For nearly forty years the brutalist magnificence of the Tricorn Centre dominated the heart of Portsmouth's commercial quarter, a confection of concrete and reinforced steel that stirred opinion, for and against, in all who saw it. In latter years the dank, grey structure looked more like somewhere Rick Deckard would hang out but, in its heyday, the Tricorn was host both to one of the first Virgin Megastores and a venue which the likes of Marc Bolan, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, The Wedding Present and Hothouse Flowers all played.
After years of neglect, and despite the protestations of its architects and the locals that loved its strong presence, the Tricorn was demolished in 2004. However since its destruction the building's legend has grown, becoming the subject of a short documentary, lending its name to an electronica duo and proving to be an inspiration for local artists. Its angular logo features on custom apparel, prints of its likeness have proven popular and now it has inspired the city's newest label, Brutalist Records.
Brutalist are a cassette-only outfit, a format which easily lends itself to DIY releasing despite splitting opinion nearly as much as the architectural oddity that inspired the label's name and logo. The label's initial offering is from Horseflies and to mark its release Brutalist have teamed with local collective Calamity Cratediggers for a launch party at The Birdcage.
Horseflies, if you've not yet encountered them, are a magnificent noise machine that consists of both current and ex-members of Deluxe Flamingos & Attack! Vipers!. The band released Fist, the first track from their new Lucidity EP, earlier this year with the song subsequently getting a spin from Tom Robinson on his BBC Introducing 6Music show.
Joining Horseflies on the bill are recent These Bloody Thieves signings The Howlers, purveyors of alt/desert rock hailing from east London. If you missed seeing them play the Edge of The Wedge in February, or fancy checking them out ahead of their set at this year's Portsmouth Psych Fest, here's your chance.
Rounding out the line-up are local acts Make Them All Smile and the quite magnificently named Dad Hair (finally, a band name that I can aspire to).
Things get real at The Festing on Saturday 23rd March; entrance is £5 OTD, details of advance ticket information are available via the Facebook event page.
Brighton lo-fi jangle merchants Porridge Radio have, since being feted by The Guardian as one of the 40 Best New Acts of 2018, supported the likes of Florist, Speedy Ortiz and, more recently, the excellent Wave Pictures (which isn't bad for what began as a solo project based out of lead singer Dana Margolin's bedroom).
Moving
out of the bedroom and into the garden shed, the four-piece (or
five-piece, depending on what band bio you read) recorded and released their debut
album Rice, Pasta and Other Fillers in 2016,
a refreshingly DIY collection of quirkiness that covers love, life and
the boredom in-between.
With new material recorded for their forthcoming second release Porridge Radio will be hitting the road in April, touring the UK and sauntering into Portsmouth on Friday 12th for a gig hosted by Southsea's own Calamity Cratediggers. Legendary sweat-box The Birdcage (above The Festing pub) is the venue and London's Hussy have been announced as the first support act (further artists TBA), with advance tickets available now for a bargain £5.
Barely has the dust settled on the old year, heads still ringing from seeing in the new, and the gig calendar is starting to populate with new events to attend. Amongst the first of these is an all day event at the Edge of the Wedge, the Wedgewood Rooms' sister venue, held in support of Independent Venue Week.
An annual celebration of the UK's small music venues and the people that own, run and work in them, Independent Venue Week supports the stages where many artists receive their first taste of playing live to an audience, artists that may eventually end up playing to thousands at stadia and festivals.
Unfortunately the UK's smaller venues currently face threats from a variety of sources, whether it be rate increases, property developers or neighbourhood noise issues, resulting in names familiar to gig goers disappearing from listings across the land.
Independent Music Week 2019 runs from Monday 28th January through to Sunday 2rd February, with member venues throughout Blighty hosting gigs (locally this includes The Joiners and Suburbia in Southampton, Strings on the Isle of Wight, and the aforementioned Wedgewood Rooms).
Portsmouth DJs and event organisers Calamity Cratediggers have planned an all day shindig at the Edge, complete with record fair and local art showcase, for Sunday 3rd February. The first two confirmed acts playing are Slift, purveyors of psychedelic garage from Toulouse, and Khana Bierbood (คณะเบียร์บูด), a 60s influenced surf band from Thailand, with several more acts set to be announced soon;
Advance tickets are available now via the Wedgewood Rooms website, priced at a very reasonable £8. Yes, sounds a bargain to me too.
Update:
Calamity Cratediggers have announced more acts that have been added to the bill; from London comes punk four-piece Italia 90 and avant-rockers POSA, from closer to home are Portsmouth bands Violet Mud, The Staywakes and Highlights of Our Modern World.
Rounding out the bill is Chet Wynne (aka Adam Rickman from Jesse Wylde & The Stallions), the Battery Hens/Grief Daddy/Aeroplane Attack/Flubums supergroup that is Friday Night Weird Dreams, and Brighton's Squig. A rather natty poster, reproduced above, has been created for the event by illustrator Carl Tai Thompson and would, I feel, make a very nice framed addition for any discerning gig-goers wall.
