The Revival Tour – Wedgewood Rooms, 17th of October

The Revival tour was started in 2008 by Chuck Ragan of Hot Water Music as a platform to celebrate and bring acoustic folk to an audience both in love and ignorant of it, all the while highlighting the individual talents of men who accumulated fame through big named bands. The 2011 Revival’s last stop was none other than the Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms, thus the emotion steeped within this finale was always going to be sky high. The bromance was thick within the room, with an abundance of high fives, hugs and more being an on stage display of how the soulful power embedded within folk had touched their lives: physically or otherwise.

Assuming all other nights were similarly played, this was a very unique set of musical performances. Although a showcase of the lonesome man with guitar set ups, the full entourage opened the stage alongside accompaniment by Jon Gaunt on fiddle and Joe Ginsberg on upright bass. One can only imagine how the production side handled the different levels required by the vocalists, especially when each one of them ran onto each other’s sets unannounced; I say unannounced, only because the level of frequency with which each guitarist would join his brethren suggested it was on the fly – a fantasy I’m willing to accept.

After the full orchestra opened with a few numbers, first to perform solo was Dave Hause of The Loved Ones, who throughout displayed genuine gratitude over having been given this blessed opportunity. His songs had a stronger country feel them than the others, and his signing to Xtra Mile recordings here in the UK and a support gig with Alkaline Trio next month shows he’s a name that may get around a bit more. Keep an eye on Pure FM next week for an interview with the man himself.

Taking over was original tour founder Chuck Ragan. Admittedly I’ve never got into Hot Water Music but as a solo artist Chuck excels; with charisma, heart and a hell of a beard to boot. I do feel if you’re not familiar with the material of one artist at the gig you may feels things became stale, but none can fault the ever present emotion with each strung chord or bit of lung hinging.

When Alkaline Trio bassist Dan Andriano it became apparent that a large majority of the audience had never heard of a set list before, continuously belting out requests for him to play solo versions of AT songs, most prominently ‘Radio’. Whilst he did appease with a sketchy rendition of ‘Every Thug Needs a Lady’, it perhaps highlights the age old fault of an artist already associated with a particular label to branch out with solo material. The songs he did play however were heartfelt, genuine and made better by the now customary intervention by his fellow Revival artists.

Rounding things off was Gaslight Anthem Brian Fallon, who out of all the acts had arguably the strongest voice and best knack for stage banter; having a conversation with a small girl who’d been brought to the gig and getting everyone to breath simultaneously as part of one his songs (which took four tries) being just two examples. He also had the pleasure (I guess) of Dan Andriano showing up on stage in a low cut top and bandanna, acting as camp as a camp man could, who dived into the audience for an extended crowd surf.

After a short break the whole line up went on stage once more for some encore antics, the most memorable of which was a six man acapella ballad, sung with the love and comradery they’d formed, with each line followed by thunderous applause.

I recently had an argument with an experienced journalist, who rejected my idea for an alternative folk magazine as something that appealed to a far too niche market. Being at the Wedgewood Rooms that night, seeing the people who turned out for big names and roots music alike, showed me the folk movement wasn’t just being revived; in essence it never left. To paraphrase Steve Knightley of Show of Hands, without our stories or songs we’d lose all that makes us what we are, and it’s through Chuck and friends that we can get an annual reminder of just that.

By Graham Ashton

Before kicking off their longest running UK tour, starting at Liverpool University with19 dates, Chase & Status quickly pop in to Pompey to give us a taste of what can be expected. It is no wonder why Chase & Status have won awards for ‘The Best Live Act’; their performance was one to remember! Even though Portsmouth Guildhall isn’t the biggest venue, this didn’t stop them from giving one hundred percent, in fact, it made the gig seem more personal. Dropping classic tunes such as ‘Blind Faith’, and the raw, talented ‘Let You Go’ and hits from their renowned ‘More Than A Lot’ album, such as ‘End Credits’ and ‘Pieces’ feat. Plan B. though it’s a shame they didn’t play ‘Heartbeat’ by Nneka Egbuna, as this is a personal favorite.

Chase & Status’ energetic performance kept the crowd on their feet, encouraging the audience to mosh and jump to the beat. The baseline alone forced everyone to skank out, with the vibrations from the speakers making every single bone in your body shake; it was intense. The enthusiasm from Chase & Status and audience were bouncing off each other during the performance, with people belting out their powerful lyrics, to the beat of the drum & bass rock.

Everyone became possessed by the show, whilst lasers, strobes and music video graphics of all the featured artists provided the perfect environment for all the sweaty bodied fans to bust out their bass face. The combination of drum & bass, dubstep and famous vocals from big named artists created an unforgettable atmosphere.

A surprise special guest, Delilah performed ‘Time’ while Chase & Status hyped up the audience. Her flair and presence on stage, alone, is brilliant! Her performance with the two DJ’s was unbearably remarkable, and it will be hard for other DJs to top Chase & Status’ performance.

Their supporting acts Dot Rotten and Labyrinth, are also definitely ones to watch, with both acts just as lively and keen as their headliner. With Dot Rotten newly back in the game ( after recreating himself after his previous act name: Young Dot) all grown up his music has grown into mature garage/ grime sound, and although his time slot was limited, there couldn’t have been a better aspiring act to open up for Chase & Status.

Labrinth then followed, with lighter, clubbier tracks. He is massively talented; playing electric guitar, keyboards while showing off his vocals and cheeky attitude. Timothy McKenzie ( Labrinth) was able to interact with the audience as the beat dropped; it was a huge hit with them! Performing his new and upcoming singles from his new album, as well as his hits ‘Let The Sun Shine’ and newly ‘Earthquake’ feat. Tinie Tempah, we were given an insight into what he has to offer. We will definitely be hearing more club hits and No.1′s from Labrinth in the future. He can only get better and bigger with his enthusiasm and talent.

By Drew Mcgonnel

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So, Blink-182 are back with a new album, Neighborhoods, after a good eight years away from the music scene since their last LP in 2003. Of course, the members have been milling about doing their own thing, most notably Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker in +44 and Tom DeLonge in his band Angels &Airwaves (AVA) but this hotly anticipated release since their comeback in 2010 does not disappoint in the slightest.

The influence from the various side projects are evident in the opening tack ‘Neighborhoods‘, whilst ‘Ghost On The Dance Floor‘ opens with a deep guitar riff, more common in AVA than in Blink songs, and the entire album continues in a similar vein. One of the few songs recognisable as ‘old school Blink-182′ is the track ‘After Midnight‘ which like many of Blink-182′s songs talks of a struggle to get a girl and, despite the lyrics, the song is upbeat with a light guitar riff much like that on Blink-182′s last self titled album.

The opening single ‘Up All Night‘ sets the tone for the album well, whilst having elements from the old Blink-182, the heavier guitars and drums show how the band has grown up since the last album.

Since the release of ‘Blink-182‘ and ‘Take Off Your Pants And Jacket‘ Blink needed to mature in their music or risk going nowhere. In the album there is no mention of making love to family pets or playing pranks on your girlfriend, but instead the lyrics are meaningful and insightful. The song ‘Natives‘ opens with the lyric ‘I’m like a cat in a cage, Locked up and battered and bruised’ and songs such as ‘Hearts all gone‘ and ‘Snake Charmer‘ have more of a rock &roll feel to them rather than the pre adolescent punk rock Blink are known for, with ‘Love is Dangerous‘ rounding off the album well with a downbeat rock &roll ballad.

‘Wishing Well‘ and ‘This Is Home‘ are definitely the most upbeat songs off the album, with a catchy chorus and upbeat guitar riffs, both would be easily good single material to follow up their first single ‘Up All Night‘. These songs are perfect examples of how the mix of old Blink and new Blink combine nicely on the album to create a very nice, melodic sound.

Overall, I believe this album is a step forward for Blink-182; it would have been too easy for the band to resort to making music such as that in ‘Enemy of The State’, however ‘Neighborhoods‘ shows their recent maturity and uses their experience to influence the album well. No song on the album is a filler, the emotion in each song is felt and it is clear to see that Blink intend to carry on making music for a long while, and that this will not be the last we hear of them.

7/10

By Ben Wells

With a poor showing by fans on Monday for Art Brut, supported by Kassassin Street and Skint + Demoralised, at the Wedgewood Rooms, the intimate crowd did not appear to be expecting much from the eight year old band. . . then Eddie Argos took to the stage. No one in the room could stop head-banging for the full set, including the rest of the band members who were having the time of their lives.

Eddie carried out the full set as an autobiographical comic performance, filling the fans in with the history to the bands hits such as, ‘My Little Brother’and ‘Modern Art’. This included a crowd invasion, where Eddie joined the audience and got them sitting on the floor whilst he told an anecdote where he had been to a Van Gogh museum and found a connection to art, before erupting into the last chords of ‘Modern Art’. During Eddie%rsquo;s introduction to ‘My Little Brother,’ the wasn’t a dry eye as hysterical laughter filled the room while he explained his brother is now a thirty year old teacher; meanwhile his mum is in the crowd still worrying about him and his semi-successful band. The rest of the group followed every element of Eddie’s digressions, continuing the key chords of the songs being played and laughing at the stories being told as though they were part of the crowd.

The band continued to entertain with an incredible guitar solo in ‘Lost Weekend’ from lead guitarist, Ian Catskilkin. Followed by ‘Summer Job’ where Eddie started skipping on his microphone wire. The energetic performance was more than encouraged by the other band members as Jeff Future on rhythm guitar leapt about, almost resulting in a collision with Eddie, which they both found hilarious; as well as, Mikey Breyer on drums standing up holding the steady beat that kept everyone in the room moving throughout the set. The sem–autobiographical performance concluded with a sweaty encore after the crowd chanted ‘Art Brut: Top of the Pops!’ for a few minutes and the band then took requests, including the hit single ‘Bang Bang Rock & Roll’, also the name of the band’s first album.

Art Brut performed one-hundred and ten percent for their dedicated fans and it had to be a top ten intimate gig to be at. With the mixture of comic anecdotes and hit songs,,accompanied by a charismatic band- who put all serious, posing indie groups to shame; Art Brut should not have been missed. Life lessons were even learnt with Eddie’s advice that everyone should form a band and live a life of rock n roll , writing songs “about being drunk and falling in love.” And let’s face it, what else is that important?!

By Rachel Hughes

There to promote their new single, the new and upcoming Various Cruelties travelled to Southampton. Beginning with a chat with lead vocalist and guitarist, Liam, I learnt that after a visit and a heavy night to his hometown of Leeds, the majority of the band was still hanging hard, but they didn’t let this minor glitch disrupt their performance.

Opening with Neon Truth, it set the atmosphere with a modest tone that gave the audience a straight but hypnotic beat to warm themselves up to. They then moved onto If It Wasn’t for You; both of these songs along with Chemicals are featured on the bands mysterious but intriguing website that contains barely more than the three songs, which gives you a chance to judge the sound of the group rather than their image. If It Wasn’t for You slowed down the tempo of the room, but didn’t take away any of the atmospheric tone.

By the time Chemicals had made its Southampton debut, the crowd had taken a promising acceptance to their fresh sound. Liam’s vocals manage to compliment the more simplistic but well structured bass lines, whilst the band’s overall sound is like a much richer and more modern sound of Joy Division or Pixies. The venue provided an intimate experience, which gave their sound an even more intense quality. Even if the performance was transferred to a bigger arena you would still feel how their energy and performance could be amplified, creating a pronounced atmosphere.

There is a lot of Indie, modern rock sound being thrown around these days but it’s been drowned out by the Dubstep and R&B mass. Various Cruelties have taken a sound similar to The Strokes but moved it further, with rich vocals that modernise their sound to an even greater degree. Not only when I met this group did I see a potential with their genuine talent but they were also a genuine group of lads, not playing up to the media aspect but just taking their music and performing it with style and confidence.

Finishing with Beautiful Delirium the night was put to a close that made you know you had just seen a group who could potentially be the top album on your Christmas wish list. Various Cruelties are part of a genre that has come and gone, but needs to be revived to give us back that classic sound we have been deprived of for some time.

Consistency is what can truly define a good album, the reason for why the likes of the Arctic Monkeys with “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not”, and Lostprophets with “Liberation Transmission” are hailed for. Kids In Glass Houses have this time certainly delivered a consistent album, choosing wisely with the singles “Gold Blood” and “Animal” as they epitomise the rest of the record accurately with their energetic tones and enthusiasm.

The album begins with the explosive, leading single “Gold Blood”, which instantly proved its popularity on May 20th when it was put up as a free download on the band’s website and, due to its high level of popularity, the amount of downloads caused the servers of the site to crash – perhaps a hidden blessing for the Welsh Quintet. Aled Phillips, as he does for the rest of the album, provides strong vocals for “Gold Blood”, supported by a beat impossible to not tap your feet along with; a solid opener for “In Gold Blood”.

“Teenage Wonderland” follows, displaying a softer and perhaps mellower side to the album. This is by no means a weak link to “In Gold Blood”, a little variation can keep things fresh and allow it to appeal to a wider audience. The fourth song, “Not In This World”, to be released on the 24th October as the third single, reflects the upbeat, fast paced theme of “In Gold Blood” – very much like the other singles of the album.

“Animals”, the sixth track and second of “In Gold Blood”, is nothing short of exhilarating. What the song seems to lack in lyrical quality, being what you could describe as three minutes and fifty two seconds of shouting, is made up for by the impressive display of Joel Fisher’s lead guitar and Philip Jenkins’ performance on the drums. “Animals” demonstrates a fine blend of recklessness and immaturity, an exciting attitude to adopt when writing a rock song. “Animals”, as sung within the chorus, can be accurately described as ‘young and restless’.

“Only the Brave Die Free” presents us with a slower paced experience when compared to the general tempo of the release. The chorus is undeniably catchy, and throughout the verses Aled Philips shows us that he can sing – usually a useful skill to acquire when the frontman of a band. The album ends with “A God to Many Devils”, a track which primarily focuses on vocals – unusual for Kids In Glass Houses.

Overall this is a fine album from Kids in Glass Houses, displaying consistency, excitement, and intelligence in its production. Clearly a lot of effort was put into the makings of “In Gold Blood”, which is all the more impressive considering it came only sixteen months after their second album, “Dirt”. With much debate surrounding whether Kids In Glass Houses have matched the almighty Lostprophets as the greatest Welsh rock band at this time, “In Gold Blood” confirms it for me – Lostprophets have not only been matched by Kids In Glass Houses, but overtaken.

“In Gold Blood” rating – 8/10

By Rob Clark

Supported by The Lost Boys and Zen Arcade (two bands who are on the up in the music industry and full of catchy numbers) Viva brother, from slough, have once again blown their local crowd away with their insane Gritpop melodies and macho bravado stage presence. Opening with their hit single “Still Here” and chronologically powering on through their first album “Famous First Words”, The Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth were simply in awe of this 4 piece band, who continuously change the world of Rock and Roll as we know it. The band’s other hits that entered the charts “Darling Buds of May” and “New Year’s Day” had the crowd in a frenzy when played, as the night came into full swing with stage lights and lasers creating the backdrop for a gig, only people could dream of attending. Although tickets to see this gig were not expensive, no amount of money could really say or highlight just how good this band really are. Not only do the band call themselves “brothers”, it is clear on stage that Lee, Josh, Sam and Frank all have genuine love for each other from the smirks and looks they share on stage whilst playing. If something went wrong, one of the guys would always have the others back and make sure the gig went well. A band like that is hard to come by in the music industry of the 21st century, just look how the Gallagher brothers turned out?

With their diverse numbers of fans, die hard and social, Viva Brother do not take any prisoners when playing a gig, and with the Wedgewood rooms accommodating these numbers of fans, it was interesting to see how the band enticed them. Towards the front of the venue we had the number one diehard fan who knew every lyric to every song, and were praised for it by lead singer, Newell himself. One fan said “I’ve followed Viva Brother from town to town, never missing a gig”. Towards the back of the venue we had the fans who enjoy Viva Brother’s music but needed re-assurance as to where this band are going. After speaking to fans that watched the show, it is certain to say that Viva Brother definitely gave that reassurance as the crowed witnessed a show that will always remain in their minds. From dirty guitar riffs to harmonised choruses to unique dance moves from Sam Jackson (guitarist), the band always had the crowed under their thumb from the first note and never let them get away. Once you hear a Viva Brother Song, there is no going back. Lead singer Lee Newell never fails to hit a note when performing in front of fans and in his eyes, Viva Brother ARE the future of music.

When speaking to the band after the show Newell said “we just want people to know our name” After that gig, what other names are there?

by Corrie Pitfield