Beatz Music & Gig Buddies go Country...

For several different reasons, one being the soulful soundtrack, another the highly quotable dialogue, The Blues Brothers is one of the few constants on my ever-changing list of favourite films*. John Landis' madcap musical comedy, with its raft of Saturday Night Live's early stars performing alongside some of Stax & Atlantic's best musicians, is a surreal portrait of early 80's America (replete with levitating Nuns and a Twiggy cameo).

In one of the film's most memorable scenes our behatted protagonists rustle up a gig at a misbegotten venue in the middle of nowhere, a roadhouse that is not at all welcoming to the Brothers' brand of R'n'B. From my first watch of the film this venue, and the quip about it having both kinds of music, coloured my view of Country music and its fans as a cinematic punchline; bottle throwing red-necks love Tammy Wynette. 

Whilst the sequence is still admittedly funny I have found, having watched the film again through my now considerably older eyes, that it unfairly stereotypes both the music it tenuously represents and the folk who listen to it. That might sound a bit PC but, as I've got older, my tastes have broadened and now an evening spent listening to both the theme from Rawhide and Stand By You Man on repeat, drinking beer and singing along, definitely appeals. 

Unfortunately Bob's Country Bunker only exists in a 35mm world however, in our reality, venerable Portsmouth venue The Wedgewood Rooms boasts at least some of the magic of a roadhouse (the trademark sticky floors and cold beer I mean, not a wall of chicken-wire across the front of the stage to protect the musicians). Admittedly the Wedge may be more Donny that Marie but it has credentials enough to host an evening of modern Country music. 

And when better to do so than on America's birthday? 

This Fourth of July the Wedge will don its blue jeans, polish its Dingo boots, and welcome some modern Country music onto its stage, and it's all thanks to Gig Buddies and Beatz Club. These two organisations promote regular events for adults with disabilities which, whilst providing people with special needs an authentic night of live music in a safe environment, are open to ALL music lovers who want to share a good night's entertainment. 

The line-up for this Thursday night's hoe-down features a performance from local singer-songwriter Alex Krupa, some multi-instrumentalist mellifluousness from RSD Unsigned 2019 shortlisted act Hengistbury, with four-piece Dirt Road Diary closing the evening with a no doubt loud set of Country Rock.



Tickets are for this hootenanny are just £5, available in advance from the venue, with carers getting in for FREE. Yee haw! (sorry, I just couldn't help myself)

* Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back are the other two

Follow The Sun Festival

There is so much good new music out there, so many prospective new favourite bands and artists who want your ear's attention, that it can sometimes seem a struggle knowing where to begin with life's musical buffet. What's better, wilfing your way through SoundCloud or typing random characters into Spotify's search box? Should we wait for 6Music to spin our new musical obsession or go along with Last.FM's "if you like this then you might like that" algorithms? Or, if you're at all like me, do you spread yourself across all options in a desire to hear as new music as you can? Decisions decisions, there are only so many hours in the day, etc etc..

One of the more sociable ways of encountering new music is obviously the humble gig where, just possibly, you might be lucky enough to catch a future stadium band in their first support slot (have I ever mentioned the time I saw The Killers play such a set at The Wedgewood Rooms?). Better yet are music festivals, sprawling events where a wider array of music is invariably on offer, although enjoyment of such events can depend on just how much confidence you have in your Wellingtons. 

If you fear that your galoshes are suspect, are distrustful of Ian McCaskill's brethren, or simply don't want to walk too far then fear not, these are salad days for indoor festivals, one or two day shindigs that offer tasty musical morsels in a mud-free environment. Portsmouth was previously home to one such urban festival, SouthseaFest, an annual event that turned Albert Road's pubs into pop-up venues.

Unfortunately SouthseaFest is no longer running however, such was its impact, like-minded groups of promoters have channelled its spirit into a new series of microfestivals that call Pompey home; from the multi-venue joys of Dials and Icebreaker to the one day, one venue affairs of Golden Touch and Follow The Sun, all showcase a variety of both local and national acts.

The latter of these returns to the Edge of The Wedge for a second instalment this July, with a hand-picked by London-based promoters CloseUp, with the Wedge's sibling venue boasting a compact and bijou performance space which offers punters the opportunity of enjoying an intimate musical experience without the need for a trusty pair of Hunters.

The line-up for this year's instalment includes Londoners LONA and Shanghai Blues, local bands Sad Palace and Dutch Criminal Record, Southsea-based singer-songwriter Megan Linford, Isle of Wight indie-rockers JEPH (who release their new single, Space, via Honeymooner on Friday 5th July) and the hottest thing out of High Wycombe, Only Sun (woefully bad pun intended).



Topping the bill is Lauran Hibberd who, fresh from touring the UK & Europe alongside American indie-rock outfit Hippo Campus and supporting Norwegian pop-punk's Sløtface in London, will be taking her wry brand of observational indie pop to this weekend's Glastonbury Festival. If you miss her sets on the Greenpeace & BBC Introducing stages you'd best get yourself a ticket for Follow The Sun.

Follow The Sun 2019 takes place at the Edge of The Wedge on Saturday 13th July, with doors open from 1300. Tickets are priced at a very reasonable £10 (plus booking fee), available now either via TicketWeb or the venue, and punters are advised that the event has a 14+ age restriction.

Emptifish @ The House of Rapture

Portsmouth's legendary lost Surf Punks Emptifish return for a home-town show next weekend, headlining a night of Garage Rock at the city's newest venue, The House of Rapture. In the 80's the band's gigs gained an infamous reputation, due to in part to an often raw connection with some of the more raucous Pompey fans, leading to Emptifish gaining a  ban from playing within the city limits. Whilst it could be argued that this censure led in part to the band's split, on the eve of recording their debut album no less, time heals most rifts (even The Eagles reformed, despite Don Henley's famous quip) and, after all this time, it only seems fitting that their latest gig is in the shadow of Fratton Park.   

Support on the Skaraman curated night comes from Sci-Fi Punk supergroup The Gary 7, a band featuring members of Armoured Flu Unit, Thee DB3, The Good Time Charlies and, of course, Emptifish themselves, with mood music between sets courtesy of DJ Paul Groovy.

The band recently released a new single, Haunted, through local label Mayfield which featured ex-Damned drummer Rat Scabies on percussive duties (I remember seeing Dead Men Walking at The Wedgewood Rooms some years ago, an evening notable for Captain Sensible telling some rather interesting and slightly off-colour anecdotes about his old bandmate, but those are tales for another time).
 
Tickets for the Saturday 6th July gig are £8 in advance, available now from the venue, direct from the bands involved or in person from Lord Sonic's shop on Albert Road.  

Golden Touch Festival

Somewhere here, squirrelled away at the bottom of a cardboard box that is itself hidden under a pile of similarly nondescript brown cubes, there is a copy of Razorlight's debut album. I mention this as, try as I might not to reference the Johnny Borrell-sized elephant in the room, from the first I heard of Portsmouth's latest one-day festival, one song from that album keeps appearing at the back of my brain. And yes, I realise by telling you this I've no doubt provided you with a similarly plaguing earworm. 

Sorry.

Golden Touch Festival (you're humming it already aren't you?) is a new indoor event from the folks at Fitz Promotions, a two-stage event showcasing some of the best up-and-coming musical talent from the South Coast and further afield, which boasts a hand-picked selection of acts; from bands championed by the likes of BBC 6Music's Steve Lamacq & Huw Stephens to one who recently supported Bastille, all will perform across both stages at The Wedgewood Rooms and the Edge of The Wedge next weekend.



The line-up features psych-rock courtesy of London's Beach for Tiger, indie-rock from Wedgewood Rooms Showcase 2018 winners Brother Deep and Portsmouth's own Crystal Tides, singer-songwriters Casey Lowry & Ulysses Wells, Sheffield four-piece Oddity Road and a Macclesfield take on indie pop from Cassia. Tom Lumley & The Brave Liaison and The White Lakes bring the sound of Oxbridge, joining Guildford rock foursome Cascade,  Blithe, High on Neon, Submariner, Kings & Castles and local lads Neverman on the bill.



Golden Touch Festival kicks off at 1330 next Saturday, 29th June, and tickets for this sonic smörgåsbord are a mere £10 (available in advance from the venue). Now, how do I get rid of a Razorlight earworm? Answers on a postcard please to the usual address.

Highlights of Our Modern World @ The Wave Maiden

Portsmouth's Dials Festival is an excellent showcase of new music, presenting local and touring talent that the average gig-goer may have otherwise not had the joy of stumbling across. Last year's festival provided me the pleasure of encountering both the jaw-dropping live spectacle of Brighton's LibraLibra and the mellow tune-scapes of Pompey's own Highlights of Our Modern World (or HoTM for short).

Watching a man hunched over an array of boxes and keyboards, twiddling nobs and fettling his MacBook, may not immediately appeal to those who like their performance art high in the frenetic. The experience of enjoying HoTM perform live is, however, more art than performance, with the music seeping into your pores and allowing your brain to paint pictures in your mind. OK, I'll admit that sounds more than mildly pretentious, but trust me on this one.



If you'd like to enjoy this experience then your luck is in; HoTM headline a Lathe To The Grave curated night at The Wave Maiden in Southsea next weekend, a line-up that also includes Winchester-based DJ and instrumentalist Inkhromo, Portsmouth's own trip-hop & glitch legend Yeti and new local talent Yung Chow.



Doors are from 1900 next Saturday, 29th June, with entry to the gig only £5 (or £3 for NUS cardholders). G'won, you know you want to...

Moi Caprice - 'Maureen'

"I never really want to see you when the Sun is shining..."

After some ten years away Danish indie-rockers Moi Caprice have returned with a new single, an homage to a doomed character in Sergio Leone's classic Spaghetti Western Once Upon A Time In The West. Unlike Leone's epic, a gorgeous sprawling tale of greed, honour and revenge in the old west, Maureen is five minutes of tight synth, programmed percussion and breathy vocals. This ode to Maureen McBain, whose family's fate acts as a catalyst for an equally bloody chain of events, might not seem a likely topic for a song but Moi Caprice have previous form in taking inspiration from the big screen; the name of their debut album was also inspired by Leone's 1968 epic and their last long player, 2008's We Had Faces Then, both took its title from Sunset Boulevard and included a song paying tribute to Claudia Cardinale.

As a taster for the band's forthcoming fifth album Maureen bodes very well indeed, although we'll have to wait until the Autumn (at least) to hear what other magic the reformed line-up of Michael Møller, Casper Henning Hansen and David Brunsgaard, now joined by touring guitarist Jakob Funch and Fridolin Nordsø on bass (replacing Jakob Millung), have wrought in the studio.

The band haven't exactly been idle in the saddle in the intervening years, individually they've busied themselves as touring musicians or have embarked on solo projects, the most notable of which is Michael Møller's A Month of Unrequited Love. This  daily release of love songs grew into a 31 track LP, Denmark's first crowd-funded vinyl release.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a fan of the band (I'd have to check Last.FM to find out just how many times I've listened to The Art of Kissing Properly, it's definitely in high double-figures though), I am therefore understandably chuffed that they're back in action. And if you're wondering what the relevance of the harmonica at the end of the music video is then, well, you'll just have to watch the film. 

GROWfest 2019

Music is a bountiful feast, an endless buffet of mellifluous morsels to suit all tastes, open to all who want to listen. And so it should be with life, open to all of us to enjoy to the best of its advantage; we all share this pale blue dot and it behoves to make our collective journey through space and time as good as it can possibly be. To paraphrase the legendary duo of William "Bill" S. Preston Esq. and Theodore "Ted" Logan, we should be excellent to each other.

Some people who are channelling their inner Bill & Ted are the fine folks at Southampton's GROW Project, a day service for adults with learning disabilities that offers its members assistance in acquiring new skills, focusing on improving both their independence and quality of life. In addition to their excellent work day-to-day the GROW Project also organises a FREE one-day music festival, GROWfest. 

GROWfest was set up with the aim to provide a free, safe environment for adults with learning, mental or physical disabilities in which to enjoy the festival vibe (an experience that, yes, the rest of us take for granted). Since the first festival in 2017 GROWfest has, ahem, grown in both size and scope, opening itself up to all in the community to enjoy together.

The line-up for GROWfest 2019 so far includes five-piece cover outfit The Honest Lawyers, and local singer-songwriter Jack Howson, with more acts still to be confirmed.



GROWfest 2019 takes place at the Royal Victoria Country Park, Netley, this Saturday, 22nd June, with live entertainment from 1100 to 1600.

Hive Aid / Eşya @ The House of Rapture

David Addison once famously posited, do bees bee? I really hope so, and I really hope they keep bee-ing, but the humble Honey Bee, arguably the most industrious and important creature on our planet, is in serious trouble. A combination of habitat loss, pesticide usage and climate change have seen a dramatic drop in numbers of our honey-making chums, something that we should all be concerned about as, without these amazing, pollinating, waggle-dancing insects us humans would be in deep doo-doo.

Thankfully there is still time to help our little buzzing benefactors and, to highlight their importance, the work they do and how we can give them a helping hand, the fine folks at Portsmouth's Staggeringly Good Brewery are hosting a festival this weekend to celebrate all things bee and raise money to support new hives in the area. In addition to beer (obviously) and honey-based food there will also be presentations from bee experts and, yes, live music.

Hive Aid, and yes I see what they did there, starts this Friday, 21st June, with a performance by Eşya, the solo project of Savage's bass player Ayşe Hassan, at The House of Rapture. Eşya's intoxicating blend of delicate, slightly troubling vocals and persistent beats produce songs laden with foreboding.



Support on the night comes from Hyperstition Duo, ex of the late lamented Sheffield band Blood Sport (whose set at Drift a few years back still burns bright in my memory), and London-based trio Mohit.



Entrance to Friday night's gig is £5 (or free if you pre-order Eşya's EP from Pie & Vinyl).

Hive Aid continues across the weekend with live music throughout; unfortunately details of Saturday's line-up are not available at time of writing but Sunday's session is notable for featuring acts from the Ready To Rock School collective; Luca & Madison, Electric Milk, Glass Cage, Charlotte Neal & Markus Smith will all be performing and entry is FREE!

Ogikubo Station @ The Edge of The Wedge

Californian duo Ogikubo Station, better known indiviually as Mixtapes' guitarist Maura Weaver and Asian Man Records founder Mike Park, bring their beautiful noise to the Edge of the Wedge next week to kick off their first UK headline tour. The pair released their debut long player We Can Pretend Like last year and recently added to their catalogue with the Okinawan Love Songs EP.

Ogikubo Station play an acoustic set at The Edge on Monday 17th June, with support coming from El Morgan, Brighton-based four-piece Cryptic Street, local favourites The Stayawakes and the enigmatically named Shoes On, Now! Tickets are a bargain £7 in advance and, as always, it'll be more on the door.

If you can't make the duo's gig at The Edge then fear not gentle reader, their tour also takes in The Joiners in Southampton on Wednesday 19th June, Brighton's Prince Albert the following night and the New Cross Inn, London, on Tuesday 25th June.

UPDATE: 20/06 - Apparently Mike Park isn't playing all the dates on the tour, if you're expecting to see him in London then unfortunately you'll be out of luck (the venue are offering refunds).

JARV IS... - 'Must I Evolve?'

"Dragging my knuckles, listening to Frankie Knuckles"

My daily commute from home to work is made bearable only thanks to a pocket-sized DAB radio and the musical delights played daily by the wonderful Lauren Laverne; her breakfast-time BBC 6Music show soundtracks the walk-train-walk-bus-walk ordeal that takes me from door to desk. It's a heady mix of tunes and informed chat that, most days, feature something new and shiny getting a spin, an aural delight that perhaps might pop into my brain and take an easy residence there.

One such tune, that has easily made a home in the dusty pathways of my noggin, is living legend Jarvis Cocker's latest release, Must I Evolve? This is the first release from his new ensemble JARV IS, a collection of musicians plucked from various bands and previous collaborative endeavours, and an absolute beast of a song it is too. 

The song opens gently, with Jarvis' queries replied to by a Greek chorus, leading into a gorgeous near spoken word section, before handclaps give way to a thundering rollercoaster of groovy organ and blistering guitars. If Aphrodite's Child ever supplied the soundtrack for an existential Western this is what it would sound like, all that's missing is a Mariachi trumpet solo at the end.

It's only at the end, when the dust settles around you and the other commuters on the bus are giving you some very odd looks, when you realise that was nearly seven minutes of absolute exhilaration. Gorgeous.

Being primarily a live concern it should come as no surprise to learn that eager punters can only obtain a hard copy of the single at one of JARV IS' gigs (and having checked their forthcoming live dates I rather think I'll be out of luck in getting my grubby mitts on one). Are musicians idiosyncratic? Yes yes yes yes...  

 UPDATE: 24/05 - There's a remix too, which is nice...

Acoustic Sessions @ The Dolphin / JunkStar-Baby

Portsmouth still has, despite the best efforts of the Luftwaffe and keen property developers, a large number of public houses for a city its size, offering refreshing alcoholic beverages and, in some cases live music, to a discerning clientèle. The oldest of Pompey's many hostelries is located in the city's old quarter, just a short distance from the historic Square Tower, opposite the Cathedral, and has been serving ales to legions of eager punters since 1716 (or thereabouts). 

Whilst The Dolphin certainly boasts longevity, and successfully managed to survive the Blitz better than some of its neighbours, there have been periods of late when its future has been in question; changes of management alienated some of its regulars, as did refurbishment and a move toward a more food orientated business plan, all of which led inexorably to an abrupt closure. Thankfully, after a lick of paint and another change of management, the pub reopened and appears to be going from strength to strength.

Long known for hosting live comedy The Dolphin has been hosting a limited season of live music each Friday evenings, with these Acoustic Sessions set to run through to mid-June. Following sets from Si Hitchenson and Andy Muscat the next act to perform are, according to the blurb on their Facebook page, "born out of bands long gone, both forged in an age when Play-Doh smelled good enough to eat". They are, of course, JunkStar-Baby.



The awesome twosome of Steve Arnott (no, not that one) and Maria Ede-Weaving are no strangers to the Portsmouth music scene, with both separately performing in various local bands over the years (including The Chosen, whose debut single can still be procured on ebay) before joining forces to become the most mellifluous JunkStar-Baby. 

Steve & Maria will be performing original songs, a choice cover or three and, if gently persuaded, some of The Chosen's back catalogue, this coming Friday, 24th May. The duo are playing two sets, the first starting at 2015 and, after a short break, the second starting at 2130. Entry is free and, if you are so inclined, the pub is also hosting a beer festival this weekend. Well, it is a Bank Holiday after all.

Emptifish - 'Haunted'

"That girl has got, got me, got me cursed" 

In 2015, after some nearly 30 years of radio silence, Portsmouth Garage Rockers Emptifish re-emerged from the musical mists of time to finally release their debut long player. Having plundered the vaults 6.57 collected both long lost recordings and the band's two singles, on vinyl, in a deliciously designed retro sleeve. The positive reaction that their vinyl retrospective received naturally led to more live dates, including sets at Victorious Festival, which in turn energised the foursome to return to the studio, subsequently releasing the Sonic's Got A Ray Gun EP in 2017.

Spool the reel-to-reel forward a few years and the Pompey Surf Punks are back at it; new single Haunted, released via Portsmouth label Mayfield and featuring Rat Scabies (yes, THAT Rat Scabies) on drums, has a stomping swagger about it. A heady blend of guitars and thumping drums that power the tune along, laced with distorted vocals and organ stabs fill which out the sound to make something sinfully catchy. It's a great return although, and I'll admit this might sound picky, my only complaint would be that it sounds too slick for Emptifish (where's Lee Mavers with his bag of dust when you need it?)

 

To celebrate the new release the band are playing a rare live date, a home town gig at The Old Barn, on Sunday 5th May where they'll be joined by The Rems, The Dinz and special guests Acid Attack. Tickets are £8 in advance, available from Albert Road's Dress Code or online from book.events.

For a snapshot of the band in their heyday, replete with some very interesting newspaper clippings, check out the Emptifish page on the Portsmouth Music Scene website.

Hungry and The Hunted @ The Bird

A tired looking public house on the Gosport Road may not appear, at first glance, to be Fareham's premier live venue but The Bird In Hand, with its fading paintwork out front and inside walls held firm with load-bearing dust, has over the years gained a reputation for regularly hosting an eclectic selection of live music.

The pub itself is much-loved, dog-eared even, with a grubby charm that's found all too rarely these days; visiting is not like stepping into a generic chained pub, no Wetherspoon or Hungry Horse this and, if those are the kind of hostelries you prefer, The Bird won't be for you. 

There's no stage to speak of, the Pool table is shunted to aside to make room for a band to set up in a corner of the main bar, and bands regularly find themselves coming into very close contact with the music-loving regulars, and that's what makes a gig at The Bird such an experience. 

The venue has an open booking policy, welcoming cover acts, new bands who want to gain live experience and artists from further afield, and all forthcoming attractions are chalked on the wall so everyone knows who's playing and when (there's also a well subscribed Facebook group too). 

Blues-rock trio Hungry and The Hunted bill themselves as "the last Rock & Roll band", describing their sound as "an unholy product of Joe Strummer and Lemmy gatecrashing a Deep Purple rehearsal, armed with a pile of STAX & CHESS records", and a listen to songs from either of their two albums shows that this is not immodest chest-beating. There's a rawness, there's groove, there's honesty, and the band are not shy about who they've been influenced by.



Hungry and The Hunted play The Bird this Sunday, 7th April, and I can think of few better ways of seeing out the weekend then with two hours of "demolition Blues and outlaw Rock & Roll". Entry is FREE, music from 1800.

Snapped Ankles - 'Rechargeable'

Self-professed "woodland agitators" Snapped Ankles' latest release is well deserving of the not inconsiderable amount of airplay it's been receiving of late on 6Music. With its propulsive beats and distorted vocals Rechargeable is a strobe-inducing belter of a track; imagine James Murphy and Lene Lovich fighting over the controls of a jet-speeder as it races across the alkali flats towards an army of Secret Machines commanded by Mark E Smith, that's the movie that plays in my brain each time I hear it.

It's not just me, surely?



Is it?

It is, isn't it?

Oh well.

Regardless, if like me you want to experience their shamanistic stage antics first-hand then there's good news ahoy; the East London outfit will be bringing their brand of "agricultural Kraftwerk" to Portsmouth when they play Psych Fest 2019 on Saturday 4th May (for which tickets, though limited, are still available).

Death By Shotgun @ The Wave Maiden

Bournemouth emo-punks Death By Shotgun kick off a short Spring tour with a stop-off at Southsea craft ale haven The Wave Maiden on Friday 12th April, a nice warm-up for their appearance at Brighton's Washed Out Festival the following day.

The band's latest release Good Times / Sad Times, the vinyl edition of which not only boasts eco-friendly credentials (making every pressing unique) but also features the band's debut EP on the flip-side, is available from Bandcamp via Beth Shalom Records.

Supports for The Wave Maiden gig are TBA, advance tickets are £4 (plus booking fee), available from WeGotTickets, entry £5 OTD.

Crocodile Nightmares: Violet Mud, Sans, Gork and Make Them All Smile

The Checkatrade Trophy is, for those unfamiliar with the vagaries of the beautiful game, the third most prestigious trophy in the realm of English football. Were it not for capricious fate (and two goals from Sunderland) Bristol Rovers would have reached this year's final at Wembley, playing Portsmouth for the honour of lifting the silverware. 

If Rovers had made it to this weekend's final then linking the game to Crocodile Nightmares' forthcoming gig at The Loft, which features bands both from Bristol and Pompey, would not have required such tenuous opening spiel. But that's football for you, it's a funny old game but, at the end of 90 minutes, Ron Manager will have something inane to say.

Noise merchants Violet Mud, local purveyors of raw, loud musical morsels, headline an evening of mellifluous entertainments. The band played the Strong Island Recordings stage at this year's Icebreaker, always a sign of quality.

The first of the Bristle bands is Sans, a three-piece whose Facebook bio likens their output to audio treacle. Mmm, treacle. Ahead of the release of their first long player Misophonic Songs the band released a track, Ode to Marilyn, which is currently streaming on Bristol In Stereo. If you remember Rickyfitts then you may recognise one of Sans.


 
Also out of Brizzle are Gork, a six-headed, twelve-legged power punk pop monster of epic proportions. All hail Gork, our new Bristolian overlords... feed the Gork and it will score, etc..



Rounding out the bill are Make Them All Smile, Portsmouth post-punks with a predilection for choice tunes and post-gig kebabs (who also, like Violet Mud, played the SIR stage at Icebreaker in January).



This fun-packed fixture is scheduled for Friday 12th April, at The Loft on Albert Road, with tickets priced at a bargain £5.

Nod Ya Head #4 - Jeph, Flying Machines & Fugitive Orchestra

The motto "same old town, brand new music" befits Nod Ya Head well, with the Fareham promoter quickly establishing a deserved reputation for booking an interesting mix of bands for its live music nights. The line-up for their fourth showcase, which includes something great from the other side of the Solent, can only add to this renown.

The Isle of Wight continues to bring forth great musical offerings, such as the cinematic electronica of Curxes, the spiky indie-pop of Lauran Hibberd and the eclectic loveliness of Plastic Mermaids. The island's latest export is Jeph, an indie foursome with a lush line of jangly guitar; if you like The Beths then these should be right up your street.



Second on the bill are Flying Machines who, I have no doubt, some idle writer will tailor a quip about being magnificent men. The band Portsmouth band, not to be confused with the London outfit of the same name, released their debut long player Tales of a Quiet Guest last year.



Rounding out the line-up is Portsmouth's own Fugitive Orchestra, the one-man-band of James Tattington, who recently celebrated the release of his new single Tomahawk Caress with a gig at the city's newest venue, The House of Rapture.



Advance tickets for the Saturday 6th April gig at The Roundabout Hotel are available online now via BookEvents, priced at £6, with entry OTD still a snip at £7. 

UPDATE:

02/04 Physical tickets are available for purchase from Heathen Chemistry, West Street, Fareham.

"My name is Ranking Full Stop, so all you really got to do is just-a move you little feet and just-a rock-a to the beat"

The tale of how Ranking Roger came to join The Beat has such a ring of serendipity about it that it sounds almost too Hollywood to be true, more befitting a scene created for dramatic effect in a band biopic than something that happened in real life. Legend has it that it occurred when The Beat supported his then band; whilst watching the warm-up from side of stage it became obvious that this was the better act so, whilst lead singer Dave Wakeling had his back to the microphone, Roger leapt on stage and toasted along. The rest, as they say, is history.

The announcement earlier today of his death from cancer has been followed by an outpouring of love which has populated the internet; the sorrow from bandmates, fans and friends, is testament to how respected and adored he was both in the industry and outside of it. He was that successful rarity in music, a nice guy.

Ranking Roger 1963-2019
RIP

'The final move was made, the knight hung his head, and said "You've won, I've nothing left to play"'

Unconventional. Enigmatic. Reclusive. Idiosyncratic. All these terms and more have been used to describe the life and career of the legendary Scott Walker whose death, at the age of 76, was announced earlier today. A bass player who became a teen idol, a pop star who developed into an avant-garde icon, his trajectory through the music world produced some of the most interesting and beautiful music I've been fortunate to hear.

Like most folk my age I first encountered Scott Walkers' voice via The Walker Brothers, most likely through hearing the rousing anthemic notes of The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore pouring forth from my Mum's hi-fi speakers, with it taking immediate residence in my mind's music library. It was only some years later before I stumbled across what he did next, the rich, dark pop of his first four solo albums. 

Scott 1-thru-4, with their sumptuous production, lush strings that under-pin ever interesting lyrics, a sprinkling of judicious and eclectic versions, all topped with that voice. Oh, that voice. The man may be gone but his voice will always be with us and, I hope, ever will it be that people experience the joy of hearing it for the first time, wanting to hear it again and again.







Scott Walker 1943-2019
RIP

The Domestics @ The Festing

Ipswich punk/hardcore outfit The Domestics descend on Pompey next month, headlining a Portsmouth Punk Promotions/Charlie's Big Ray Gun Records promoted night at The Birdcage, and already I'd put money on a raucous circle pit forming during their set. If you like fast, loud and shouty then this gig will definitely be your bag of chips.



The band play the upstairs venue at The Festing on Friday 6th April, with local bands Hack Job and Flybums so far announced as support. For the low low price of £5 you can enjoy an evening of loud guitars, throaty vocals and fast drumming (with the chance of suffering a ringing head the following morning being highly likely).