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).
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.
Grimy grunge merchants Radlouse play The Festing's Birdcage venue this Thursday, 7th March, topping a bill featuring some great local talent. The Portsmouth four-piece, who headlined the Acapulco stage at the city's Icebreaker Festival this year, should rock the hot and sweaty confines of the compact yet bijou venue with their raw yet melodic tunes.
Joining them on the night will be Portsmouth post-punks Hallan, also headliners at Icebreaker 2018 (where they closed out the The Honest Politician stage), who head into Thursday's gig fresh from playing the quarter-final of the Isle of Wight Festival's New Blood competition at The Wedgewood Rooms earlier in the week.
Rounding out the bill are Southampton alt-rockers Sleazy Shoes, local punky three-piece Flange and Fareham grit-popsters The Gillies (who make a rather good fist of a Chris Isaak classic). Entrance to this Thursday night feast of music is just £3, a bargain, and should make for a great way to welcome in the weekend (well, Thursday IS the new Friday after all).
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.
