The Gigwatcher 10/09/2008

And the winner is...

Three cheers and a rousing hurrah for Elbow, worthy winners of this year's Mercury Music Prize. For a while there, given the repeat listens I've given it over the past few weeks, I'd started to cross fingers that Neon Neon would walk away with it...

Umm.

Yeah, I bet on the wrong one again...

*koff*

And so to business; I purloined the following entertainments from the dark and musty back pages of this week's NME for your edification and delight:

Friendly Fires @ The Joiners, Southampton - 24/09/2008
Johnny Foreigner @ The Albert, Brighton - 29/09/2008
Ladyhawke @ Komedia, Brighton - 30/09/2008
The Datsuns @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 11/10/2008
Deadmau5 @ Digital, Brighton - 23/10/2008
The Datsuns @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 22/10/2008
Johnny Flynn @ The Joiners, Southampton - 28/10/2008
Black Kids, Ladyhawke and Magistrates @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 02/11/2008
Cage The Elephant @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 04/11/2008
Fucked Up @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 07/11/2008

I'll endeavour to add the above gigs onto the SoMC Events Calendar at some point over the weekend (so much for thinking the world was going to be sucked inside out; I had two days of sitting on the edge of the event horizon all planned). When bang up to date the Events Calendar is a most useful aid for the idle muso about town, and is full of local gigs, like these...

Little London, Dragon Eye Morrison and Insinerate @ Havant Arts Centre - 11/09/2008
Have Mercy @ The RMA Tavern, Portsmouth - 11/09/2008
Kids Can't Flyy, Bigtopp and Taste The Chase @ The Joiners, Southampton - 11/09/2008
Das Wanderlust, The Bobby McGees and Shrag @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 11/09/2008
The Ex-Patriots and Painterman @ The Fat Fox, Portsmouth - 11/09/2008
Team Medal, Remain Silenced and Beyond Help @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 11/09/2008
In Like Flynn, Sheilatakeabow, The Zedmen and Blue Gazelles @ The Railway Rifle Club, Portsmouth - 11/09/2008
Eliza Carthy @ Komedia, Brighton - 11/09/2008
Red Jackson @ The Platform Tavern, Southampton - 11/09/2008
The Chemists, Loose Tongue and The Lonely Cardinals @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 12/09/2008
The Bog Rolling Stones @ The Brook, Southampton - 12/09/2008
Rick Payne @ Havant Arts Centre - 12/09/2008
Intraverse and Karalta @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 12/09/2008
Almeida, Action & Action and Shackleton @ The Nell Gwynne, Portsmouth - 12/09/2008
Crystal Arcade, The Inklings and Atlas @ The Joiners, Southampton - 12/09/2008
Barb Wire Bob @ The Railway, Gosport - 12/09/2008
Contra, Abraxas, The Exposed and No Problems @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 12/09/2008 FREE ENTRY!
Orphans & Vandals, The Inklings, Benny The Moth and Jazica @ Kolebka, Southampton - 12/09/2008
The Chap, Restlesslist and Gloria Cycles @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 12/09/2008
The Model Horror @ The Soul Cellar, Southampton - 12/09/2008
The Asylum Seekers, WiLF, Archive 45 and Vinny Void (DJ) @ Moodeaze (Sidewalk) Club, Gosport - 12/09/2008
Bob Log III, Skulls, Edward J Hicks and The Moulettes @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 12/09/2008
Deltawave (DJ) @ The Fawcett Inn, Portsmouth - 12/09/2008
Purple Monkey @ The Firehouse, Southampton - 12/09/2008
The Strange Death Of Liberal England, Little Fish and Six Nation State @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 13/09/2008
The Baddies, Ashbies and Jonny Dare @ Hamptons, Southampton - 13/09/2008
Annabelle Chvostek @ Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham - 13/09/2008
Perfect Alibi @ The Brook, Southampton - 13/09/2008
The Wild Oats @ The RMA Tavern, Portsmouth - 13/09/2008
Lynchpin @ The Firehouse, Southampton - 13/09/2008
The Cheese Doctors @ The Square Brewery, Petersfield - 13/09/2008
Superfly @ The Colonial Bar, Horndean - 13/09/2008
The Legendary Derek @ The Frog & Frigate, Southampton - 13/09/2008
Dlugokecki @ The Soul Cellar, Southampton - 13/09/2008
The Sock Monkeys and Luke Toulson @ The Railway, Winchester - 13/09/2008
The Colours, Crystal Arcade and The Quotes @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 13/09/2008
Your Demise @ Salisbury Arts Centre - 13/09/2008
The Reservoirs and Gloria Cycles @ The Joiners, Southampton - 13/09/2008
Sunset Mission, The Issues and Rusty Strings @ The Nell Gwynne, Portsmouth - 13/09/2008
The Mirimar Disaster and Olmec Diagram @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 13/09/2008
Underoath, Envy On The Coast and Oh, Sleeper @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 14/09/2008 SOLD OUT!
Little Toby Walker @ The Forge, Basingstoke - 14/09/2008
Artisian, Gilla Bruja and Archaic Arcanum @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 14/09/2008
The Mirimar Disaster, Proceed and Tento @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 14/09/2008
The Toasters and 3 Minute Warning @ The Joiners, Southampton - 14/09/2008
Gentle Bren (DJ) @ Little Johnny Russell's, Portsmouth - 14/09/2008
In Bob We Trust (Dylan tribute) @ Komedia, Brighton - 14/09/2008
Blues etc @ The Platform Tavern, Southampton - 14/09/2008
Lach, Arthur Delaney and Lucy Mitchell @ The Fat Fox, Portsmouth - 14/09/2008
Rozi Plain, The Pictish Trail and Francois @ The Railway, Winchester - 14/09/2008
Dave James Wheat, Ian Scarbro and Star Anise @ The RMA Tavern, Portsmouth - 14/09/2008
Bad Manners, Max Splodge and Django @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 14/09/2008
Gotye @ Komedia, Brighton - 15/09/2008
Alannah Myles @ The Brook, Southampton - 15/09/2008
The Toasters, 3 Minute Warning and Essay For The Ordinary @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 15/09/2008
Saiichi Sugiyama Band @ The Fat Fox, Portsmouth - 15/09/2008
Bad Manners @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 15/09/2008
Hifi Hand Grenades and The Exposed @ The Joiners, Southampton - 15/09/2008 CANCELLED!
Doug MacLeod @ Komedia, Brighton - 15/09/2008
Fraser Anderson, Ben Pinwill and Karen Harmony @ Drift, Southsea - 15/09/2008
The Hot Melts, Sterling and Hardly Heroes @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 16/09/2008
Crystal Castles @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 16/09/2008 CANCELLED!
Solent City Jazzmen @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 16/09/2008
The Devil's Conspiracy, Andrew Jarmin and James Tippens @ The Edge of The Wedge, Portsmouth - 16/09/2008
Stu & Denovo @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 16/09/2008
King Size Slim and The Marvellous Mechanical Band @ Little Johnny Russell's, Portsmouth - 16/09/2008
Dave Cloud & The Gospel Of Power and The Sticks @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 16/09/2008 CANCELLED!
American Music Club and Peter Bruntnell @ The Railway, Winchester - 16/09/2008
My Brightest Diamond and Marla Hansen @ Komedia, Brighton - 16/09/2008
The Metros @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 17/09/2008
Dave Swarbrick & Martin Carthy @ The Haymarket, Basingstoke - 17/09/2008
Stackridge @ The Brook, Southampton - 17/09/2008
Little Toby Walker @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 17/09/2008
California Dreamin' (Beach Boys tribute) @ Chicago Rock Cafe, Fareham - 17/09/2008
Stickee Ickee (DJ) @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 17/09/2008
Golden Silvers @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 17/09/2008
Deaf Havana, Asking Alexandria and Finely Tuned Assassins @ The Joiners, Southampton - 17/09/2008
Eileen Rose & The Holy Wreck @ Komedia, Brighton - 17/09/2008
Collapsing Cities, Recreation and Kosmonaut @ The Railway, Winchester - 17/09/2008
Summers, Fantastic Castle and The Tripods @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 17/09/2008
Iglu & Hartley @ Komedia, Brighton - 17/09/2008
The Alan Titchmarsh Project @ The Square Brewery, Petersfield - 17/09/2008
The Mercury Men, The Visitors and Aitch @ Drift, Southsea - 17/09/2008
Hey Negrita & The Travelling Band (plus documentary) @ Komedia, Brighton - 17/09/2008 CANCELLED!
Shotgun and The Charlie Parkers @ The Fat Fox, Portsmouth - 17/09/2008

This week's Waster features DJs Will chuMp and Lemon from the Southsea Mafia, who'll be providing the best indie/rock/dance/alternative tunes around in the fine surroundings of Portsmouth's Envy nightclub. Doors open at 2200 tomorrow, Thursday 11th September, with admission £2.20 before 2300, rising to £3.20 after. More information, including how to get on the guest-list, is available from the event's Facebook page.

The Swan in Woolston will be hosting a day of music and comedy this Sunday, 13th September. The line-up features local rock bands Lynchpin and Superfly, comedian Matt Black (and his piano) plus a selection of tunes from Carly & Graham of Perfect Alibi, the South's leading Pink Floyd tribute band. The music starts at 1400, finishes at 2200, and admission is £2 on the door (all proceeds go to charity).

Fans of Peckham indie kids The Metros are advised to check out club-night Connection at Scandal's tomorrow night, Thursday 11th September, as amongst the usual fine array of tunes will be a selection of the band's forthcoming new album (which, it must be said, the NME didn't like all that much) plus give-aways of Metros' merchandise to boot. Doors open from 2200 and entrance is £1 before 2330, £2.50 after. More information can be found on the Facebook event page.

The Wedgewood Rooms hosts the play off of its Showcase 08 competition tomorrow, Thursday 11th September, when the highest scoring runners-up (or acts most deserving of a second chance) will be battling it out for a place in the final. The line-up for the play off includes The Tripods, Not Good Enough For Tony, Goodbye Stereo and Rusty Sheriff & Friends, all of whom have the judges to impress and the audience to win over. Doors open at 2000, admission is £4.

This week Roger Courtney's Open Mike Club features performances from Portsmouth all-girl band Minds Gone Blank, Gosport's The Unknown Soldiers, 70's recording artist Roy Hill and local indie five-piece Pathway. Doors open at The Barn at The Milton Arms at 1900 tomorrow, Thursday 11th September, with the music starting at 1900 (the Open Mike session follows on after the guest artists at 2230). Admission is FREE and you're advised to arrive early.

Southsea Fest 2008 takes over Albert Road for a whole day of musical delights this Saturday, 13th September, with 14 hours of live music spread across 8 of the venerable thoroughfare's finest establishments. Amongst the entertainments on offer are an afternoon of acoustic performances in Porter's, sets from The Strange Death of Liberal England and Six Nation State at The Wedgewood Rooms, a DJ set from Dirty Pretty Things at Little Johnny Russell's, rock from White Knuckle Revolution and Alternative Car Park at the Southsea Liberal Club and selection of the best local bands at The One Eyed Dog and The Fat Fox. Full information on who's playing where, and when, plus ticketing details are available from the event's website.

In addition to the aforementioned list of events along Albert Road this Saturday, 13th September, club-night Chaos returns to The Wedgewood Rooms for a festival special. The Main Room features DJs Hev Stilet-Hoe and Marky Marc, with Will Chump and Ruby Soho mellowing things out in The Chaos Lounge (aka The Edge of The Wedge). Doors open 2200 through to 0300, entrance is £5 on the door (last admission at 0100).

Power down the Flux Capacitor, that's it for another week; today I have mostly been listening to Elbow's Mercury Award-winning album and the mellifluous tones of Vampire Weekend. Be sure to join me next week when I'll be standing on the edge, looking over.

The Gigwatcher 04/09/2008

Absolutely

I'm not sure if Virgin Radio's re-branding exercise will get me to tune in; not so much because it's a daft name, more so because I can't remember how to retune my clock radio away from PowerFM.

[tumbleweed]

Oh the shame of it... though in all honesty it's the only thing bad enough to get me out of bed in the morning.

*koff*

Moving swiftly on, I plucked the following forthcoming gigs from the gawdy back pages of this week's NME:

Little Man Tate @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 23/09/2008
Friendly Fires and Tinchy Strider @ The Joiners, Southampton - 24/09/2008
Friendly Fires and Jape @ Audio, Brighton - 06/10/2008
One Night Only @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 07/10/2008
The Aliens @ Digital, Brighton - 16/10/2008
The Courteeners @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 19/10/2008 SOLD OUT!
The Rifles @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 20/10/2008 SOLD OUT!
Neon Neon @ Digital, Brighton - 30/10/2008
The View @ The Old Market, Brighton - 31/10/2008
The View @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 04/11/2008
Youthmovies @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 07/11/2008
Kora @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 11/11/2008
Dizzee Rascal @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 18/11/2008
Dark Captain Light Captain @ Ocean Rooms, Brighton - 29/11/2008

The above gigs will be thrust majestically onto the SoMC Events Calendar as and when I get the time (but, given my oft mentioned ability to be easily distracted by shiny pieces of foil and brightly coloured paper, I wouldn't put money on it). When updated the Events Calendar becomes a fine and dandy resource for the average gig monkey, full of gigs like these...

The Bizets @ Hamptons, Southampton - 04/09/2008
Meshuggah @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 04/09/2008
The Six Barrels, The Vision, Kelly Mordecai and Yasmin Gale @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 04/09/2008
Exit Calm and Escape To Sea @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 04/09/2008
SixNationState, Fresh Legs and The Rebs @ The Joiners, Southampton - 04/09/2008
Gemma Hayes @ The Fat Fox, Portsmouth - 04/09/2008
Alistair Goodwin @ The Platform Tavern, Southampton - 04/09/2008
Nocturnal @ The Soul Cellar, Southampton - 05/09/2008
The Bog Rolling Stones and The Autumn Stone @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 05/09/2008
RU40 (tribute) @ The Brook, Southampton - 05/09/2008
Shadows Fall @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 05/09/2008 CANCELLED!
Steve Arnott @ The Frog & Frigate, Southampton - 05/09/2008
Fulibulbus @ Salisbury Arts Centre - 05/09/2008
Black Bart and The Lowis Lanes @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 05/09/2008
Hold Fire, Gloria Cycles and The Auteur @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 05/09/2008
Malefice, Shy Of The Depths and Terrathorn @ The Joiners, Southampton - 05/09/2008
Oasish (trbiute) and Stereotonics (tribute) @ Komedia, Brighton - 05/09/2008
Django, Eat The Document and The Radics @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 05/09/2008
The Rebs, Idiot3 and James Kane @ The Railway, Brighton - 05/09/2008
Davy Jones' Locker @ The Firehouse, Southampton - 05/09/2008
Phil Beer & Reg Meuross @ Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham - 06/09/2008
Slipnot @ The Firehouse, Southampton - 06/09/2008 CANCELLED!
Camille O'Sullivan @ The Dome, Brighton - 06/09/2008
The Bon Jovi Experience (tribute) @ The Brook, Southampton - 06/09/2008
Rosie & The Goldbug, Hold Fast and SheGotSick @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 06/09/2008
The Legendary Derek @ The Frog & Frigate, Southampton - 06/09/2008
The Elijah, Lifeless and Countyourlies @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 06/09/2008
The Warm, Recreation and Four Dead From Ohio @ The Joiners, Southampton - 06/09/2008
Red Indie with Dr Watson (DJ) and Skidmark (DJ) @ Little Johnny Russell's, Portsmouth - 06/09/2008
Soma High @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 06/09/2008
John Otway @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 07/09/2008
The Dawn Chorus, Alex Cornish and The Metropolise @ The Joiners, Southampton - 07/09/2008
Frightened Rabbit and We Are Promised Jetpacks @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 07/09/2008
Shapes, Targets, Venice Ahoy and OK Pilot @ Hamptons, Southampton - 07/09/2008
Jackie Leven @ Komedia, Brighton - 07/09/2008
Gentle Bren (DJ) @ Little Johnny Russell's, Portsmouth - 07/09/2008
John Crampton @ The Platform Tavern, Southampton - 07/09/2008
Dave Wheat @ The RMA Tavern, Portsmouth - 07/09/2008
Stu & Denovo @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 07/09/2008
Mimi Soya, Clarkson and Out Of Sight @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 08/09/2008
Forever Wednesday and Who's Keeping Score? @ The Joiners, Southampton - 08/09/2008
Backyard Babies @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 09/09/2008
The Abyssinians and Dillinger @ The Brook, Southampton - 09/09/2008
Angela Brown & The Mighty 45's @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 09/09/2008
James & Denovo @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 09/09/2008
Dave Wheat, Rees Cheese and Nick Tann @ The Edge of The Wedge, Portsmouth - 09/09/2008
Dave Phillips, Gastric Female Reflex and Jez North @ The Frog & Frigate, Southampton - 09/09/2008
The Blow Monkeys @ Komedia, Brighton - 09/09/2008
Blue Of A Kind @ Havant Arts Centre - 09/09/2008
Howard Jones @ The Studio at The Petersfield School - 09/09/2008
Super Tonic @ The Joiners, Southampton - 09/09/2008
Medicine & Duty, Trumpy No and Easy Hips @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 09/09/2008
Louche Manouche @ The Platform Tavern, Southampton - 09/09/2008
Das Wanderlust, Booshtastic Bluetronica and Alex Stamp @ The Railway, Brighton - 09/09/2008
Eliza Carthy @ Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham - 10/09/2008
The Exits, The Johnny Soul Trip and Southern Bell @ The Fat Fox, Portsmouth - 10/09/2008
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin and Educated Animals @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 10/09/2008
Backyard Babies @ The Brook, Southampton - 10/09/2008
Kirsty McGee & Mat Martin @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 10/09/2008
Sun Kil Moon @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 10/09/2008
Das Wanderlust and Church Of Dave @ The Joiners, Southampton - 10/09/2008
The Abyssinians and Dillinger @ Komedia, Brighton - 10/09/2008
Peter Conway, Rossco and James Tippins @ Drift, Southsea - 10/09/2008
Mimas and Prego @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 10/09/2008
Arachnotaur and Tesseract @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 10/09/2008
The Peth & Hijera @ The Soul Cellar, Southampton - 28/09/2008
Wishbone Ash @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 09/10/2008
Zebrahead @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 23/10/2008
Adrian Edmondson & The Bad Shepherds @ The Brook, Southampton - 05/12/2008
Jason Donovan @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 18/12/2008
Kenny Rogers @ BIC, Bournemouth - 04/04/2009

Will Chump and Philip Harvey of the Southsea Mafia DJs take charge of the wheels of steel at Waster tomorrow night, Thursday 4th September. The doors of Portsmouth's Envy nightclub swing open at 2200, with entrance £3.20 before 2300, rising to £4.20 after. For more information, including how to get on the guest-list, see the Facebook event page.

The Opera House in Bournemouth hosts another night of Northern Soul this Saturday, 6th September. DJs Dave Rimmer and Tony Edgley will be joined by Johnny Herbert, Chris Thorley and Moldie. Tickets are £10 in advance, doors open 2000 and the event runs through till 0400.

The second semi-final of The Wedgewood Rooms' Showcase 08 competition takes place tomorrow, Thursday 4th September, and features Almeida, The White Coats, Rivers of Sound and Sheilatakeabow. With a slot in the final on offer all bands will be doing their best to impress the audience and the panel of judges. Doors open at 2000, admission is £4.

HMS Pin Up will be dropping anchor at The RMA Tavern in Portsmouth on Sunday 7th September for another evening of Burlesque entertainment. Slinky Sparkles, Betsy Butterscotch, Dolly Divine and The Candy Girls will be performing on-stage, with Chaos DJ Spikey Mark providing the proceedings with a rock'n'roll soundtrack. Tickets are £5 in advance from the venue, £6 on the door, and the fun starts at 2000.

Funkt-If-Ino pitches up at The Wedgewood Rooms this Saturday, 4th September, for an 'End of Summer Jam', serving up hot funk and soul with a large portion of disco and hip-hop on the side. Doors open at 2200, admission is £5.

Roger Courtney's Open Mike Club this features performances by acoustic duo Mojito and singer-songwriter Ade Cull. The doors of The Barn at The Milton Arms will open at 1900 tomorrow, Thursday 4th September, with the first act on-stage at 2000. Admission is, as usual, FREE!

And finally, to all those heading over to the Island for this year's Bestival, have a darn good time (and yes, I really will get around to sorting a ticket next year, honest guv).

Turn off the gas, I'm cooked; today I have mostly been listening to the retro stylings of Neon Neon, Portico Quartet's Mercury Award nominated debut and Gotye's 2006 (but only just released in Blighty) sophomore release. Be sure to join me next week when I'll be pretending I'm a character in a Spaghetti Western.

:o)

The Gigwatcher 27/08/2008

Going For Gold

All that hubbub and it's over already; two weeks of (sometimes arcane) sporting pursuits that kept me glued to the tellybox, with medals galore (for a change) and the usual histrionics from the commentators.

Gutted I missed Boris running at the end though.

*koff*

So much time and so little to do; the following gigs were rescued from the clutches of the Vermicious Knids lurking in the back pages of this week's scrum-diddly-umptious NME:

The Do Dos and Euros Childs @ Coalition, Brighton - 12/09/2008
Born Ruffians @ The Hope, Brighton - 13/09/2008
Wildbirds & Peacedrums @ The Prince Albert, Brighton - 16/09/2008
Golden Silvers @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 17/09/2008
Jubilee @ The Joiners, Southampton - 19/09/2008
Sennen @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 21/09/2008
The Academy Is... and We The Kings @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 21/09/2008
Cajun Dance Party @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 24/09/2008
Islands @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 25/09/2008
Johnny Foreigner and Dananananaykroyd @ The Albert, Brighton - 29/09/2008
Golden Silvers @ The Joiners, Southampton - 29/09/2008
Brett Anderson @ St George's Church, Brighton - 29/09/2008
White Lies and The Joy Formidable @ Komedia, Brighton - 29/09/2008
The Duke Spirit @ Komedia, Brighton - 01/10/2008
Sam Sparro @ The Corn Exchange, Brighton - 03/10/2008
Longview @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 03/10/2008
Hot Club de Paris @ Audio, Brighton - 04/10/2008
Longview @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 04/10/2008
Thomas Tantrum and The Daisy Riots @ The Joiners, Southampton - 10/10/2008
Cajun Dance Party @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 13/10/2008
Los Campesinos! @ Komedia, Brighton - 14/10/2008
Esser @ Audio, Brighton - 15/10/2008
Natty @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 16/10/2008
Jeremy Walmsley @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 18/10/2008
Jeremy Walmsley @ The Joiners, Southampton - 19/10/2008
Esser @ Lennons, Southampton - 20/10/2008
Tilly & The Wall @ The Brook, Southampton - 20/10/2008
Does It Offend You Yeah? and South Central @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 21/10/2008
The Complete Stone Roses @ Mr Kyp's, Poole - 25/10/2008
Neon Neon @ Digital, Brighton - 30/10/2008
Grammatics @ Audio, Brighton - 03/11/2008
Noah & The Whale @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 03/11/2008
Cage The Elephant @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 04/11/2008
Ida Maria @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 13/11/2008
Ida Maria @ Komedia, Brighton - 18/11/2008
The Kills @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 21/11/2008
Cardinals @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 22/11/2008
I'm From Barcelona @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 26/11/2008
Attack!Attack! @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 05/12/2008
Attack!Attack! @ The Joiners, Southampton - 06/12/2008
The Fratellis @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 09/12/2008
The Levellers and Divokej Bill @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 14/12/2008

I'll endeavour to add the above gigs onto the SoMC Events Calendar at my earliest opportunity (i.e. when I'm not distracted by something shiny, or a beer, or something shiny holding a beer, or some bizarre combination of tasty beverage and shininess that my addled noggin can't quite comprehend at the moment). When up to date the Events Calendar is a most useful aid for the music fan at a loose end, being just packed with many local entertainments. Like these...

Stompin' Dave Allen @ The Platform Tavern, Southampton - 28/08/2008
Gwyn Ashton @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 28/08/2008
Finger Monster, Frantic Bliss and The Johnny Soul Trip Band @ The Joiners, Southampton - 28/08/2008
Denise Marie @ The RMA Tavern, Portsmouth - 28/08/2008
Clutch and Taint @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 28/08/2008
Chillerton, You Me And The Atom Bomb, Calvinball and PJ & Gaby @ The Fawcett Inn, Portsmouth - 28/08/2008
Hourstilautumn, Waiting For Sirens, Ardentes and Moral Sense @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 28/08/2008
Castillo, Nine Ninety Nines, Moma Jest and Run Of The Mill @ The Fat Fox, Portsmouth - 28/08/2008
My Last Victory, The Silence Within and The Dead Celebs @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 28/08/2008
The Maddisons, The Harmonics and The Kingskins @ The Railway, Winchester - 28/08/2008
Steve Arnott @ The Frog & Frigate, Southampton - 29/08/2008
Full Proof, Faireway, Speed The Collapse and Not Good Enough For Tony @ The Railway Rifle Club, Portsmouth - 29/08/2008
The Hamsters @ The Brook, Southampton - 29/08/2008
So So Modern, 2 Hot 2 Sweat and Oxynucid @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 29/08/2008
Manti @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 29/08/2008
The Jamm (tribute) @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 29/08/2008
Finely Tuned Assassins, Ride The Skyline and Never Back Down @ The Joiners, Southampton - 29/08/2008
The Devil's Conspiracy, Sheilatakeabow and No Access @ The Nell Gwynne, Portsmouth - 29/08/2008
The Uplifter (DJ) @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 29/08/2008
Valhalla and Prozium @ The Firehouse, Southampton - 29/08/2008
Cool Banana, Bemis, 3 Penny Puppet and Psychomachia (DJ) @ The Barn at The Milton Arms, Portsmouth - 30/08/2008
Bee Gees Fever (tribute) @ The Brook, Southampton - 30/08/2008
Messedupjoey and Openroom @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 30/08/2008
The Chilis (tribute) @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 30/08/2008
One Weird Fish @ The Wheelwright Arms, Havant - 30/08/2008
The Legendary Derek @ The Frog & Frigate, Southampton - 30/08/2008
Red Indie with Dr Watson (DJ) and Skidmark (DJ) @ Little Johnny Russell's, Portsmouth - 30/08/2008
Damaged Goods @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 30/08/2008
Bananarama and Modern Romance @ The Opera House, Bournemouth - 30/08/2008 CANCELLED!
The Rizlas @ The Square Brewery, Petersfield - 30/08/2008
Snake Oil Band @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 30/08/2008
Unforgiven @ The Firehouse, Southampton - 30/08/2008
Hold Fire and Major Melon @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 31/08/2008
Virtue, Shizamm's Picbox and Red Rag To A Shark @ The Joiners, Southampton - 31/08/2008
Gentle Bren (DJ) @ Little Johnny Russell's, Portsmouth - 31/08/2008
Jonquil and Junkboy @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 31/08/2008
Ade Cull, Champ Of The Day, Matt Harrison and October In Minnesota @ The RMA Tavern, Portsmouth - 31/08/2008
Martin Harley Band @ The Platform Tavern, Southampton - 31/08/2008
Jouis & The Chic Geeks and Fearne @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 01/09/2008
Holy Ghost Revival, Strange Without Medicine and Owen Tromans & The Elders @ The Joiners, Southampton - 01/09/2008
Ade Cull, Harlem Rose and Rich Garrett @ The Edge of The Wedge, Portsmouth - 02/09/2008
James & Denovo @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 02/09/2008
This City, Cut The Blue Wire and The Light Divided @ The Fat Fox, Portsmouth - 02/09/2008
The Autumn Defense, Liam Hayes and Plush @ The Railway, Winchester - 02/09/2008
Aitch, Nicola K and The Visitors @ Little Johnny Russell's, Portsmouth - 02/09/2008
Solent City Jazzmen @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 02/09/2008
Sinnerboy (Rory Gallagher tribute) @ The Cellars @ Eastney, Portsmouth - 03/09/2008
The Blueskies, Little Death and The Lucans @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 03/09/2008
Miles From Anywhere, We're What's Left, Lucky Ones Die First and The Architects @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 03/09/2008
The Wedding Present and Elle Milano @ The Joiners, Southampton - 03/09/2008
Pete & The Pirates, Nine Ninety Nines and Lonely Cardinals @ The Fat Fox, Portsmouth - 03/09/2008 CANCELLED!
The Abysinnians and Dillinger @ The Brook, Southampton - 09/09/2008
Sun Kil Moon @ Audio, Brighton - 10/09/2008
Bad Manners and Max Splodge @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 14/09/2008
Wilko Johnson @ The Brook, Southampton - 11/10/2008
Martha Wainwright @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 18/10/2008
The Musical Box (Genesis tribute, performing A Trick of the Tail) @ The Guildhall, Portsmouth - 18/10/2008
Geno Washington @ The Brook, Southampton - 24/10/2008
Perfect Alibi (Pink Floyd tribute) @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 25/10/2008
Seth Lakeman @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 07/11/2008
Dashboard Confessional @ The Guildhall, Portsmouth - 17/12/2008

In addition to live performances from Surfless and Escape Story, and the best indie/rock/dance tunes from Will Chump and Spikey Mark of the Southsea Mafia DJs, this week's Waster will also feature the announcement of the line-up of the club-night's tent at the forthcoming Portsmouth & Southsea Festival (and they'll be giving away a couple of tickets for October's shindig too). If that wasn't quite enough to whet your appetite there'll also be some Verve-tastic freebies on offer, to celebrate the release of the Wigan rockers' new album. Portsmouth's Envy nightclub open its doors at 2200 tomorrow, Thursday 28th August, and entrance is £1 before 2300 (£3 after). Details of how to get yourself added to the guest list can be found on the Facebook event page.

Club night Chaos returns to The Wedgewood Rooms this Saturday, 30th August, for a 'Beach Party' fancy dress special. DJs Will Chump and Ruby Soho will oversee the shenanigans in the Main Room whilst Marky Marc and Hev Stilet-hoe take charge of The Chaos Lounge (in the Edge Of The Wedge). Doors open at 2200 with the fun running through to 0300, entrance is £5 on the door (last admission at 0100).

In conjunction with promoters the STE Punk Collective, Southampton venue The Hobbit will be hosting a punk/hardcore all-dayer this Sunday, 31st August. The line-up includes local acts Whole In The Head, Gordon Gano's Army, The Good Wife and Screwed Up Flyer plus Welsh band Threat Manifesto and London's Beginning Of The End. The event runs from 1400 to 2100 and admission is £5 on the door.

The 2008 ExpressFM Golden Plectrum Awards, toasting the best of the Portsmouth music scene, take place at The Wedgewood Rooms tomorrow night, Thursday 28th August. The B Of The Bang, Replenish, The Dawn Chorus, The Rebs and Autons are amongst the local bands playing live, tickets are £6 in advance and a list of the nominees can be found here.

Bass and beats club night Kiss My Bass returns to Café Havana in Southsea this Saturday, 30th August, with guests Lee Martin (Infectious Breaks) and Rogue State (Error) joining resident DJs Udy, Aimz and Eratik Behaviour. Doors open 2000 through 0100 and admission is FREE.

The first semi-final of The Wedgewood Rooms' Showcase 08 competition will be held on Tuesday 2nd September. Heat-winners In Like Flynn, Melodramas, Shegotsick and Escape Story will be taking the stage again to hopefully impress the audience and panel of judges enough to make it through to the final (though, similar to Highlander, there can only be one winner). Admission is £4 and doors open at 2000.

The Railway Rifle Club in Portsmouth hosts Ratfest, a Metal all-dayer, this Sunday 31st August, featuring sets from Sylosis, Burning Skies, Fellsilent, This Is Colour, The Arusha Accord, Rinoa, Eta Carinae, Puresist and Sonerty. Doors open at 1300 and tickets are £10, available in advance from the venue or Seetickets. CANCELLED!

Dean Clarke, lead singer of local band The Fret, tragically passed away recently. To celebrate his life and music, and also raise funds for his remaining family, a 'rock in peace' event will be held at The Wedgewood Rooms on Sunday 31st August. Amongst the bands so far announced as taking part are The Model Village, The Skies, The Fret and Kodiak Jack, with more to be confirmed. Doors open at 1930 and tickets are £6 in advance. More information can be found on the Facebook event page.

Nicola K and local indie four-piece Joby will be the guest artists at Roger Courtney's Open Mike Club this week. Doors open at The Barn at The Milton Arms at 1900 tomorrow, Thursday 28th August, with the Open Mike session following the guest sessions at 2200. Admission is FREE and you can find more information can be found here.

And that wraps things up for another week. Today I have mostly been listening to Super Furry Animals and Iggy Pop, with slices of Lavender Diamond and The Chemical Brothers woven in-between. Be sure to join me next week when I'll be looking into the abyss.

:o)

The Gigwatcher 20/08/2008

Peaches & Cream

So what odds do you think Ladbrokes would give me on Peaches Geldof's showbiz marriage lasting till Christmas?

[thinks]

How about till the end of next week?

*koff*

And so to business; the following gigs were lovingly plucked from the back pages of this week's shiny NME:

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks @ Komedia, Brighton - 24/08/2008
Gemma Hayes @ The Fat Fox, Portsmouth - 04/09/2008
The Anomalies @ Lennons, Southampton - 13/09/2008
The Anomalies @ Boileroom, Guildford - 18/09/2008
The Melvins @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 06/10/2008
Andy Yorke and Ruarri Joseph @ The Albert, Brighton - 13/10/2008
Kaiser Chiefs and Late Of The Pier @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 15/10/2008
Oasis @ BIC, Bournemouth - 20 & 21/10/2008 SOLD OUT!
Laura Marling @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 05/11/2008
The Whip @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 18/11/2008

Given that I'm fully expecting to spend most of the weekend in some sort of inebriated state (the Pompey Beer Festival is this weekend you see) I'm not making any promises as far as updating the forlorn looking SoMC Events Calendar with the above gigs goes. The Events Calendar is, when bang up to date, a fine and dandy resource for idle gig monkey, holding details of many many fine musical entertainments. Like these...

Idiot Savant, Trousseaux and The Stars Down To Earth @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 21/08/2008
Creamy (Cream tribute) @ The RMA Tavern, Portsmouth - 21/08/2008
Fearne, The Queue and The Vision @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 21/08/2008
One Night Only @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 21/08/2008
MXPX, Lost On Landing and Immortal Youth @ The Joiners, Southampton - 21/08/2008
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly @ Komedia, Brighton - 21/08/2008
Sombulance, A New Day and Munroe Effect @ The Nell Gwynne, Portsmouth - 21/08/2008
Limon y Sentimiento Latino @ Komedia, Brighton - 21/08/2008
Andy Comley @ The Platform Tavern, Southampton - 21/08/2008
Andy Broad's Blues Jam @ The Florence Arms, Southsea - 22/08/2008
One Weird Fish @ The Colonial Bar, Horndean - 22/08/2008
Superfly @ The Red Lion, Stubbington - 22/08/2008
Atomic Blondie (tribute) @ The Brook, Southampton - 22/08/2008
Suspiciously Elvis (tribute) @ Komedia, Brighton - 22/08/2008
Idiot 3 and Death Valley Riders @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 22/08/2008
Process @ The Railway, Winchester - 22/08/2008
Idiot Savant, Ardentes and Recreation @ The Joiners, Southampton - 22/08/2008
Zetan Spore @ The Fawcett Inn, Portsmouth - 22/08/2008
Jazzbone @ The Soul Cellar, Southampton - 22/08/2008
Whole Lotta Led (tribute) @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 23/08/2008
Money For Nothing (Dire Straits tribute) @ The Brook, Southampton - 23/08/2008
Billy Irvine @ The RMA Tavern, Portsmouth - 23/08/2008
The Nat Martin Band @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 23/08/2008
Barbwire Bob @ The Railway, Gosport - 23/08/2008 RESCHEDULED
Bemis and Ade Cull @ The Florence Arms, Portsmouth - 23/08/2008
Dekolta, The Radics and I Aim You Shoot @ The Joiners, Southampton - 23/08/2008
SixNationState, Atomic Badger and Martin Newnham & Andy Parkin @ The Square, Petersfield - 23/08/2008 (free evening entertainment)
Red Indie (DJ) @ Little Johnny Russell's, Portsmouth - 23/08/2008
Godamn Superstar (Marilyn Manson tribute) @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 23/08/2008
Tribe of Cro @ The Fawcett Inn, Portsmouth - 23/08/2008
Rock Doctors @ The Firehouse, Southampton - 23/08/2008
Revenge of Shinobi, Sonaura and Laish Quartet @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 23/08/2008
Goldfinger @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 24/08/2008
James & Denovo @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 24/08/2008
Gentle Bren (DJ) @ Little Johnny Russell's, Portsmouth - 24/08/2008
Flies Are Spies From Hell and Monsters Build Mean Robots @ The Joiners, Southampton - 24/08/2008
The Bog Rolling Stones and Step Right Back @ The Bandstand, Southsea - 24/08/2008 (free afternoon entertainment)
Jo Long & Donaldo @ The Platform Tavern, Southampton - 24/08/2008
Rory Ellis @ The RMA Tavern, Portsmouth - 24/08/2008
Peter Conway, James Blake and Jess Wilson @ The Square, Petersfield - 24/08/2008 (free afternoon entertainment)
Alex & The Ligers @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 24/08/2008
Deltawave (DJ) @ The Fawcett Inn, Portsmouth - 24/08/2008
Tinariwen @ Komedia, Brighton - 25/08/2008
Eternal Lord, Random Conflict and Anatomy of Me @ The Joiners, Southampton - 25/08/2008
Kerry Leatham, Jo Webb and Aitch @ The Square, Petersfield - 25/08/2008 (free afternoon entertainment)
The Escape Show, The Wasp Factory and IMIGHTDISCO @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 25/08/2008
Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band and Euros Childs @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 26/08/2008
The Gutter Twins @ Komedia, Brighton - 26/08/2008
Chris Ricketts, Alphabetts, Andy Muscat and Becky Jerams @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 26/08/2008
Stu & Denovo @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 26/08/2008
Tim Cheatle, Ben Pinwell and Star Anise @ The Edge Of The Wedge, Portsmouth - 26/08/2008
Riot!Riot! and Guildean Gang @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 26/08/2008
The Choices We Make, The Casual Nelsons and Mossy Hollow @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 27/08/2008
Shep Woolley @ Kings Theatre Studio 2, Portsmouth - 27/08/2008
REM, Editors and Guillemots @ The Rose Bowl, Southampton - 27/08/2008
Carly Rockett, CM Arnold, Flis Pitman and Lisa Theunisson @ The Square Brewery, Petersfield - 27/08/2008
Dolls House, Red Light Thieves and Brunette Mindcontrol @ The Joiners, Southampton - 27/08/2008
Dissolvdin, Antikid and The Escape Show @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 27/08/2008
The Wedding Present @ The Joiners, Southampton - 03/09/2008
Marva Whitney with Osaka Monorail @ The Soul Cellar, Southampton - 30/10/2008
Delays @ Orange Rooms, Southampton - 12/12/2008

Thanks to an array of black-light cannons, LEDs and UV bubbles, this week's Waster has an ultraviolet glow about it. In addition to the best rock and rave tunes, courtesy of courtesy of the Will Chump, Udy and Philip Harvey from the Southsea Mafia DJs, there'll be free UV face-paint and glow-sticks on offer too. Doors open at Portsmouth's Envy nightclub at 2200 tomorrow night, Thursday 21st August, with entrance £1 before 2300, £3 after. More information, including how to get your name on the guest list, can be found on the Facebook event page.

Southsea's Folk and Roots Festival takes place at The Albert Tavern on South Parade Pier this weekend, with a selection of free afternoon concerts complementing the ticketed evening events. The headliners for this year's festival, the eighth, include Amy Wadge (Friday 22nd), Little Johnny England (Saturday 23rd), The Men The Couldn't Hang (Sunday 24th) and Mike Sanchez & The Portions (Monday 25th), with support coming from the likes of East of Ealing, Naomi Bedford and Della Perrett's Sweetedge. Tickets are available from the festival website.

Southampton venue The Hobbit hosts an all-day mini-festival this Bank Holiday Monday, 25th August, in aid of Head and Neck Cancer Charity, Headline. The line-up includes Purple Monkey, Stone Free, Roadhouse and Louche Manouche, with Queen tribute act Break Free topping the bill. Entrance is FREE before 1400, £3 before 1800 (£2 after) and last entry is at 0100.

Arundel Castle hosts the 31st Arundel Festival this weekend, with The Levellers and Seth Lakeman kicking things off in folk fashion on Friday 22nd August. Things take a more flamboyant turn the following evening, Saturday 23rd, when the cast and orchestra of West End musical We Will Rock You present an evening of Queen. Soprano Lesley Garrett will close the weekend's entertainments on Sunday 24th with a performance with the National Symphony Orchestra. Tickets are available from the Festival website.

Punkfest 4 takes place at Gosport & Fareham Rugby Club this Saturday, 23rd August, with bands onstage from 1600 onwards. The line-up features Night of Treason, Autons, Asylum Seekers, The White Coats, Avondale 45 and 6 Inches Too Small, with UK Subs topping the bill. Tickets are £10, available now from Reflex Records.

The twelfth and final heat of The Wedgewood Rooms' Showcase 08 competition takes place on Wednesday, 27th August, with The Unknown Soldiers, Crossfire and Holy Roller taking part (the fourth slot is still to be announced). The bands each have 25 minutes in which to impress the audience and a panel of judges, hopefully winning their way through to the Semi-Finals next month. Tickets are £4, available from the bands and the venue.

This week Roger Courtney's Open Mike Club features guest performances from roots five-piece Two Fingers Of Firewater and local duo Doubleback Alley. Doors open at The Barn at The Milton Arms at 1900 tomorrow, Thursday 21st August, with the music starting at 2000 (the Open Mike session follows on after the guest artists at 2200). Admission is, as always, FREE!

The Wedgewood Rooms and promoters Portsmouth Venue Campaign are looking for local bands to support touring acts at the venue next month. Slots are available for The Metros (17th September), Little Man Tate (23rd September) and Bromheads Jacket (30th September). If you're interested you can email your contact details (and MySpace URL) by clicking here.

Put a fork in me, I'm done. Today I have mostly been listening to Goldfrapp's latest long player and Silent Shout by The Knife (yeah, it's been that kind of day). Be sure to join me next week when I'll be lobbying the IOC to make the Yard of Ale an Olympic discipline.

The Gigwatcher 13/08/2008

Whatever happened to Fay Wray?

Whilst I have nothing against remakes per se, I can't help but have a bad feeling that the proposed reboot of The Rocky Horror Picture Show will be an anodyne waste of celluloid; the show's creator wants nothing to do it and the movie is co-funded by Sky Movies (who don't have that great a track record producing their own content).

To be honest I'm not exactly full of antici.... pation at what they're going to serve up. It's cliché I know but if it ain't broke... well, you get the idea.

*koff*

Moving swiftly on, I've plucked the following from the back pages of this week's NME for your delectation and delight:

iglu & hartly @ Komedia, Brighton - 17/09/2008
le sac v's pip @ Student Union, Guildford - 19/10/2008
le sac v's pip @ The Old Fire Station, Bournemouth - 29/10/2008
Neon Neon @ Digital, Brighton - 30/10/2008
Scouting For Girls and The Days @ Solent Hall, Bournemouth - 01/11/2008
Scouting For Girls and The Days @ The Brighton Centre - 03/11/2008
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds @ The Brighton Centre - 23/11/2008
Scouting For Girls and The Days @ The Guildhall, Portsmouth - 23/11/2008
Stereophonics @ The Brighton Centre - 16/12/2008
Stereophonics @ BIC, Bournemouth - 17/12/2008

I'll endeavour to add the above gigs onto the mighty SoMC Events Calendar at some point over the next few days (but chances are I may find myself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful beer and, as a result, waste a lot of time wondering how I got there). As is oft stated hereabouts the Events Calendar is (when I pull my finger out and update the darned thing) a useful tool for the average gig monkey about town, being full of local gigs for local people. Like these...

Red Hunnie, Snowy The Comical Guitar Man and Cool Banana @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 14/08/2008
Red Light Thieves, Nicotine Smile and Saxon Sunday @ The Railway, Winchester - 14/08/2008
Bex Marshall @ The RMA Tavern, Portsmouth - 14/08/2008
Tubelord, Blakfish, Secondsmile and Venice Ahoy @ Hamptons, Southampton - 14/08/2008
The Boy Will Drown, This Is Colour and The Argent Dawn @ The Railway Rifle Club, Portsmouth - 14/08/2008
Open Room, Burn The Fleet and Medison @ The Joiners, Southampton - 14/08/2008
The Reelists, Munroe Effect and No Hope In Never @ The Fat Fox, Portsmouth - 14/08/2008
Superlungs, 24 Hour Affair and Vier @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 14/08/2008
Sarah Saville @ The Fawcett Inn, Portsmouth - 14/08/2008
The Family @ The Platform Tavern, Southampton - 14/08/2008
Andy Broad, Chris Ricketts and Della Perett's Sweetedge @ Kings Theatre Studio 2, Portsmouth - 15/08/2008
Jon Walsh Blues Band and The Riverside Blues Band @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 15/08/2008
Superfly @ The Admiral Drake, Portsmouth - 15/08/2008
Click Voodoo @ The Firehouse, Southampton - 15/08/2008
FreefallFelix, The White Coats and Splendid Eddie @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 15/08/2008
Errors, Kumiss and Death of Cinema Club @ The Joiners, Southampton - 15/08/2008
The Sex Pistols Experience (tribute) @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 15/08/2008
The Queens (tribute) @ The Brook, Southampton - 15/08/2008
Kojak's Revenge @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 15/08/2008
Kolo, The Ramblings and The Bizets @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 15/08/2008
Justin Sullivan & Dean White (New Model Army) and New York Anxiety Attack @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 16/08/2008
Rufus Stone @ The Brook, Southampton - 16/08/2008
Black Bart @ The RMA Tavern, Portsmouth - 16/08/2008
Major Melon and James Blake @ The Square Brewery, Petersfield - 16/08/2008
The Legendary Derek @ The Frog & Frigate, Southampton - 16/08/2008
Bigtopp and The White Coats @ Havant Arts Centre - 16/08/2008
Sam McCarthy @ The Golden Eagle, Southsea - 16/08/2008
Zhain, Karalta and Moonshine Crows @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 16/08/2008
Asylum Seekers @ The Railway, Gosport - 16/08/2008
Cast The Bones, Shards and Synbiote @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 16/08/2008
Fei Comodo, Twisted By Design and Armored Hi-Fi @ The Joiners, Southampton - 16/08/2008
The Vatican Cellars, Hamilton Yarns and Animal Magic Tricks @ Komedia, Brighton - 16/08/2008
Your Twenties and Jazica @ Lennons, Southampton - 16/08/2008
The Acid Test, The Blue Screen of Death and This Is Fiction @ The Railway, Winchester - 16/08/2008
A Wilhelm Scream, Brides and Our Time Down Here @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 16/08/2008
Endsweck and Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? @ The Fawcett Inn, Portsmouth - 16/08/2008
The Soul Liberators and Ran-Dee & Shay @ The Soul Cellar, Southampton - 16/08/2008
You Me At Six @ The Opera House, Bournemouth - 17/08/2008
Stu & Denovo @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 17/08/2008
Headquarters, Bromancer and Dethscalator @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 17/08/2008
Moral Sense, Typheous and Kaleb @ The Joiners, Southampton - 17/08/2008
Doghouse @ The Bugle, Botley - 17/08/2008
Bob Cheevers @ The Platform Tavern, Southampton - 17/08/2008
Django @ The Bandstand, Southsea - 17/08/2008 (free afternoon entertainment)
Andrew Gordon and Ian Scarbro @ The RMA Tavern, Southampton - 17/08/2008
Sarah Saville @ The Phoenix, Portsmouth - 17/08/2008
Voodoo Glow Skulls @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 17/08/2008
Caz Batten, Jay Munday and Rossco @ Drift, Southsea - 17/08/2008
Solent City Jazzmen @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 18/08/2008
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 18/08/2008
Selfish C**t, Castillo and The Sinnicks @ The Joiners, Southampton - 18/08/2008
The Last Shadow Puppets and Ipso Facto @ The Guildhall, Portsmouth - 19/08/2008
Jack & Denovo @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 19/08/2008
Abraxa, Sheilatakeabow, Sunset Mission and The Devil Conspiracy @ The Railway Rifle Club, Portsmouth - 19/08/2008
Selfish C**t, The Guillotines and Le Band Extraordinaire @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 19/08/2008
The Blackout, Attack! Attack! and Dead Mile @ The Joiners, Southampton - 19/08/2008
Ghosts of Pegasus Bridge, Only Heroes Die and Finely Tuned Assassins @ The Railway, Winchester - 19/08/2008
Matt Knowles, Max Edermaniger and William Stuart @ The Edge of The Wedge, Portsmouth - 19/08/2008
Go Vegas, Plagues and Anatomy Of Me @ The Railway, Winchester - 20/08/2008
Soulfly @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 20/08/2008
The Light Divided, In like Flynn, The Architects and Pancake Eating Freaks @ The Railway Rifle Club, Portsmouth - 20/08/2008
Steve Hampton @ The Square Brewery, Petersfield - 20/08/2008
Go: Audio, Paige and Goodbye Stereo @ The Joiners, Southampton - 20/08/2008
Smack La @ Little Johnny Russell's, Portsmouth - 20/08/2008
Lupen Crook & The Murderbirds @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 21/09/2008
Richie Havens @ The Brook, Southampton - 10/10/2008
The Datsuns @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 22/10/2008
Mari Wilson @ The Kings Theatre, Southsea - 28/10/2008
The Damned @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 15 & 16/11/2008
Delays @ The Brook, Southampton - 14/12/2008
UK Subs @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 28/11/2008

Little Johnny Russell's hosts the second of its Summer Parties this Saturday, 16th August, celebrating local club-night Sumo's 4th birthday. Joining the Sumo DJs behind at the decks at the Albert Road venue this time around will be Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac. Doors open 2000, tickets are £5 in advance.

Waster serves up another large helping of the best indie/dance/alternative/rock in town this week, again courtesy of the Southsea Mafia DJs, in Portsmouth's Envy nightclub. Doors open at 2200 tomorrow night, Thursday 14th August, with entrance £2 before 2230 (with guest-list), £4 before 2300 and £5 after (there's an A-level foam party next door in Liquid, hence the one-off price rise). More information, including how to get your name on the guest list, can be found on the Facebook event page.

Hipshaker celebrates its 10th birthday this Saturday, 16th August, with special guest DJ Eddie Piller joining the residents at The Wedgewood Rooms for an evening of classic 60s funk and soul. Doors open at 2130, with FREE admission before 2300 (£5 after).

Heat eleven of The Wedgewood Rooms' Showcase 08 competition takes place on Wednesday, 20th August, featuring In Darklight, Brassneck, Surfless and Tainted Grace. The bands will be trying to impress the audience and the panel of judges, with a set of 25 minutes or less, in order to win through to the next round. Tickets are £4, available from the bands and the venue.

Roger Courtney's Open Mike Club this week features guest performances from south coast five-piece Dielle and local alternative rockers Thinking For Tuesday. The music starts at 2000, with the Open Mike session following the guest artists from 2200-2330. Admission is FREE and doors open at The Barn at The Milton Arms at 1900 tomorrow, Thursday 14th August.

And that's me done for another week; where does the time go eh? Today I have mostly been listening to Guillemots, The Mountain Goats and a wee bit of McAlmont & Butler. Be sure to join me next week when I'll be hypnotizing chickens.

Who's the cat that won't cop out...

RIP Isaac Hayes (1942-2008)

The Nature of Monkey...

Flushed with finding Godiego's live performance of Monkey Magic for the Gigwatcher, the genius of YouTube threw out this gem of a cover by 'idol' group Vanilla Mood:

 

Nice.

The Gigwatcher 06/08/2008

The Nature of Monkey was Irrepressible!

As much as I like the Gorillaz/Jamie Hewlett trail for the Beeb's Olympics coverage, I'd have much rather the cartoon band covered Godiego's excellent theme song to the classic 80's TV show.

Have I mentioned I've got the soundtrack on vinyl?

[tumbleweed slowly bimbles past, somewhere in the distance a dog howls]

Oh. Right. I have.

*koff*

And so to business. The following gigs have been purloined from the colourful ads amongst the back pages of this week's NME:

The Gutter Twins and Carina Round @ Komedia, Brighton - 26/08/2008
Fighting With Wire @ Hamptons, Southampton - 27/09/2008
Bromheads Jacket @ The Engine Room, Brighton - 28/09/2008
Bromheads Jacket @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 30/09/2008
Bromheads Jacket @ Orange Rooms, Southampton - 01/10/2008
Team Water Polo @ Audio, Brighton - 03/10/2008
Team Water Polo @ The Joiners, Southampton - 05/10/2008
Bromheads Jacket @ The Tower Arts Centre, Winchester - 10/10/2008
Tilly & The Wall @ The Brook, Southampton - 20/10/2008
The Zutons @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 11/11/2008
The Zutons @ Solent Hall (BIC), Bournemouth - 01/12/2008
The Zutons @ The Dome, Brighton - 06/12/2008

I'll attempt to add the above onto the magical entity known as the SoMC Events Calendar sometime over the weekend (but chances are I'll not quite get around to it, having been distracted by the way light dances through the floaty floaty bubbles in a cold pint of lager). The Events Calendar is, for those not easily entertained by solar refraction through a liquid mixed with agitated CO₂, a handy aid for noting what gigs are up and coming in these parts. Like these for example...

The Elements, Charlie Howell and The Tripods @ The Railway, Winchester - 07/08/2008
Insinerate, In Her Ruin and Mask Of Judas @ The Joiners, Southampton - 07/08/2008
The Help Movement @ Komedia, Brighton - 07/08/2008
Ronny & Johnny @ The Platform Tavern, Southampton - 07/08/2008
Switch Transmission, Ghosts On Pegasus Bridge, Fairway and When Out @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 07/08/2008
The Vegas, The Light Divided and The Harlingtons @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 07/08/2008
Dawn Landes, Mary Hampton and Phantomville @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 08/08/2008
Catapult, Zwaitec and The Plymouths (DJ set) @ Hamptons, Southampton - 08/08/2008
Owen Tromans & The Elders, The Contrast and Phil Horton @ The Railway, Winchester - 08/08/2008
Timebomb (performing Quadrophenia) @ The Brook, Southampton - 08/08/2008
The Swing Commanders @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 08/08/2008
The Vanjammers @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 08/08/2008
Recreation and The Architects @ The Railway, Gosport - 08/08/2008
The Docks, 4 or 5 Magicians and Old Duke @ The Joiners, Southampton - 08/08/2008
Alan Bonner @ Komedia, Brighton - 08/08/2008
The Rebs @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 08/08/2008
7 Years Bad Luck, The Small Mercies, Sombulance and Sam Russo @ The Fawcett Inn, Portsmouth - 08/08/2008
Stone Bones @ The Firehouse, Southampton - 08/08/2008
One Weird Fish @ The Drum, Petersfield - 08/08/2008
The Stanley Blacks @ Café Havana, Southsea - 09/08/2008
Green-ish Day and Forgotten Heroes @ The Brook, Southampton - 09/08/2008
Chicago Nine @ The RMA Tavern, Portsmouth - 09/08/2008
Thinking For Tuesday, The Architects and Even After @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 09/08/2008
The Beatmakers @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 09/08/2008
Steve Arnott @ The Frog & Frigate, Southampton - 09/08/2008
Night of Treason and Dirty Love @ The Fawcett Inn, Portsmouth - 09/08/2008
Panama Grin @ The Railway, Gosport - 09/08/2008
Tellison and Tubelord @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 09/08/2008
Road House @ The Firehouse, Southampton - 09/08/2008
The Ramblings, The Reason and The Sinnicks @ The Railway, Winchester - 09/08/2008
Mozy Dare @ The Square Brewery, Petersfield - 09/08/2008
The Gutter Brothers @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 10/08/2008
Jack & Denovo @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 10/08/2008
Big Al & The Fireflies and The Western Aces @ The Bandstand, Southsea - 10/08/2008 (Free afternoon entertainment)
Klaus Says Buy The Record and These Eyes Are Cameras @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 10/08/2008
Ella Janes, Ten Letters and Yo Picasso @ The Joiners, Southampton - 10/08/2008
Mike Todd and Bemis @ The RMA Tavern, Portsmouth - 10/08/2008
Rory Ellis & Arnie Cottrell @ The Platform Tavern, Southampton - 10/08/2008
Our Time Down Here, Lucky Ones Die First and Gorse @ The Nell Gwynne, Portsmouth - 10/08/2008
Arnie Cottrell @ The Soul Cellar, Southampton - 11/08/2008
Digital Delay, Run Of The Mill, Cry Of The Scorned and Not Good Enough For Tony @ The Railway Rifle Club, Portsmouth - 11/08/2008
Sidecar46, The Light Divided and The Safe Harbour @ The Joiners, Southampton - 11/08/2008
Jenny Owens Young, Paddy Taylor and Tremain @ The Fat Fox, Portsmouth - 11/08/2008
Super Tsar @ The Soul Cellar, Southampton - 12/08/2008
The Model Village, Delboy French, Joby and The Baffles @ The Railway Rifle Club, Portsmouth - 12/08/2008
The Parlotones, The Bizets and Colourblind Lizard @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 12/08/2008
Oli Collins, Luke Ferre and The Fumes @ The Edge of The Wedge, Portsmouth - 12/08/2008
Cold War Kids @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 12/08/2008
Castillo, Fools Errant, Freaks on Floor and Crope Circle @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 12/08/2008
Stu & Denovo @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 12/08/2008
Cut The Blue Wire, The Getaway Team and Wilf? @ The Joiners, Southampton - 12/08/2008
UpCDownCLeftCRightCABC, Start and Autumn Chorus @ The Freebutt, Brighton - 12/08/2008
Andrew Jarmin, CM Arnold, James Tippins and Rawkis @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 12/08/2008
Henry Rollins (spoken word) @ Komedia, Brighton - 13/08/2008 SOLD OUT!
The Parlotones, Media Circus and Modern Fighting Vehicles @ iBar, Bournemouth - 13/08/2008
The Pengawakas, Beautiful Life and Todayseden @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 13/08/2008
Blakfish, Tubelord and Caesura @ The Railway, Winchester - 13/08/2008
Birds of Wales, Wicker Park Row and Andy Grant @ The Joiners, Southampton - 13/08/2008
The Ornament Birds and Lonely Cardinals @ Little Johnny Russell's, Portsmouth - 13/08/2008
Bemis @ The Square Brewery, Petersfield - 13/08/2008
Not Advised, Hardly Heroes and Medison @ The Railway Rifle Club, Portsmouth - 13/08/2008
American Music Club and Peter Bruntnell @ The Railway, Winchester - 16/09/2008
Ronnie Spector @ The Brook, Southampton - 24/09/2008
Jake Shillingford (My Life Story) @ The Railway, Winchester - 25/09/2008
Bad Company @ The Brook, Southampton - 02/10/2008
Travis @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 04/10/2008
Neil Innes @ The Brook, Southampton - 12/10/2008
Towers of London (tbc) @ The Brook, Southampton - 14/10/2008
Seth Lakeman @ The Opera House, Bournemouth - 12/11/2008
Delays @ The Joiners, Southampton - 13/12/2008

The Southsea Mafia DJs are again are in charge of Waster this week, supplying the masses with a selection of the finest indie/alternative/dance/rock/whatever in town. Doors open at Portsmouth's Liquid Envy at 2200 tomorrow night, Thursday 7th August, and entrance is £1 before 2230 (rising to £2 before 2300, £3 after, etc). For more information (including how to get on the 'guest list') see the Facebook page.

The Wedgewood Rooms hosts the next two heats of its Showcase 08 competition over the next week. Heat nine takes place this Sunday, 10th August, and features The Tripods, The Elizans, HugeManFalls and The Ex-Patriots. Heat ten follows on Wednesday 13th August, when Joymask, The Levels, Goodbye Stereo and Chemical Sunset will be trying to win through to the next round. Each band has 25 minutes within which to impress both the audience and a panel of judges, entrance is £4 on the door.

Legendary club night Chaos is back at The Wedgewood Rooms this Saturday, 9th August, with DJ Lemon and Spikey Mark in the Main Room from 2200, whilst Will Chump and Ruby Soho take charge of the Chaos Lounge, in the Edge of The Wedge, from 2300. Doors open at 2200, entrance is £5.

This week Roger Courtney's Open Mike Club features guest performances from three local artists; Portsmouth-based electro-blues outfit Carbon Factory kick things off at 1930, acoustic duo Bemis follow at 2030 whilst southern punks The Asylum Seekers take over at 2130. The Open Mike session follows from 2230-0000. Doors open at The Barn at The Milton Arms at 1900 tomorrow, Thursday 7th August, admission is (as always) free and for more information why not check out the event's Facebook group.

Ruffle my hair and call me Susan, that's it for another week. Today I have mostly been tapping my good foot along to the likes of Maxïmo Park, Eagles of Death Metal and The Young Knives, be sure to join me next week when I'll be bored of the Olympics already.

Meh.