustic driven riffs of the frontman who possesses one of those strong but sensitive voices. Buswell have that ability to take big pop sounding melodies but turn them into something with more depth and they really have no interest in jumping on the latest bandwagon or being the hippest band out there; more a case of letting the quality shine through, the keyboards twinkle and the fiddle weave a cheery path through an acoustic sunset that basks in warmth and lush melodies. When done wrong this type of material is dull as ditchwater but when put in the hands of such an infectiously happy and friendly band it comes alive and their energy and joy in the music is clear to anyone in the venue. I admit, when I saw them take to the stage I wasn't expecting to really enjoy it but result to Buswell, they scooped me up with their fine songs and won me over. I look forward to the next time they hit Portsmouth, don't leave it too long chaps.

And on to Trash Money who are nothing like the two previous bands and decide to set us on fire with good old glam trash rock n roll. Fucking brilliant is all I should need to say, the guitars splay into a thousand little stars with every riff, the drums are trashy just as they should be for a band with the word Trash in their name and is that a feint with of an electro undercurrent coming from somewhere? I believe so and it's giving a nice pumping feeling to the tunes and we'd better not forget the vocalists...now down below this review somewhere is one I did for The Beautiful South where I said those two chaps who sing for them are the oddest couple I've seen, but Trash Money have beaten it! Splashing across the front of the stage is one skinny hyperactive Hanoi Rocks t-shirt wearing punk ball of energy that spits forth as if possessed by the very spirit of punk while behind him roams a much larger chap clad in ill fitting jacket and jeans who looks like he's wandered out of a student union and into the wrong pub; he spends the gig prowling the back of the stage adding the odd vocal and every now and then moves to the front to do some split throat roaring before placing his hand back into his jacket pocket and heading back to the back of the stage. It's really quite unnerving and it really shouldn't work but it's a fantastic racket as you would expect from someone who labels themselves Trash Money. Tonight they became one of my new favourite bands, filthy rock n roll the way it should be, not packaged in any way, just pure undiluted trash and it feels good.
If only I had realised at the time,that the guitarist Molly, whom I was having a very pleasant drunken natter with after the gig was the same Molly who had fronted a fine band called LK a few years back (search out the album Graceless on Island Records, quite brilliant) I would have wet myself, it just didn't click until reading the names on the website! So Molly, an honour to have spoken to you and Trash Money I salute your raw, filthy rock n roll, as I said at the start of the review, fucking brilliant and I look forward to next time.

The Beautiful South + Aberfeldy - Guildhall Portsmouth. 28/05/06.

2006-06-06T15:59:00.000+01:00

Another day of doing local crew work and sometimes you kind of think you are not that bothered about seeing a particular band and The Beautiful South fall into that category. I'll admit I've tapped my foot to the odd tune on the TV or radio but beyond that it's not really my kind of thing, so I was planning to come back quite late and just catch the last few numbers before getting back to the job of clearing all the gear away when I noticed the stage running times pinned up and saw the name Aberfeldy as support band. A-ha, I thought to myself, I recognise that name from an EP I reviewed for VP quite a while back, I'll have to come back and check them out. The EP in question was a 4 track 7" put out by Mute/Rough Trade that contained some old Primal Scream/Josef K stuff along with the rather fine track Vegetarian Restaurant by Aberfeldy and I'm sure glad I picked that single up because it would have been a travesty to miss their fine set.

Aberfeldy are a fine looking bunch from Edinburgh made up of the handsome Riley Briggs on vocals/guitars, rock n roll drummer Murray Briggs, Ken McIntosh over on bass, the lovely Sarah McFadyen playing her fiddle/keyboards while doing backing vocals and the equally lovely Ruth Barrie who moves between keyboards either side of the stage and also does angelic backing vocals. They've got the perfect sound for the start of summer, bright melodies, the threeway vocal harmonies...they positively shimmer and sparkle up on the Guildhall stage. Aberfeldy have a big pop heart, with a nod to all things that are jangly, spangly and indie by way of some sexily squelching keyboard action and not forgetting that lovely fiddle that weaves it's way into the mix...must be the time of year for fiddles and violins, I've seen about 4 bands use them in the last couple of weeks; they also allow themselves to hit a heavier groove (I have it on good authority that a couple of these chaps used to cover the mighty Turbonegro in a past life!) but it's always done with one eye on those delightful melodies that drip like honey from the flowering buds of Aberfeldy. They must have some honey jars stored back home that they keep all their melodies in and when they arrive back they just dip their hands in and pull out another. It was well worth coming back early to catch them and despite the fact that I'd only heard Vegetarian Restaurant before tonight they made me feel right at home and each song had something to grab onto that drew you in and bounced you along on the crest of a wave with them; they seemed to go down well with the BS crowd who appreciated the fine tunes and I would heartily recommend them to anyone with a love of real indie music, lush melodies and fine lyrics.

So, because of Aberfeldy I'm now here to watch The Beautiful South and while much of it isn't the kind of stuff I'd rush out to buy, one can't help but enjoy the bouncey tunes and fine wordplay of Paul Heaton. In fact, you couldn't get anything that looked more out of place than the twin vocalists of Heaton and Dave Hemingway who, in all honesty, looks like he'd rather be anywhere else than on stage, hidden as he is behind a cap and shades with minimal audience contact. Heaton, meanwhile is born for the stage, camping it up with dance moves and interacting with the audience. Of course, we must not forget Alison Wheeler who provides all the upfront female vocals in great style and a fine band including a full brass ensemble who really add to the sound. Although out to promote a new album there is no shortage of well known hits in the set list and it's hard not to enjoy the likes of Song For Whoever, Old Red Eyes, A little Time, One Last Lovesong, Perfect Ten & Keep It All In; most of the set is crowd pleasing and there's plenty of dancing and singing along going on and the newer material sits well in amongst the standards. One can't get away from the lyrical side of the band though, without Heaton's acerbic wit and life observations the band wouldn't be half as interesting; but tonight I've seen the band in a new light and while I wouldn't say I'm a fan I certainly appreciate them more than I did previously and I was happy that they played Perfect Ten, the only song they've done that I've really loved!

Morrissey + Kristeen Young - Guildhall, Portsmouth. 19/05/06.

2006-06-06T12:59:00.000+01:00

Kristeen Young is one of those performers that leave you standing there with your mouth open wondering what the hell is going on as she hits her keyboards and warbles away in a semi-operatic manner. Once you get past the seemingly random tunes you begin to notice snatches of classical music fusing with electro and pop creating a strange hybrid that is held together by a live drummer; one begins to think of The Kills but on bad drugs and being dragged through a cat filled hedge backwards. It's quite spectacular and I'm sure that many here, myself included, expected something different from a Morrissey support, so it's refreshing that we should be treated to something out of the ordinary that gets us thinking.

Morrissey, hero to some, annoying twat to others and so it's quite interesting to be working this gig as local crew. He obviously holds some power as the restaurant in the Guildhall is closed for the day so that meat is not cooked and we are warned not to bring any meat products in with us while working and then having to arrange the gear around an array of burning incense sticks and rumours spread like wildfire. But anyway, makes for an interesting working day and watching the audience arrive is quite interesting also, an odd mixture of Smiths throwbacks who still think they are in the 80s, student types plus many more sub-groups. The one thing they all have in common is that they worship Morrissey, the man is met like a God when he appears on stage and it is in stark contrast with the Richard Ashcroft gig the other day in that nearly everyone hangs off every word spoken or sung, and that he does indeed ooze charisma whether you like him or not. As for the music, it's heavier than The Smiths, less jangly and more intense; a couple of Smiths tunes are included, Girlfriend In A Coma, Still Ill and my personal favourite How Soon Is Now? which rounds the set off in spectacular style. Mixed in with this are tunes from the new album and some old favourites that are all welcomed by the crowd; for those of us not Morrissey fans it can sound a tad depressing and to be honest I'd rather dig out some old The Smiths vinyl and listen to that as his solo material doesn't really do it for me but having said that there is no doubt that Morrissey is adored, it's been a long time since I've seen fans at the front clambering to touch hands with their hero and more often than not he obliges. Tonight is a complete success for him and the hardcore fan base appeared to love it; I enjoyed parts of the set and am pleased to have seen a performer with character and charisma that so many are lacking these days, it's just that I won't be rushing out to add to my cd collection with any of his solo stuff...I'll stick with my old jangly vinyl.

Little London + Dragon Eye Morrison + Hellcyon - The Thursday Thing @ The Registry, Portsmouth. 18/05/06.

2006-06-06T12:08:00.000+01:00

With a Friday night away from my usual Messclean jaunt looming due to work and my good lady having a load of her friends round for a 'musical' night (yep, they all watch a musical and sing a long!), tonight's fine line-up offered me a chance to get my weekly dose of 'local' bands and what a line-up it is too!

Hellcyon are clinging to a thread between being comical and awesome and it says something about the band that they bring a stupid grin to your face for most of the set yet leave you with the feeling you've just seen a first class band with amazing songs and you don't think they are a joke. Hellcyon combine huge slabs of 70s classic rock with the crunch funk of early Chili Peppers and time changes galore just to keep you and the band on their toes, in front of us we have a camp looking cowboy, a 70s rock band casualty, some strange effort at what could be a cave man and then you have frontman Pedro, a pint size Anthony Kiedis stripped to the waist and wearing a large tartan skirt that looks like it could have belonged to an OAP just hours ago. The small stage area can barely contain the band as they throw rock star poses and Pedro prowls back and forth like a caged animal while they let slip big chunks of rock music that delight and please the amassed throng of long haired reprobates that stand just an inch away from the band. A real triumph for Hellcyon tonight and an example of fine showmanship.

With a stand-in drummer (well done Mark Denney!) Dragon Eye Morrison could be forgiven for taking their foot off the gas tonight and playing it safe. But safe doesn't suit DEM, so it's straight in with their full on sensory attack and you really wouldn't notice that the drummer has had hardly any time to learn the material. DEM are brutal, an acquired taste some might say, but their is beauty lurking within the twisted carnage they create; it may be a twisted metal, face stripping acidic beauty, but it's there under Adams throat ripping excesses and the sharp guitars that stab you in the ears and the manic drums that strive to keep up through the tumbling remains of the songs. DEM are an exercise in restrained punishment, pushing you to the edge but never losing control and it's always a spectacular sight to see them in full on laying waste mode and tonight they do it supremely well and end by ripping Helter Skelter to bits and leaving the remains screaming in our ears.

Which leaves us with those damn sexy rock n rollers Little London who are back amongst us after a few months away and a few personal problems that nearly saw the end of the band, but luckily for us they saw the light through the bottom of a bottle of Jack Daniels and have surfaced for air and I for one am glad they did because I love this band, pure and simple. If there was one band I could watch week after week it would be this lot with their excellent tunes. It's been said before that LL take slices of The Wildhearts, QOTSA, Turbonegro, Therapy? and all those other bands that just play it straight down the line and have created themselves quite a rock n roll beast. No need for bullshit, just plug in, turn it up and let it rip with tune after tune of catchy as fuck dirt rock with a hint of metallic power and melodies that whip the ass of Ginger and shove a finger up his nose. Quite excellent though it wasn't loud enough tonight, but a minor gripe as the tracks old & new sounded as good as ever, so someone out there, take a chance on them, stick them on tour and let them drink & fuck themselves silly, you won't regret it. Guaranteed to go down a storm with rock crowds and ladies!

The night is rounded off in true style with a free meat raffle and it's probably just as well I didn't win a lump of beef as I'm not sure what Mrs.Grebo the vegetarian would have made of that when I staggered through the door!

Richard Ashcroft - Guildhall, Portsmouth. 17/05/06.

2006-06-06T11:36:00.000+01:00

I have to admit that I rarely attend gigs in large venues as I find them so souless and if it wasn't for the fact that I was working on the local crew again then I wouldn't be here, but it offers me a chance to pass comment on the odd big band so it would be churlish to pass up the opportunity.
Alas, I arrive back at the Guildhall later than planned and so only catch the last song and a half of support act Tiny Dancers who actually sound like they might be quite entertaining. I enjoyed their last song very much but you'll have to judge them for yourselves over on their MySpace page as I really didn't see enough to comment on.

On to the man himself, Richard Ashcroft who opens with Sonnet followed by recent single Music Is Power and to be honest I'm rather disappointed. Not sure what I was expecting, but the way he has been built up to be some great songwriter had me wanting a show with a spark to it and a singer oozing charisma, but I'm faced with a rather dull, mid paced 'Dad rock' set that just plods along until the fifth song kicks in. Drugs Don't Work is the first song of the night that really engages the audience, half of whom so far have been far more interested in holding conversations than actually watching the gig and then it drifts back into ordinary mode with Science Of Silence and Sweet Brother Malcolm before New York sees a spark of energy and life creep into the set, a much needed boost to keep us awake. Lucky Man closes the set and of course, everyone knows this one so the place erupts and sings along and you kind of realise at this point that when he hits the spot, he really hits the spot with good tunes, it's just unfortunate that 80% of the material is so pedestrian that it just floats by unnoticed.
Richard appears for the encore and treats us to a solo with Check The Meaning , just him and a drum machine before the band rejoin him to round off with Space & Time, Lonely Soul, BTN With Colour and the tune we've all been waiting for, Bitter Sweet Symphony which does sound wonderful in fairness but you do wonder just how many people were here just to hear those couple of Verve tunes.

Can't say I'll be rushing out to get any of his material, other than a couple of obvious highlights tonight, I found the whole set rather average and safe, the kind of stuff you will hear on Radio 2 during the day. I'm positive that a fair few will disagree, but having watched the audience as much as the man himself, it's clear that a large percentage had little interest other than hearing those big hits and with fairly little interaction with the crowd it all came over as rather dull.

The Visitors + Torpedos + Momentum + Nik Karlberg - Messclean @ The Frog On The Front, Portsmouth. 12/05/06.

2006-05-16T12:45:00.000+01:00

Back to business this week after Messclean was taken over for an evening last Friday by Total Carnage Promotions, who put on a some cracking metal bands that I had to miss due to the fact I was crewing over in Southampton for fecking Craig David...life can be a bitch sometimes! In the meantime Messclean went 'garden' for the evening and you can read all the gory details of cover versions, hospital trips, drugs, sex & rock n roll over at Messclean in their blog.

But anyway, on to my never ending mission of reviewing as many of the local bands as possible that pass through The Frog on a Friday evening and tonight the deep and thoughtful Nik Karlberg wins us over with a trio of delicate but robust acoustic numbers. The man has a tremendous voice, think along the lines of John Martyn, Ben Harper etc and you get the area he is working in. Nik has that air of being slightly distant and floaty, one almost expects incense to come wafting from the stage, not that he is the hippy dippy type, just that there seems to be a lot more to him that is immediately apparent. Although the set is short one can't help but be won over by the beauty of Blue Skies and the epic closer Speechless with it's drawn out ending and intricate patterns. An ever shifting artist that draws on wide influences and always interesting to listen to, a pleasing start to the evening.

Momentum are a shiny and sharp young band that appear to have a bit of parental support when it comes to equipment as they leave the stage bare when they complete their set and dismantle the equipment but anyway, as I said, Momentum are sharp, shiny young things pushing a neat line in safe indie electro pop. They certainly have the image sorted but lack that bit of stage flare at the moment that makes them slightly boring to watch but once they gain some experience then I fully expect them to be reducing venues full of teenage girls to tears with their boyish good looks and big pop choruses. In truth I think they surprise everyone tonight with just how good and polished they are and while it may be the wrong audience there is no doubt that they left a mark on everyone tonight with their chiming guitars and electro backbone. Not really my type of thing but I reckon if they were to play with the right sort of band that has young alternative fans then they would have a few labels sniffing around them in no time at all and the fact that the last thing I wrote down in my notebook before they finished was 'Impressed' says it all really.

Once Momentum and their parents/girlfriends had removed all their nice looking equipment the stage looked rather bare for Torpedos but do they give a flying fuck, course not. Torpedos are rock n roll, clad in their usual black attire they simply plug in and deliver another blinding set of eighties goth injected with a bit of balls. It's hard to add anything to my previous couple of reviews of this band as they are never going to change, if you don't like goth tinged rock music then you will hate them but if you are partial to a bit of darkness then step on up; stick them on somewhere like the Whitby Goth weekend and they would go down a storm not that they are strictly Goth but those with a taste for something with a harder edge would lap it up. Me, I love them with their retro guitar sound and Cure like bass that create some fine choruses just ripe for some of that Goth hands in the air dancing!

The Visitors are here to welcome the summer with their cheery acoustic flecked rock that brings to mind Counting Crows and the Chili Peppers and while it's all a bit nice and cheery for me there is no doubt that they are highly infectious and one can't help but enjoy chunks of their set. They specialise in that middle of the road lite rock with a funk edge, the kind of stuff that is annoyingly catchy and is played on the radio all over the summer and even though you don't want to like it you end up stuck with the tunes in your head. But it's well played and the majority of people in tonight are really enjoying the light melodies and easy going feeling they produce and an encore is demanded for which they roll out an Eminem tune that sees a large amount of people start shifting on their feet to make the most of the parting shot.

Nik Karlberg takes to the stage once again to round off the evening with a couple of chilled tunes and looks thoroughly surprised when Ross from The Visitors appears alongside him plugging in his guitar and a beat starts up behind courtesy of Matt from Little London who has popped in for a visit and an impromptu jam is started that runs and runs much to everyone's delight. It's the kind of unexpected treat that makes nights like these so special as a few people had left thinking it was the end but here we are listening to a group of people who are just running on adrenalin and skill and really enjoying what they are doing and for a non-musician such as myself it's fascinating watching them weave away, working off and with each other. Eventually Matt gives way to The Visitors drummer Dan (if I'm not mistaken...things started to get a bit hazy) who continues a fine groove and before long we see the arrival of a certain Kurt Kooder on stage to provide some extra vocals and a glorious sight it was too. A fine way to end the evening and glad I took a few snaps at the end to capture all these chaps on stage at the same time as it's unlikely it will be repeated. Those that left thinking it was all over missed a real treat here and that's always my excuse for staying until the bitter end, who said anything about squeezing in an extra pint of cider before staggering home?

The Waysters + Bullet + The Elements + Mach Schau + Sons Of Caine - Messclean, Portsmouth. 28/04/06.

2006-05-02T13:14:00.000+01:00

Another busy Friday night and more sauna like conditions underneath the Pyramid leisure Centre on good old Pompey sea front and a five band bill that will surely have us sweating off pounds of flesh by the end of the evening. Sons Of Caine are first up but don't let the bottom of the bill slot fool you, oh no...this filth bastard groove machine are anything but opening act material and while the crowd may be slightly stand offish at this early hour, the quality of the band shines out like the second coming. The Sons take a big helping of good classic rock, weld it to some huge stoner rock wheels, stick some cool grooves on the stereo and let it rip; low slung guitars grinding away as melodies slip and slide over the highway and an impressive frontman rips his vocal chords out.
You won't find many better opening acts, those with taste have heads going and feet are loosening up to the sexy as fuck sounds; of course that's sexy as fuck for those that like it rough and ready, who don't mind leaving behind a sprawling mess of bodily fluids. On the live showing they wouldn't be out of place doing some Desert Sessions under a baking sun with the beer flowing and a hazy cloud of sweet smelling smoke hanging in the air, aggression and groove riding bareback together. If you like it hard but groove laden then you need to check this lot out, if you haven't guessed I quite like them and next time I expect the Messclean team to have them headlining as tonight's set is a real killer.

So, how do you follow up an exceptional opener? You stick some indie punk urchins on from Southampton going by the name of Mach Schau and watch them tear the place apart with their hyperactive spiky punk indie mix that sees the vocalist hanging from the ceiling and stalking the wide eyed audience. It's angular, tantrum inducing and has that brattish edge that sets them apart from the ordinary; a truck load of sulky attitude and a seemingly overwhelming urge to keep twitching and twisting making it near on impossible to get a photo in focus of them. Mach Schau are a fantastic band to watch, one of those acts where you are not sure what is going to happen next or if it will all explode into scenes of complete chaos as they steer close to the edge a couple of times.
Musically they have a very current sound, being both capable of throwing out decent tunes whilst keeping the effect raw and positively buzzing with wired energy, an exciting mix of punk attitude and full on indie sounds. Tonight Mach Schau are the sound of the youth having a riot, the bored teenagers on street corners drinking and throwing up on your doorstep before having sex in the local park and really not giving a flying fuck about what anyone thinks; great fun and ones to keep an eye out for.

The Elements are by far the best supported band of the night bringing just about everything with them bar the kitchen sink, but at this point I lose interest rapidly. I could say that they write well crafted tunes and play them to a high standard and that the crowd lap them up, even with the rather irritating Rossco (sorry mate!) stood on top of a monitor conducting the throng and singing every word as if they are the best band in the world not distracting attention away from a confident band, I think most of the crowd would agree with those sentiments. But, they are dull. No getting away from it, this is aband who on their MySpace page say they sound like Ocean Colour Scene, Paul Weller and U2 and frankly that is what you get; a rehash of all those bands and throw in some of that Oasis/Coldplay big brand indie and you have The Elements. Now, to be fair, this is of course my own opinion and there are plenty of people out there who like that middle of the road, safe indie rock that your mum would like but after the raw energy of the first two bands this set just sounds so unchallenging. Sure, it is well played and I'm not knocking the musicianship and I could easily see them doing well in the mainstream but for me they offer nothing new to an old formula and their brand of music just doesn't do it for me but a vast amount of the crowd in tonight did enjoy it so if that OCS type thing floats your boat then check them out, you are sure to love them but if you want danger and excitement then best leave well alone.

Luckily for me, Londoners Bullet are on next and despite some hype around them and a link to the shoddy Towers Of London that they really don't need, they turn out to be a quite excellent rock n roll band. Some bands just have that look of impending fame about them and earlier in the day on my way back from collecting some wages I saw a little red van drive towards me and hunched in the front were some hairy chaps and a pair of large white sunglasses staring at me...now that, I thought to myself, is one hell of a rock band! And here I am several hours later and those same chaps have just walked on stage and there is the bass player in the white sunglasses and yes, they are one hell of a rock band.
They look good and sound even better, belting out some serious attitude laden rock n roll dripping with molten riffs and a thumping rhythm section not to mention a front man that will soon have rows upon rows of girls screaming at him. There is something about rock n roll that never goes out of fashion and when it is done as well as this you just know that people will sit up and take notice and surely it won't be long before the name Bullet will be on everyone's lips. Perfect music for downing a beer too, shaking loose that hair and just getting down and having fun. It's how all good rock music should sound but it's surprising how many bands can make it sound dull and boring, but Bullet tonight inject their sounds with rocket fuel and we get a full on attack from a band that really should be playing bigger venues.

Rounding the night off are youngsters The Waysters who inbetween studying for exams are honing their indie sound down and are starting to create their own identity. Though they are still relatively fresh to the live scene they have the look of a band that have been on the circuit for longer and tonight they play a decent set of quality indie material and once again names like Arctic Monkeys spring to mind as an obvious influence.
Having seen them on a few occasions now I'm still impressed that they are so talented at such a young age and have emerged with such fully matured songs; one hopes that they are given time to develop at their own speed and are not caught up in the rock n roll lifestyle and myth making. Once exams are out of the way it would be good to see them spread their wings a bit, experience life and do some gigs outside of the local area so they don't crash and burn on a scene of playing to the same people. With all that in mind I firmly believe they could deliver some astounding tunes as they have some real gems at the moment that are instant classics and if they can produce material that is all of that standard then people will have a hard job to ignore them. Tonight's set is good but when you compare them to Bullet then it is obvious they still have a way to go, I've no doubt they will get there and when they do it will be something quite special.

Deville + A&E Line + Cool Banana + Aaron Norton - Messclean @ The Frog On The Front, Portsmouth. 21/04/06.

2006-04-25T13:03:00.000+01:00

One of those nights where illness has forced changes upon the line-up so it is down to Aaron Norton to ease us into the evening with his rather finely crafted tunes. Aaron is what you would term a singer/songwriter type, not quite sure what that means at the end of the day, but you probably know exactly what I mean and if you picture a young man sat on a stool with an acoustic guitar for company then you are on the right track. A string of mellow tunes are unveiled to us, warm and lush sounding and he has a fine, fine voice that can transform from soft velvety tones to powerful higher levels; he slips in a couple of cover versions for good measure and due to the fact that he has no set list and appears, like me, to find it difficult to make decisions, so has to resort to asking his good lady for suggestions on what to play next which is quite charming and amusing. The covers are "Basket Case" by Green Day and "Stigmatised" by The Calling just to show he has a rocky edge and while they are gentle distractions done with a smile, his own tunes are the real stars of his set.

Up next are some elder statesmen going by the name of Cool Banana, a loose collective of souls who have decided to pay homage to the Velvet Underground. But, as they are so keen to point out, they are not a tribute band; Cool banana have taken VU as their inspiration and do include a few of their songs but these are interspersed with original material that develops the rock template and attempts to take it to new places. The live performance is part of a much wider project that aims to take in a book, film, recordings, computer game plus whatever else springs up on the journey; the gig tonight sees the project in it's early stages and one can imagine that hen it hits its peak it will be quite a multi-media extravaganza.
But tonight we concentrate on the live set-up, five gentleman, a few of whom are probably old enough to know better, so we can rule out 'scenesters' and bandwagon jumping, all well established musicians doing this for the love of it. What does it sound like? Well, those here expecting a Velvet Underground tribute would probably have left disappointed, the covers were good but they shift the tunes into new directions. It kind of feels like VU go new age with the didgeridoo vibrating away underneath everything and the loose percussion straight out of a late night jamming session, imagine a VU born out of a post rave come down rather than dark shades and heroin. It goes down remarkably well tonight and the original tunes are equally as strong as the covers if not better as you can distance yourself from the inspiration and add into the mix the guest musicians they bring along to different gigs and you have the pleasure of not quite knowing what it will sound like. An interesting and likeable project that will be worth keeping tabs on to see how it progresses.

Keeping up the eclectic nature of the line-up tonight are the A&E Line, a seismic duo straight out of geeksville and merging the boundaries between drum machine driven off kilter indie rock and art performance. One of them strangles the life out of his guitar while the other appears as a character that works in a diner complete with paper hat and dodgy glasses, it's hard to make out where character ends and vocalist begins but one can't help but be engrossed by their performance and ever so catchy tunes.

It's eccentric and is not going to be to everyone's taste, but I find them quite fantastic as the drum machine clatters away and they babble away to an audience that treats them like the nutter on a bus where you want to look but you know you shouldn't stare but you can't help it, you smile and nod your head when they talk to you and then you escape as quickly as possible. Someone mentioned Sparks in my ear before they left and I suppose they do have that kind of dramatic edge with quirky time changes bolted on to catchy tunes, you could add in a hint of Cardiacs type madness and perhaps some They Might Be Giants kookyness but at the end of the day they just sound like A&E Line doing their own thing in their own little creative bubble; you are either going to love or hate them, if you want straight down the line middle of the road indie rock then walk on by on the other side but if you want that little touch of something that lurks outside the norm then step right up, they don't bite, well, not yet anyway and look out for a forthcoming release on the quite good Hackpen Records label.

Last minute additions to the bill are the infamous Deville, their reputations go before them like colossal shadows but tonight some of the usual Pompey attitude has been left outside and they launch into a rowdy and sometimes chaotic set that is vibrating and buzzing with energy. This gig is a chance to break in their new bass player and it has to be said that he looks the part and seems to take to the job in hand very well and while the other three members may dominate in character, particularly vocalist Ash, I'm sure he will stamp his own personality on the band in time.

There have been times where I have knocked Deville, sometimes I love them, sometimes I hate them and one can't deny that they wear their influences on their sleeves or in the case of Ash, on his skin! Think Libertines, Razorlight type indie mixed up with punk aggression and some 60s influence by way of Oasis (when they were young and urgent) and you kind of see where they are coming from, but tonight with some of the attitude left outside, we see a more relaxed yet still hyped up Deville that storm through a set of fast paced indie rockers with massive anthems for choruses, it's a chance to concentrate on the tunes rather than attention seeking antics of band and fans and it's a real treat to watch them tonight. This energy drenched set sees them sparkling and kind of has a feel of a rehearsal rather than a full on performance and it is far more rewarding for those of us lucky enough to catch this low key show. So tonight I love Deville and their chaotic bluster, the gaffa tape round the jeans, the stripped to the waist bravado and the dropping of trousers; on their day they can take on anyone with their fist in the air, testosterone filled guitar attacks...I wish they'd leave the baggage at the door more often!

Five Bands For A Fiver - Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth. 16/04/06.

2006-04-22T10:37:00.000+01:00

So, spring is in the air and it’s a toss up between watching the Kids throw up after their 5 Easter Egg in a row or an evening of top notch Rock n Roll at the Wedge. So, Five Bands For A Fiver it is then...1st up are The Maxis, together for only 3 weeks but oozing slick Garage Rock Cool that comes with experience, they know their stuff these boys.

Next up was Southern Bell, another band playing their debut gig. They certainly brought the crowd with them, there's a definite Kings Of Leon vibe about them, Whiskers included too. Their songs show a lot of promise but would probably benefit from a second guitarist to bolster their live sound.

3rd up to the Plate were The Spinouts, these guys (and Lady) have definitely got it! For starters they look like a Band, loads of confidence on stage, great songs and really tight rhythm section, if all was right in the world, they would be going places but then Chico got to number one, its a cruel world out there!!

Just before the headliners, Thee Outlaws played a cocky set of rock n roll, mixed it with the crowd a bit but just about got away with it.

The Autumn Stone then closed a great Easter Sunday Night of Rock N Roll with a crowd pleasing set of Who, Jam and Small Faces favourites, they have a great authentic sounding lead singer who obviously grew up living and loving this stuff and as the 1st band I saw a the tender age of 14 was The Jam at the Guildhall in 1979, I loved it too...Roll on The 5 Bands For a Fiver summer extravaganza, Beach Part anyone????
Review by Nish

Fear Factory + Breed77 + Misery Index - Pyramids, Portsmouth.16.04.06.

2006-04-20T14:16:00.000+01:00

Another gig I would have probably missed if I had not been working it, having seen Fear Factory once before and finding them slightly on the boring side, as was today with around four hours of sitting around waiting for small jobs to do while the bands sound checked. You get to that point where you just want to bang your head against the wall, thank god I don't have to do it every day...no wonder they turn to girls, drink and drugs!

Americans Misery Index are up first and a half hour set of crushing grind core that brings to mind Napalm Death but with slightly longer songs delivered with a vicious vocal attack. No time here for nice melodies, delicately woven guitar lines, oh no, just pure adrenalin driven angry and angular metal that induces headbanging on and off stage. Perhaps a little extreme for half the people in tonight but probably my favourite for their sheer bloody mindedness in not letting up the pace; the kind of band I would love to see in a small venue, The Frog downstairs would have been ideal, as the band whipped up a whirlwind of noise and chaos and fans would have been hanging from the ceiling pipes and wrecking the joint rather than standing nicely beyond the sterile security barrier.

Breed77 have been lurking around the metal scene for a number of years since they released an EP on ORG Records back in 1999 (and very fine it was too) and have recently refined their sound and headed towards the lower reaches of the charts, this is reflected in their well crafted set tonight. They play well but are probably the least exciting band tonight and come across as professional rather than passionate and put me in mind of those bands that have crossed into the mainstream such as Lost Prophets; that's not to say that there are not decent tunes in there, it's just you get the feeling that these sort of big support slots are just a job and a stepping stone and come across as slighlty sterile. Having sat in on the soundcheck it is obvious these guys can really play but all those nice little interesting touches are lost in the big scheme of things tonight; they've always combined a hint of melody with their metal but at the moment the tunes sound like they have one eye on the charts which is a real shame.

Fear Factory are here to plug their 2005 album Transgression and have a run through some of their extensive back catalogue. From opener 540,000'f it's a full on cyber metal attack of the highest order and tonight I'm finding it much more to my taste; whereas last time they looked like they were going through the motions, tonight they looked hungry and sounded impressive as they worked through a set list including Demanufacture, Edgecrusher, Descent, Pisschrist, Linchpin, Cyberwaste and Replica as fan after fan surfed over the barrier. In all they work through a 19 song set complete with an ill drummer while the packed crowd love every note and demonstate that Fear Factory in 2006 are still a force to be reckoned with and if the gaggle of girls hand picked from the audience that are lurking side stage are anything to go by they are still very much living the rock n roll dream!

Carmen Rosa + Earl + Kurt Cooder + Kite Season + Rossco - Messclean, Portsmouth. 14/04/06.

2006-04-20T13:26:00.000+01:00

Those Messclean chaps are busy putting their fingers in many pies and on many sausages and one such project is a short tour of the south for the three main bands performing tonight and this very night kicks the tour off on their home ground to a receptive audience that are left drowned in a sea of varying sets and sweat.

First and third on, are the yin and yang of acoustic artists Rossco and that man again Kurt Cooder. Rossco has the short straw of taking to the stage first while people are still arriving and letting the first couple of beers soak in but from the sounds that drifted over to me it would appear we have a decent singer/songwriter in our midst and a none too shabby voice that compliments the well crafted indie guitar tunes. Kurt tonight ditches the electric guitar in favour of an acoustic set and while it softens the tunes slightly there is no escaping the gritty lyrical tales and observations of life, while Rossco makes you feel like whiskey being sipped down in front of a fire, Kurt makes you feel like you have a rabid dog with teeth sunk into your ankles hanging on for grim death. Both are fine performers in their own way and produce strong sets.

Perched somewhat awkwardly between these two are Kite Season who are still searching for a drummer and produce a semi-acoustic set of quirky indie that just doesn't hit the spot for me tonight. The tunes seem to lack a focus and meander along without direction and my first thought is along the lines of 'if they had a drummer and were fully electric then we may have something good to listen to'. But tonight they just sounded a mess and a few people drifted to the bar unable to fully grasp the sounds; I hope that next time Kite Season will be more rewarding as there are some interesting ideas going on but they just need developing a little more with a full band.

Londoners Earl are the kind of band that I fully expect to see gracing the pages of the national music press within a couple of years, they have a fully developed sound and are fine musicians producing a pleasing take on country/folk indie rock with a nice line in fiddle to round it off. Having said that, on a personal level I find it slightly one paced and far too nice in that Keane/Coldplay kind of way, not that they sound like either band, it's just that if you like those kind of big sounding but safe bands then Earl should be next on your list, get in there before they shift bucket loads of cds so you can say you were there. Portsmouth takes to them very well and the set is well received by a decent sized crowd; if they happen to visit Messclean again I would say check them out while you still can in a small venue before they start getting those bigger support slots.

Rounding off the night are local space cadets Carmen Rosa who have a host of fellow musicians in the crowd to watch them including Jim Shaw of Cranes which is no surprise as two of the band have featured in the live Cranes set-up in the past and they have a similar kind of out there appeal to them. The music of Carmen Rosa drifts in and out of focus, gentle waves of guitar and bass create sonic soundscapes that give way to crashing crescendos of intense energy before floating off into the ether never to return. Fortunately they never move into self indulgent mode and each lull and peak is essential to the moods of the tunes; it's easy to lose oneself in the washes of sound and totally forget where you are which is the beauty of Carmen Rosa, it's music for dreamers and drifters, music to transport away from humdrum life and into other worlds. Now that may sound like the wafflings of an old hippy but one look around during the gig and you can see that others are lost in their own little bit of time and space that Carmen Rosa have created for them, just enjoying the ebb and the flow of a beautiful band. An excellent gig for the start of the Messclean tour and I am confident that the Rosa boys will pick up some new fans along the way.

Less Than Jake + Boys Night Out + Bullets To Broadway - Pyramids, Portsmouth. 13/04/06.

2006-04-20T12:36:00.000+01:00

In all honesty, this is a gig I probably would have not bothered with as that ska-punk thing really isn't my kind of thing but seeing as I am working local crew at it and have the delight of being the stop-on and having to be here all day, along with taking the support bands gear off stage between sets, I thought I may as well pen a few words. First thing to say is that what a nice bunch of people are involved with this tour, all are friendly and it's nice to get a few thank you's while lugging the gear around the venue and a special thanks to the LTJ merch man who made sure I got a T-Shirt at the end of the night, much appreciated!

Fellow Americans Bullets To Broadway are up first who feature 3/4 of Teen Idols who played sold out shows and had made quite a name for themselves before splitting. With a Uk release of their MCD "Drink Positive" out on the well respected Household Name records (which has been selling like hot cakes on the tour apparently, so much so that HHN had to get more printed) the time is right for the UK to take the band to their hearts and after watching them tonight I'm sure they will. Not only do they look good, they sound fantastic; big dirty punk rock riffs that fly along at full pelt dragging big fat melodies screaming behind them. Vocals are a mix of hardcore brutality soothed with seductive male/female melodies that add some extra spice to already potent tunes; add in the experience of being in successful bands before and you have a band that know how to interact with a big crowd and give them what they want and they deliver it with a confidence and cool punk rock swagger. They hit the Uk again in May for some smaller dates, check their website and if they are swinging by your way I heartily recommend them to you if you like your punk rock big and dirty.

Canadians Boys Night Out are another revelation as I was kind of expecting at least one of the support bands to play dodgy ska-punk, but no, we have another top notch punk band with a nod to emo and the alternative side of things. Positively bristling with energy they have trouble containing themselves in the small section of stage they have to perform in, this is a band who obviously love playing live and feed off the crowd energy as their upbeat and clattering tunes cause much damage down the front. BNO take a brave step of adding keyboards into the mix, the female keyboardist working manically in zero space conjuring up what sounds like Duran Duran cast offs ( and I mean that in a good way!) that are spun round by the guitars and morphed into cracking punk rock. I reckon they may just appeal to the emo crowd but they lack those whiney vocals thank god so it has a fuller sound...perhaps emo with a bit of bollocks, or perhaps just damn good rock music to drink beer to. However you want to describe them, I'm kind of glad I ended up working this gig as it's rare to get two such excellent support bands in one night.

A sold out crowd is in to see Less Than Jake who have been around a while but have passed me by until now, other than the odd song on compilations I have including the brilliant 'Gainsville Rock City'. I have to say that I am totally won over by their set tonight, fast paced melodic punk with injections of ska fuelled brass keep the energetic crowd moving all night while the energy levels the band show are amazing and it's a wonder that there are not floods of sweat flowing from the stage. I have no idea what they played, I believe I missed Gainsville Rock City at the start as we were loading out the gear for the supports and as we came back up in the lift I heard the closing few notes which was a bit gutting but as I said, they won me over so it doesn't matter that I don't know any titles as they left me with my foot tapping, head nodding and a grin on my face. Anyone who missed this, missed a cracking gig by a band giving 200% and the sight of some poor hand picked young lady having the chance to sniff 3 lots of sweaty armpits belonging to crowd members, confetti and fake snow being launched from the stage, rock n roll eh, you got to love it and I'm now wearing my T-shirt with pride!

Contra + The Carter Affair + Underdog + Outbreak Season - Messclean @ The Frog On The Front, Portsmouth. 07/04/06.

2006-04-10T22:13:00.000+01:00

If anyone has happened to stop by to see my words of wisdom about the Messclean gig from 31st March featuring The Strange Death Of Liberal England & Dragon Eye Morrison + others...well, there isn't one because I was working 'upstairs' at the In Flames gig so only managed to catch a brief glimpse of the early bands. I can confirm though that it was very busy, one out & one in on the door, very hot and was probably a blinder in terms of music!

But on to the most recent Messclean and not quite so busy, but then I like to be able to get to the bar with ease. First up are Outbreak Season, a trio who are making their live debut tonight; they manage to get a few feet tapping to their funky metal instrumentals that are laced with 60s grooves as if the ghost of Hendrix had filtered onto the stage, at times it feels like a rehearsal jam session as the tunes flow back and forth before a chap from the back shouts "I'll sing for you" and arrives on stage. Set up or random nutter? Who knows, but he does a decent job for a couple of songs doing that mix of singing and barking that metal hardcore types love so much but it injects an extra bit of life into the set. A promising start and it will be interesting to see if the singer travels with them next time.

Underdog are also relative newcomers to the scene and this is their Pompey debut. Underdog are a band who sound like they listen to Motorhead and Sex Pistols back to back and have tried to scrape the grime from under the nails of punk and mix it with a little of whatever keeps Lemmy going. The result is some dirty, chugging rock n roll that leaves a vapour trail of oil behind it; while they may not possess the classic songs of their heroes just yet there is plenty to suggest that they could become a pretty decent band.
In their favour they have one of those frontmen that looks rough as fuck with his shaven head and agitated shuffling around the stage, the kind you don't want to meet down a dark alley but looks good on a stage. Underdog are at their best when they are tearing it up and going full pelt, things go a bit shaky when they try to slow it down as the tunes are not quite epic enough. But for good old dirty rock n roll then Underdog are your boys and with a bit of tweaking, some extra grime and oil added to the mix then we should have a new potent force to reckon with.

It's never a good sign when a band look a bit pissed off before they start and this is exactly how The Carter Affair appear as their keyboard is wiped out before they even start playing but it seems to add fuel to their already explosive mix of angular jabs and swathes of melodic feedback. The Carter Affair are one of those bands that have an infinite number of guitar pedals fixed to lumps of wood in front of them and they are put to good use as they wail angrily while guitars jab and hook from different directions before dipping into a sea of melody and drowning you in a huge wave of feedback. Lurking in the middle of this maelstrom are some fantastic vocals that scream out and grab you before being drenched in noise.
The Carter Affair are a truly fantastic band and it's a shame that a few more Pompey types haven't cottoned on to them as they missed a real treat, anyone with a bent for the stylings of Sonic Youth, The Mars Volta etc would probably have loved the angular shards of noise that this band whip up and with a rather stylish frontman sporting a nice waist coat you know they have that slightly eccentric edge that all genii have. This band go down as one of those you must see live at least once if you like a good sonic attack and I for one hope Messclean have them back soon along with the keyboard so we can see them in full flow though it may just destroy the Pyramids.

Headliners tonight are the equally fantastic Contra who left me gobsmacked a few months back at The Wedgewood Rooms so now was a chance to see if they could cut it in a small venue and they don't disappoint. Contra take a more direct approach with their tunes, massive alt-rock slabs of melody that sparkle and shine before splintering and shattering into dense blankets of noise. The old saying goes that you should never judge a book by it's cover, and it couldn't be more true in the case of Contra, as when they wander on the stage you have no idea of what to expect if you've not encountered them before.
But I think those that hung around long enough were soon won over as the beautiful slabs of power hit them and while the vocalist visually puts me in mind of a mix of Ian Curtis and a young Mark E. Smith, he has a fantastic voice and is mesmerizing to watch without actually doing much. Listening to Contra is like having a room full of black velvet, layered with shattered stars then wrapping yourself up in it and being cut to pieces, beautiful but harsh and a rare treat. For me, Contra were the stars tonight with The Carter Affair close behind smashing away at the trail of stardust and shooting off in all directions. Two exceptional bands to round the evening off and we should consider ourselves lucky to have such talent in abundance.

The Sportiques + Big Squirrel + Spinouts + Eleanor - Messclean @ The Frog On The Front, Portsmouth. 24/03/06.

2006-03-28T12:10:00.000+01:00

Another sweltering night down Messclean and I really wish they would sort out the air conditioning as I'm not sure how long I can put up with swimming around in pools of sweat and believe me there was plenty of it tonight. Bit of a rock n roll/garage theme tonight as The Good Time Charlies were supposed to be headlining but had to pull out due to drummer injuries (what is it with drummers & injuries?!) but they are still represented as Big Squirrel have stepped in and bass thing Nish is lurking on the fringes.

But first of all we have solo act Eleanor to confuse us all. Now, I know the Messclean team love Eleanor and she certainly has a smile that could melt any heart from a hundred metres and when she sings those fizzy punkish pop numbers she has a fantastic voice, but, she lacks a backing band and that's where the problem lies as she looks a little lost on the stage singing along to a backing track. Stick a full band behind her and the bubblegum punk would sparkle to life, then strip away the couple of more mature Sunday morning tunes and replace them with even more of that life affirming fizziness that Eleanor is so good at and we'd be on to a winner. So next time I want to see a band for Eleanor to feed off of!

Spinouts are all about taking garage rock, beefing it up with customised harmonies, giving it fat wheels and sprinkling the whole shebang with glitter. Within one song, Spinouts are drenched in sweat as they rock out with twin guitar action, stabbing riffs giving away to sprawling feedback as a thunderous, yet glamorous bass pummels away at your skull so you can't fail to take notice of them.
Let's not forget the tunes though as there are plenty of them, big, big tunes that are sharp and to the point, stripped away of any flab so we are left with just the cream of rock n roll energy and there is plenty of that emanating from the stage as the temperature rises steadily to almost unbearable highs and the band are in danger of having their heads explode. Yes, Spinouts are a rather fine band and I urge you to go shake your thing to their powerful rock n roll energy if they happen to stop by your way, you won't regret it, I promise you.

So, onto Big Squirrel and our paths cross once more and do you know what? Our paths could cross every day and still I would be happy to watch this duo create mayhem with just a drum kit and guitar. Everytime I see this band I am amazed at what hits me and tonight I'm glad it wasn't a drumstick, as Steve seems to be having a few problems keeping hold of them, for what reason one can only guess as he is reduced at one point to playing the kit with one hand and one stick...genius. But then the whole concept of Big Squirrel is genius, making as much noise as possible with as little as possible while sticking their tongue firmly in their cheek, your cheek and quite possibly between your backside cheeks. I mean, just watch that Tom chap as he slips in some lyric changes to German Sex Tourist to bring in Gary Glitter and a subtle change to English Sex tourist, clever things these squirrels and then there are the tunes; catchy as fuck dirty riffs that melt down Motown with the blues and shape it into some alt-rock/garage hybrid. I doubt if they really care what you call it, but it will leave you itching in the morning.
It's rubbish trying to explain what they are like, I can give a rough idea of the music but what you miss is the humour, the never ending banter that comes with seeing a Big Squirrel, the fine lyrics and the tunes that nail themselves to your forehead in an aggressive manner. Everyone should see them at least once as you won't see a better duo anywhere round here and the comment that everyone seems to come up with is 'how do they make such a fantastic noise with just the two of them, a drum kit and an acoustic guitar'. I still can't work out how they do it, but I'm glad they do. Roll on next time Squirrel types.

The Sportiques have the envious job of following up such a raucous set but they have a couple of extra hands to help them tonight in the form ex- Green Hornets chaps Keith on organ and Nish who ventured on stage for one number to provide backing vocals on a Hornets cover. The Sportiques take a more traditional walk down garage lane, bright sing a long choruses with plenty of guitar action and swirling organ sounds. They are a good time band with a plethora of decent tunes that the die hards enjoy tonight; it all becomes slightly chaotic at times as invited and uninvited guests shamble on and off stage to join in the fun while their mainman looks resigned to the fact that it is just one of those nights and goes with the flow.
They produce a fine set and while they may lack the power and punch of Big Squirrel and Spinouts it is an enjoyable end to a fine evening of good time rock n roll, played just the way it should be.

Dreaming New Animals + The Deads + Cracking Amy + Golden Section - Walkabout, Portsmouth. 22/03/06.

2006-03-28T11:30:00.000+01:00

Tonight is a Battle Of The Bands competition being run by the Walkabout chain of Australian themed bars and Jack Daniels with the ultimate winner getting a trip to America and the chance to record in Sun Studios. Now, I have to admit, I've avoided BOTB type things until now but the chap organising this was given my number and I was invited along to be a judge with the promise of a couple of beers so I thought, why not! There is only one local heat followed by a regional heat, semi final then final at Sheperds Bush Empire so the bands have a good chance of progressing; so, a couple of beers downed and I take up position with my piece of paper where I have to mark the bands out of 10 for various categories which is a little strange but oddly focussing.

Golden Section have drawn the short straw and get to go on first, at this point the crowd are still well back from the stage and they miss out on the curious regulars who check some of the music out later on. However, Golden Section are a young bunch brimming with confidence and their catchy tunes make an immediate impact on those that have arrived early enough. They have a new wave edge, pulsing synth lines that underpin interesting bass lines with plenty of guitar action causing mayhem on top of their dramatic pop edge that is slightly dark around the edges. The vocals sound as if they have been plucked straight from the 80s but adds to their electro indie sound that sounds both old but original. A band that I would gladly check out at a proper gig where they have longer to perform.

Riding in on a wave of pop punk are Cracking Amy who appear to have a few fans in so they get good marks for crowd reaction! Unfortunately they score low on originality as one song blends into another and they begin to sound just like every other pop punk band out there. They are obviously influenced by that whole wave of American 'punk' bands that are not very punk but do produce pop music by the bucket load and that is where the problem lies with Cracking Amy live, little of the material sounds inspiring or original and while they play with gusto and dedication the music just lacks that sparkle.

Coming on like a punked up version of the early Rolling Stones, The Deads steal the show so far with their pumped up, tambourine bashing frontman stealing the show as he pouts, struts and delivers a fine set of soulful vocals backed up by the garage rock n roll of his band. Musically they are spot on tonight as the energy flows from the stage and while they may draw heavily on their influences they manage to deliver a set of original sounding tunes that are passionate and in your face. The best so far tonight.

Rounding the show off and trying to out do The Deads are progressive psychedelic wanderers Dreaming New Animals. By the time they take to the stage they have lost some of the crowd so lack some of that interaction; on their day, DNA can produce stunning sets but as tonight progresses it becomes apparent that the time limit is holding them back. Whereas normally they would allow the tunes to wander off at tangents, tonight they focus it down and the tunes suffer as a result, the normal free flow seems to stutter and while they still do a reasonable set it becomes clear that it isn't going to be their night and I think they realise it as they leave the stage.

A few minutes later and the scores have been added up and The Deads are announced as winners and I think on reflection that the best band did indeed win tonight. So well done to them and thanks to Rich at Walkabout for inviting me down, it was an interesting experience and I hope The Deads progress through the following rounds.

The Plymouths + Autons + Bubbledubble + Rusty Sheriff + Maria Szyrtisz & The Pyramids Of Mars - Messclean @ The Frog On The Front, Portsmouth.17/03/06

2006-03-20T13:33:00.000+00:00

This was being billed as an Electro fest but it has to be said that Electro was being used in the loosest sense of the word. Having said that though, all bands had some kind of electronic thing going on within the music and it certainly was an eclectic gathering of bands.

Opener was the legend that is Maria Szyrtisz & The Pyramids Of Mars, unfortunately I failed to get a shot of him in action as I had only just arrived before he came on stage and he did around four songs before leaving to a massive round of applause. For those that don't know, Maria is the work of one man; he takes to the stage in a vest top, shorts and white trainers with black socks...this man has his own 'scene' and he don't need no one else! His equipment consists of a keyboard and a couple of drums that he operates with pedals and some chimes that he knocks with his knee at appropriate times. Once on a roll the man hits a groove, a kind of sea shanty meets Arabian scales, exotic refrains set the tone for well observed stories. He is that boy that everyone picked on at school, a nervous disposition that just keeps time with the music and this is his way of keeping himself sane. A true genius and an act that everyone should see at least once.

Following Maria is a tough act for anyone, but if there is one man in town big enough for the job it is Rusty Sheriff. Reduced to just one deck tonight and his laptop, the man places his vinyl on a crate, makes sure his beer is close enough to reach and goes for the trigger... This Sheriff has the quickest fingers in Portsmouth, watching him work the vinyl is quite unbelievable and makes you appreciate the skill involved and you can see why his face is such a picture of concentration as he works. Musically he creates thumping beats that threaten to bring The Pyramids down upon us, well placed samples give way to large atmospheric, almost orchestral soundtracks before breaking down into sonic destruction before hitting a beat again. That's not to say you can't dance to it, although he's on too early there are a few people grinding away down by the bar delighting in the funky beats, it's just that the music is laced with danger and a bit of filth that probably comes from his love of bands such as the Melvins and this chaos has filtered through and infected the beats. There is a superb throbbing bass sound that pops into view at one point, the kind of sound that can rattle your teeth and pounds your stomach, a secret weapon no doubt the Sheriff uses to control those who ignore his massive beats. It's dramatic stuff and I hope that next time he gets a later slot so a few more of the late arrivers get to appreciate the sonic dexterity that makes up the Rusty Sheriff.

Just about now we should have been listening to the synth pop of Scarlet Soho but they had to pull out at the last moment which leaves us high and dry with just they DJs to entertain us for what seems like an eternity and whilst they do a grand job as usual you just want the bands to carry on and so eventually we get Bubbledubble who are made up of various people who have been on the Pompey scene for some time. Bubbledubble are creators of heavy dub and they do it very well, but, tonight they just don't fit in with the feel of the event. True, they do create most of their sounds with an overwhelming array of computers and gadgets with the odd live instrument thrown in for good measure so they have that electro element, but music wise it pushes a few to the limit and some less hardened gig goers head for the exit which is a real shame. While they delight in twisting knobs and prodding their computers the sound they create is nothing new, similar stuff could be heard in places like Glastonbury many years ago which is probably the best place for it. Don't get me wrong, I like dub music and often stick on my Revolutionary Dub Warriors material when I want to chill out and Bubbledubble create similar sounds but it just doesn't fit in well tonight and time just seems to drift away; you get the feeling that they could have played all night and indeed, they were very reluctant to leave the stage and just wanted to do another short number which would probably have stretched to another half an hour!

Next up are Autons, Portsmouths own radio bothering electro rock n rollers and they soon spark the crowd back into life. With new single Snakes being played by the likes of Steve Lamacq and Rob Da Bank purely because they like it and are not having their arms twisted by big companies, indicates that good things could be just round the corner and tonight's set confirms it. They have come along way since I last caught them, they seem to have magnified all their good points a thousand times over. They are positively brimming with electric and energy, the tunes have taken on new improved twists and turns, beats have got bigger, the guitars crash and burn with even more passion and David Auton looks more and more like he should be gracing the covers of select magazines. One can't help but fall in love with them, Tony dancing around his keyboard like an over excited kid at Christmas, pouting like there is no tomorrow while on the other flank Leon creates a storm of punked up guitar crashes that wrap themselves around the electro beats while David is every part the Ice Major, cool, calm and collected with suit and tie, his voice sounding as great as ever. It has to be said that Snakes is probably the highlight of the set, a
taught beast of a number with no flab, just all out power that glides and cuts through the night; but the rest of the set is close behind, each track crackling with fun and big hooks. We really should be hearing more about these boys soon.

Having so many bands in one night seems to take its toll as a fair few leave before the final band The Plymouths, who let's face have, don't have the most attractive name and it really doesn't fit in with what they are about. With a name like that I tend to think of Sarah Records from years ago and twee indie bands not a band who are trying to produce electronic indie rock. The Plymouths (who are from Bournemouth funnily enough) sound like Duran Duran playing The Killers which isn't quite as bad as it sounds, they have a knack for producing hook laden songs that squelch along on a synth wave bolstered by a throbbing bass sound and some big guitars but you just get the feeling that you've seen it all before. It is quite enjoyable but you find it hard to see where they are going to go with it and they don't exactly look like a bunch of teenagers which will go against them as it looks like they are jumping The Killers bandwagon. But at the end of the night they are a decent band who will no doubt be enjoyed by those that like that slightly 80s sounding new wave/romantic feel with added guitars, but if you are looking for something a little more original then best pass them by and keep searching.

The Exits + Revolution74 + Dreaming New Animals + One Life Left - Messclean @ The Frog On The Front, Portsmouth. 10/03/06.

2006-03-12T20:46:00.000+00:00

Tonight sees Messclean's new 2am licence kick in so it's a case of pacing yourself drink wise for both myself and the bands or it will all get very messy with an additional two hours to spend money at the bar! Kicking things off tonight are last minute additions One Life Left who replace Sallyforth who suffered some kind of drummer injury or such like. This is about the third time I've caught One Life Left and each time just gets better and better; it's true to say they are not an immediately appealing band in that their songs don't come directly at you, they tend to grow up and around you like some mutant ivy plant taking over. The songs come across as luxurious Muse type warblings with the power of alt. rockers like Smashing Pumpkins, being able to chuck out angular riffs that skew into beautiful melodies with power and grace. In Simon Paylor they have an engaging frontman with a Matt Bellamy knack for striking out to reach those high notes which he does with ease adding something extra to the mix of majestic tunes and makes them stand out in the memory just a little more. Looks like they will be back at Messclean soon with a higher billing and well deserved it is too as it's good to see a band with a little substance over style.

Drifting in on a psychedelic haze is Messclean main man Nikolai and his Dreaming New Animals, what's the point in putting on a night if you can't give your own band a gig eh? In the past DNA have been guilty of leaving the earth plane and going off on one but tonight they keep one foot grounded and take a slightly more direct approach though that doesn't mean they take the 3 minute pop formula. DNA are a bad who ignore the current 'scene' and do what comes naturally to them which is soulful, psychedelic tinged rock that sprawls out colourfully behind them.

The strong point of DNA is that they are very good musicians so can take the music where ever they want to go, be it a solo that freaks out or a deeply funky bass line while the dual vocals of Robbie and Joe combine with wonderfully melodic results, both having fine voices that compliment each other perfectly and add that extra dimension to these wandering epic tunes. This is music to get lost in, it creates it's own little universe and takes you on a journey to here and nowhere, makes you dream then dance before flying you somewhere else...you get the picture? Music for those that like being transported somewhere else and if the new tune played at the end is anything to go by then we can expect some more challenging tunes very soon.

Revolution74 are a dynamic 5 piece who do one of those rare things and manage to blend dance beats, keyboards, rock and good tunes without getting caught between genres and sounding watered down. They basically produce good indie rock music that you can dance to, big buzzsaw pop hooks battle against rock guitars that drip with energy and while being accessible in sound they should still appeal to those that like their music on the alternative side. Considering the heat in the Frog is unbearable tonight, Revolution74 manage to give an excellent account of themselves and impress a fair few people with their catchy material as the sweat drips down the wall and off the people who have ventured down to the front.

The Exits are probably one of the best live bands in the area at the moment but tonight the technical gods are against them and doing their best to piss them off. As frustration gets to boiling point and threatens to spill over they pull themselves back from the edge and battle on regardless for an appreciative audience who lap them up anyway. For a lesser band lacking in tunes it would have been a disaster but when you have ready made anthems such as 'Time Will Let You Know' and the quite fantastic synth heavy 'Neon City' then the quality will shine through regardless of the venue limitations. While this won't go down a classic Exits gig, I think it is safe to say that they won over a few people, not least with their determination to get to the end of the set when it would have been so easy to just say 'fuck it' and walk off, but also with their fine sounds. Anyone who has read my previous reviews of The Exits will already know that I rate this bunch very highly, their distinctive mix of big synth bleeps and squelches that ride in harmony with crisp guitars and a potent blend of rock and dance beats are highly infectious and few bands can deliver a set full of instant classics with no filler material what so ever, but The Exits manage it with ease.

What should have been a fantastic gig with the band well up for a good night, turned into a bit of a nightmare for them but out front it still sounded good and whilst they may want to forget tonight ever happened it reinforced my belief that they are a band who can go a long way as the range and quality of material is second to none. Onwards and upwards as they say, better days will reach these boys soon.

So, perhaps not the ideal way to kick off the new late licence at Messclean but all the bands did themselves proud seeing as most of them played with monitor problems that prevented them hearing what they were doing so all credit to them for producing stirling sets and the usual Messclean DJs who provided some fine tunes between the bands and kept us all going up until the very end along with the best bar staff you could wish for...where else could I have a pint of cider waiting for me within seconds of walking in the door? Cheers guys!

White Rose Movement + The Violets + The Waysters - Joiners, Southampton. 05/03/06.

2006-03-12T16:29:00.000+00:00

Having caught The Waysters in Portsmouth a couple of weeks before and being blown away by them, this was a chance to see them in a proper venue and check that the previous gig hadn't been just a one off highlight. Usually the local group on the bottom of the bill for visiting bands expect to be ignored apart from mates but from the moment The Waysters take to the stage it is clear that they have managed to bring in a fair few of the punters themselves and I firmly believe that they left the stage with more fans than they began with. Tonight, at times, they look a little nervous but musically they hit the spot again, their modern indie guitar sound going down a treat with a vociferous crowd who treat them like headliners.

Once again they play well beyond their tender years, a couple of minor mistakes are worked over and generally go unnoticed. Once they hit their stride they relax and look like they enjoy being up on stage; the Joiners sound giving the rhythm section an extra boost that gives them a little swagger, they know they are good as the scratchy guitars deliver tense, danceable tunes and you see a couple of smiles appear. They really are a quite frighteningly talented bunch of songwriters, each track played is a winner, not a sign of filler tunes anywhere which is some feat for such a young band and if they continue to wow crowds like tonight then the sky really is the limit and the likes of Arctic Monkeys could have some serious contenders for hottest young band around. If you like all those NME type indie bands then I seriously recommend seeing this lot in a small venue while you can before they start raising the temperatures of those record label types.

The Violets are a completely different kettle of fish and more in keeping with the headliners, a trio that spill out over tumbling Siouxsie And The Banshees tribal beats while the guitarist makes up for the lack of a bass player by creating sheets of raw riffs in the vein of The Kills. They appear hampered by the small Joiners stage as they have to avoid clattering into one another whilst looking like they really want to let rip and go for it which gives you the feeling that they are holding back a tad.
Personally, I quite like their The Kills go goth sound but wouldn't mind catching them on a bigger stage where I feel they would look a bit more natural and the set would flow easier. Tonight the vocalist looks like she has taken up jogging on the spot and in some respects would have been better off just clinging to a mic stand and looking cool with her shock of blonde hair and dark braces over a white top keeping her leather skirt up, but you can't knock them for having plenty of energy. I had neither seen nor heard The Violets before and their dark sounds won me over and while they not be as majestic or sweeping as The Banshees there is something about the raw tribal feel of the music that tickles my fancy and judging by the amount of vinyl they were shifting after it looks like a fair few others were quite taken with them too.

White Rose Movement hark back to the 80s electro sound, they drag the sound of Joy Division into the modern day with big beats and anguished, angular guitars. Despite the seriousness of the onstage personas, the music is highly danceable and the place is heaving within minutes of them being on stage and there is no let up until the last discordant riff is wrung from the guitars. It's all very stark and powerful, with the singer having that Ian Curtis type intensity that makes you want to avoid eye contact as he throws angular shapes and shifts between hammering the keyboard and climbing the monitors. Without the guitars chiming away, giving the music a heavier punked up sound they would be classed as a heavy synth band mixing up the cold sounds of early Human League with the dark poetic side of Joy Division; but they succeed in sounding dated yet modern and prove to be a most enjoyable live experience for those that like a strict ringmaster and dark beats.

Trinity + The Dawn Chorus + Kurt Cooder + AngelGear - Messclean @ The Frog On The Front, Portsmouth. 03/03/06.

2006-03-10T11:54:00.000+00:00

Another decent turn out at my home from home, Messclean, and it would appear that openers AngelGear, who are introduced as Angel Fire and have now changed their name to something else apparently just to confuse everyone, have brought a fair few of them down with them. What is clear from the off is that the band is made up of some seriously talented musicians who play well crafted folksy rock and while on a personal level it doesn't particularly float my boat, one can't help but admire their playing skills and the soulful twin female vocals that accompany them. There is no denying that the two feisty ladies fronting AngelGear are a joy to watch as they preen and pose like seasoned professionals, they add a spark to the band and have everyone eating out of their hands by the end of a successful set.

Next up is the local legend that is Kurt Cooder, man of mystery, urban poet with fingers in many pies and various other things if rumours are to be believed. Tonight he is playing solo, just him and his electric guitar and while at times he may be a bit too close to the bone for many to stomach you can't help but love his tales of Portsmouth and it's people. He gives us songs about dogging and fucking, Elm Grove and his daughter in a rollercoaster of emotions that bring to mind a deranged mix of Billy Bragg and John Cooper Clarke; at one point he invites someone on stage just to confirm he has the word 'cunt' tattooed behind his ear and then sings about being beaten up on the streets of Portsmouth. There is no doubt that this man has lived through each song scenario, soaking up the local life, the daily struggle to survive and he paints vivd images with his strong words and in your face tunes. It is an excellent set that is not just enjoyable musically but leaves one thinking over the lyrics and the stories told.

The Dawn Chorus are a more upbeat affair, bouncy indie rock in the vein of a more direct The Coral with some nice quirky twists and turns that delight the dedicated fans they have brought along with them; enough so to encourage one young lady to shout out "I want your babies!", now there's dedication for you! They are a confident young group who produce very tuneful material and I found myself tapping my foot along during many of their songs and you can't knock a band who has a bass player wearing a Brian Jonestown Massacre t-shirt can you? It could be argued that the local population took little notice at first but I think The Dawn Chorus won over a fair few new fans as the set progressed and those that like decent tunes would be well advised to keep an eye for them as their is plenty here to indicate that they will produce even better material in the future.

Trinity played Messclean once before and I pondered upon the wisdom of opening your set with a cover version but here they are doing it again and while it is a rip roaring run through 'This Is Love' by PJ Harvey that the good lady herself would be proud of, one can't help feel that it would be better served as an encore or set closer as it kind of casts a shadow over their own material. That said, Trinity are a sparkling female fronted indie trio who play a nice line in indie pop and while they may be a little plain to watch, the tunes glitter and sparkle in places and they are not beyond knocking out some fine songs of their own. Amy Morgan cuts a fine figure with her electric blue guitar and a voice to match while Mike Fowler and James Birt support her with a solid rhythm section on bass and drums respectively; what they lack in glamour they make up for in fine little noisy pop nuggets that ping around the room and considering they are from out of town they do a stirling job in keeping the crowd in until the bitter end which is testament to their hard work and tunes.

So go check them out on MySpace and have a listen, they are a bit shy and could do with having a few more people listen to those tasty little glittering tunes and just look at that guitar, what more could you ask for on a Friday night...probably helps that Amy is holding it mind, I think she took a little of each Messclean heart home with her!

The Strange Death Of Liberal England + You're Smiling Now But We'll All Turn Into Demons + Big Squirrel - The Thursday Thing @ The Registry. 02/03/06

2006-03-10T10:38:00.000+00:00

What more could you ask for on a Thursday night in Portsmouth than a friendly pub, beer and three excellent bands; two with ridiculously long names and one who make far too much noise than is humanly possible for two people to make so let's start with them shall we?

Big Squirrel are first up and if you've bothered reading any of these reviews before you will know that I love these two ramshackle practitioners of stripped down rock n roll, so it's hard not to repeat myself but they are fucking excellent. I've seen full bands make less noise than these two, who manage to squeeze every ounce of life out of an acoustic guitar and a drum kit. Steve spends half the night doing battle with the wall behind him as it encroaches on his wild arm movements while Tom could be doing anything as I can't actually see him, for as usual he is sat on a chair and such is their pulling power that it is impossible to get near enough to see past the sea of bodies or get close enough to take a decent photo. But whatever he is doing it sounds good because never has an acoustic guitar sounded so loud, so raw and so rock; Tom must have some kind of secret black box to plug in to, either that or he has fingers of electric because that knackered old guitar really shouldn't be throwing out such sounds but I'm glad it does as it makes Big Squirrel one of the hottest rock n roll bands out there at the moment. Just about every track has some kind of big hook that is strong enough to rip the flesh from your face, instantly addictive and highly memorable, so do yourself a favour, next time you see a gig with Big Squirrel on the bill, grab a big bag of nuts and get yourself down the front for the best rock n roll action you will see from a duo, just watch they don't bite you.

You're Smiling Now But We'll All Turn Into Demons are legends round these parts and quite rightly so with their spectacular tunes that draw on the legacy of Sabbath, Stooges and MC5 then fuck it over with rock n roll attitude and alcohol fumes. Tonight they are decked out in colourful robes, it makes them look even scarier as they deliver a crisp set that lacks some of the more discordant elements that sometimes take over their sets; it's about good, heads down rock n roll that piles through the throng like an express train waiting for no one. Yeah, there are a few minor gripes such as the drums being too dominant tonight or perhaps the guitars just need to go up a notch; perhaps the venue gear just couldn't cope with the black hole of noise that The Demons often conjure up and the swirls of feedback they emit as they wrangle with their instruments but even on a night when they don't leave you with bleeding ears and an exploding brain they carve a dark mark on each and every person present and poke a big stick in it. In some ways it is a pleasure to actually get to hear a few of the tunes for a change but that is the beauty of The Demons, you never quite know what to expect but one thing is for sure, they never fail to disappoint.

Having caused quite a stir with their recent demo, this is my first chance to catch The Strange Death Of Liberal England live and despite the limitations of the venue I'm not disappointed. SDOLE are one of those bands without a central focus point, members drift around and swap instruments, it works perfectly with their shifting tunes that come and go, in and out of focus. It's an ever changing landscape as glockenspiels tinkle, flute weaves in and out of crashing guitars and anguished wails drift from the front. They are a serious looking bunch, a band at odds with current trends, that follow their own path in their own little universe and it is a pleasure when they burst through into our world for brief glimpses of beautiful soundscapes and floaty angst. Tunes tend to drift into one another, expand and contract as light turns to shade, these are not tunes for the MTV generation who like a quick sugar fix; this is a band to contemplate, you need to let them soak into your skin, let it wash over you and around you, feel and taste the textures they create. Only then will you enjoy it, if you want something quick,easy and throwaway then look elsewhere but if you want something with substance and depth then SDOLE are just the band you are looking for.

The Waysters + Red Letter Day + Stoner + Dregs Of Society - Messclean @ The Frog On The Front, Portsmouth. 24/02/06.

2006-02-27T12:19:00.000+00:00

A buzz is in the air tonight as Messclean re-launches itself into the stars and beyond and all that is missing is the late license but it's on the way. That's not going to stop the excitement from growing as a decent sized crowd gather and word spreads that a member of The Kooks is here, along with members of Earl and local bands Carmen Rosa, Nitrate and Sweetedge are all represented and I'm sure there were more that I missed. Could it be that Portsmouth is suddenly the place to be?!

Down to business then with the metal fiends in leather trousers that are Dregs Of Society, thrusting their crotches in any face that happens to glance their way. Yeah they sound like AC/DC slipping a big one to that little Axl Rose chap and his Guns N Roses but sometimes that is all you need; big classic riffs, flailing hair and the chance to rock out. When the vocalist leaves the stage you realise he has one of those mics without a lead and you spend the next half an hour watching him climb around the building, order drinks at the bar and generally get in peoples faces but it's only rock n roll and you've got to love it but there is that little bit in the back of your brain praying he won't make eye contact with you. What you see is what you get with The Dregs, no deep messages, just songs to get drunk to while another guitar solo whips off your head and you resist the urge to go headbang. The Dregs leave a smile on everyone's faces and they have warmed up the ever increasing crowd nicely.

Down from old London town are Stoner who boast to being influenced from everyone from Led Zep to The Police and the trio deliver a near perfect set of indie-pop-rock that does indeed draw on their many influences. Whilst trading in memorable tunes your mind picks out various sounds, a bit of the 80s flew past there, perhaps a bit of Duran Duran followed by some Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and some sweet northern soul vocals that soar and impress greatly with their range. They really are a tight unit, powerful yet hugely melodic and some damn fine tunes that should see them get radio airplay if there is any justice in the world, keep an eye out for a forthcoming single and I have no doubt that we will see them back down this way before long.

Another chapter in the life of Red Letter Day as they reveal new bass player Lisa and announce that this will be the last Pompey gig for guitarist Chris Perrin who has decided to move on. On tonight's show, the Day are in danger of becoming a bit glamorous with Lisa adding sparkle to the old boys set and Chris knocking out the riffs that I'm sure the band will miss.
In terms of performance, they produce another set of classic tunes filled with chant along anthems that Ade spits forth in his Pompey boot boy voice while the music side of things continues with the new rock element kicking the hell out of the street punk to wonderful effect while the dedicated followers let loose at the front of the stage.
Ade does his now expected turn of high leg kicking and generally cuddling every band member within striking distance and getting in their faces before pacing the stage like a hyperactive child bursting with energy. There is an energy and passion about RLD that many younger bands cannot match, they are a gang doing what they love and one hopes that after delivering one of the best albums of their long career, that they can replace Chris with someone who can continue to deliver the goods and if they fit in as well as Lisa then we should see plenty more action from these mainstays of the punk scene.

Are you ready for The Waysters? You'd better be, because if tonight is anything to go by these four 15 year old lads are going to explode all over the place very soon. I've heard a lot about these boys in the past couple of weeks but you kind of think, how can a group of schoolboys be any
good? Well, I have to say,that having met them that they seem like a decent set of blokes with their feet planted firmly on the ground and pleased to be in Portsmouth to do a gig and even more excited that the guitarist from The Kooks was here to check them out. I really didn't know what to expect when they hit the stage, the tracks on MySpace sound decent enough but nothing quite prepared me for the tunes that sprang forth when they hit the stage.
Demonstrating a maturity beyond their years, The Waysters delivered a lesson in perfect modern indie tunes that compare favorably with the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party etc. as guitars slash and weave against a solid rhythm section that keep things tight but flowing. There is a good cutting edge to the sound and they possess a vocalist who can actually sing pretty well and whom sounds a lot older than he looks which can only help their cause. While there may be a certain lack of finesse to their stage presence as one might expect from a band just a few gigs in on the road to rock n roll and when talking seem a little embarrassed at being up there but I have no doubts that come the end of the year and a few more gigs they will develop into a force to be reckoned with.
So yeah, The Waysters lived up to the hype I had heard; they have appeared on the scene with a bag full of fantastic songs, the confidence to deliver them live with ease and a crowd eager to see what they can do as the full house at The Frog shows. They already have some decent support slots lined up and I predict that the name will be on many peoples lips in the coming months, so remember that name and if you were lucky enough to be at the gig tonight then you will be one of the lucky ones that can say you saw them first at a small venue.

So then, a terrific end to a fine evening and great to see Messclean full of eager music fans to witness the old and the new and we say welcome to Lisa and The Waysters boys and cheerio to Chris although I have a feeling he will pop up again very soon; just a shame that the young chaps couldn't join the after show party being held in a bar across the road but we downed a few beers for you!

Kuru + The Masters + Hybrasil + The Kundalinis - Messclean @ The Frog On The Front, Portsmouth. 17/02/06.

2006-02-20T11:50:00.000+00:00

A good sized crowd have turned out to catch trio The Kundalinis, whose name invokes images of Kula Shaker and 60s throwbacks drowning in a sea of pyschedelia. In reality they combine funk and rock to varying degrees, some verging on commercial appeal but where they really hit the spot is when they go off on psychedelic tangents, flying off on big guitar riffs and soaring instrumentals accompanied by hypnotic beats. These heavier sections point the way forward as the lighter funk rock just pales in comparison and I can imagine then drifting off into the direction of the mighty Loop, all soundscapes and extended workouts; on a personal level a set that left me half cold and half gobsmacked.

Irish band Hybrasil turn out to be something of a revelation, the five piece delivering a quite spectacular mix of hooks, noise and beats.

From the bio on their website it would appear that they have a good deal of previous band experience and tonight it shows as they drown us in sugar coated pop hooks submerged beneath a flow of 80s inspired guitar noise that made the likes of My Bloody Valentine & The Jesus And Mary Chain spring to mind. Add into the mix some driving beats and bass and you have some fine foot stomping material that will no doubt reach a wider audience in the coming months. The keyboards are slightly lost tonight in the twin guitar attack, a shame as the recorded material features them quite prominently and adds a nice pop sheen to the tracks but this time they take a back seat.
Hybrasil are another of those bands that really deserve a bigger audience and unfortunately they suffer the recurring problem of being the outside band playing on a local bill and while they get a good response you feel that really they should have a mad little pit going in front of the stage but they plough on regardless and I for one thoroughly enjoyed their noise soaked pop and firmly recommend them to anyone with an interest in good indie music and if they don't get to play bigger gigs soon I shall be very surprised. All credit to the band for hanging around a while and especially drummer Neil and synth player Joe who stayed to the bitter end and forced themselves to do extra drinking at a local club with the Messclean mob; it was a pleasure gentlemen and I hope you got back to the hotel OK!

The Masters deliver their usual solid set of indie/rock/funk/ska and there lies the biggest problem, it always appears they are trying to cover too many bases. It does show that they are accomplished musicians and they are good at what they do but you always feel it lacks a focal point for the audience and that they are not going to attract any one type of fan which is OK if you like that general foot tapping experience while you down a pint but is hardly likely to inspire eternal devotion. And it does appear that people are generally drifting away during their set which is a shame for the last band who have ventured down from Essex.

Not that it appears to bother Kuru who take to the stage with a sparse remaining crowd to watch them and once again, another fine band that deserve a larger audience.

Kuru play epic alt.rock with hints of progressive mellowness and hardcore aggression, at times happy to slow things down and build the tension before unleashing powerful waves of heaviness but never straying far from a decent tune. Their man mountain of a frontman revealing a fine singing voice that can glide from gentle melodies to fierce metal attacks.

Whilst being a heavy band they shy away from becoming an out and out metal band and their strength lies in composing epic tracks that deliver melody with feeling, I guess they would appeal to those that like a sensitive side with their heaviness along the lines of Tool, Janes Addiction etc and while they are not quite at the same level as them yet I see no reason why they shouldn't blossom into a force to be reckoned with on the alt.rock scene. Shame on all the people who left early and missed some fine bands, hopefully this will soon be a thing of the past as Messclean up the publicity and try to make the locals realise that it is one of the few small venues in the town hosting regular gigs and needs their support on a weekly basis.