Nod Ya Head presents...

Growing up in Portchester, the Burbs of Fareham, there never seemed to be a venue nearby to showcase local bands. Yes, the local pubs might host a band of a weekend, but these were (and still are) mostly cover acts. Once at college there was the lure of the Gosport Labour Club, the go to spot for fellow students who'd thrown a band together. That was then and this is now; there are fewer pubs, fewer venues, but the appetite for live music is the same if not greater.

What to do, what to do? Fret not my local gig monkey, for an enterprising chap called Dave has set about organising a (hopefully regular) event where local acts can gain valuable gigging experience and us punters can be entertained by new music.

The new event, named after the Facebook group that got the ball rolling, will debut in September with a line-up consisting of Marley Blandford, Lo-Fi Rebels, Drusilla and Dutch Criminal Record. Tickets for the event, to be held at the Mill Road Social Club, are £6 in advance, £7 on the door, and can be purchased from Fareham's one and only vinyl emporium, Heathen Chemistry (if you're local, and like vinyl, then I urge you to visit; the shop is a labour of love for its owner and, if you're at all like me, you'll end up in deep conversation with him about gigs and bands and shiny vinyl).

Interstellar Food Drive

Austerity. Welfare reform. Cuts to public spending and services. These are, as Lee Hazlewood sang, cold hard times. Every day more people find themselves in the situation where feeding themselves and their families is a struggle. There is a continuing rise in food poverty across the country and Portsmouth is no exception. Organisations such as The Trussel Trust and the Portsmouth Food Bank provide a sterling service to our community but unfortunately their resources are limited.

To help raise much-needed funds the fine folks of Strong Island Recordings, Velvet Candy and Crocodile Nightmares have joined forces, combining community spirit with music and art to create the Interstellar Food Drive. This cosmic celebration of in-sounds from the out-there takes place at both The Dockyard Club & The Coastguard Studio on Saturday 11th August.

This one-day, two-site mini festival features an impressive line-up of left-field sounds, featuring Portsmouth's own psych merchants Melt Dunes, psych quintet Number 9, the freaky pop of Pregoblin, psych from Sad Palace, garage pop/rock from Skinny Milk, Mystic Peach and The Scrubs, the heavy psychedelic sounds of Black Helium, shoegaze from Superdrone and Dad Hair's post punk. Both venues will feature a kaleidoscopic light show courtesy of Velvet Candy, plus there'll be an exhibition of work from local graphic artists (and, if the music gets you feeling peckish, there will also be a vegetarian BBQ with all profits going to the Portsmouth Food Bank)

Tickets are £8, plus booking fee, available via Billeto.

Further reading 
Latest statistics on emergency food supplies given to people in crisis (from The Trussell Trust)
Food Poverty "You think it doesn't happen to normal people" (from Cooking On A Bootstrap)
Child poverty "Hungry pupils fill pockets with school food" (from BBC News)  
Jack Monroe "Poverty doesn’t discriminate" (from The Independent)