This
quick jaunt down to the South Coast - first time in Portsmouth since an ersatz
Lemonheads line-up featuring old Boston buddy Dean Parsons played this venue
some 7 years back (November 2011, to be exact; gig no. 834) - was my only
opportunity to see this promising young Antipodean indie-power band on their
current UK tour... their Oxford gig, the following night, clashed with the
first night of a family holiday in Turkey, and next week's London date, where
my mate and Aussie rock uber-fan Rich May was headed, falls while I'm due to
still be on a Turkish sunbed! Hence, to Pompey I go...
Packed
for my holiday the night before so I could get a flyer down South tonight...
good thing too, as, after a reasonably quick drive down, it then took me 20
minutes to find a parking spot. Bah! Not quite Cowley Road, but close... So I
hit the venue and got my bearings just before openers Thyla, on at 8.15.
They've evolved their sound from the Nirvana-esque quiet-loud dynamics of their
Inheaven support slot, earlier this year, opening with an almost wistful,
dreampop opener, before new single "Blue" upped the tempo with some
tumbling drumbeats, shimmering, Horrors-like guitar licks and a big ol' chorus.
Nice! The rest of their set owed a noticeable debt to the Pixies, with some
flesh-creepingly spooky bass and tough-sounding resonant riffery, and some
impressive, strident primal screams from our resident pocket dynamo vocalist,
again resplendent in iridescent floaty dress and pale stompy boots. However,
they impressed overall with their youthful verve and enthusiasm, the
Stereolab-rhythmic closer "Blame" proving a fine punctuation to a
good set, from a band to watch.
Chats
with a fellow front-row punter (who recalled seeing The Clash in 1977!) and a
quick word with Thyla vocalist Millie bumped us up to showtime, the
cumbersomely-named 5-piece Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever (henceforth RBCF)
taking the dry-ice drenched and disco-ball backlit stage at 9.15. Thrashy
guitar opener "The Hammer" set the tone immediately; this lot are all about the jangly guitar, a trio of
vocalist-guitarists strumming away furiously, swapping vocal chores (often in
the same song!), charging around the stage like prowling honeybadgers,
propelling their predominantly upbeat, galloping material with intertwining
riffery, coming across one minute like an early Wedding Present or even
"Boo Boo"-era Big Dipper, the next jangling away like The Byrds or
Real Estate at 78rpm. Or like an Olympic sprinter with a pocket full of
marbles...
"Thanks
for showing up - it's our first time here!" announced Fran Keaney, one of
the vocalist/guitarist trio, before going on to compliment Portsmouth seafront
castle ("we don't get castles in Australia!") and pier ("much
more beautiful than Brighton!"). That aside, their frantic
indie-college-pop spoke for them; the excellent "Talking Straight"
was an early highlight, "Sisters Jeans" slower and more laconic, Tom
Russo's more conversational vocal style coming across like a young Lou Reed or
Jonathan Richman, and a later "Mainland" evoked a late Summer evening
beach campfire vibe. A splendid, dynamically delivered set; if I have one
criticism, it might be that on occasion the frantic jangle seemed somewhat
relentless, a slight lack of variation in the material not allowing for much
light and shade, but I'm being picky. I really like what they do, and how they
do it.
"Can
I remind you it's a full moon!" warned Tom before set closer "French
Press", which saw an extensive wall-of-jangle interlude to finish. Quite
appropriate really. A couple of equally frenetic encores saw this short-ish
(just over the hour mark) and snappy set to a close, after which I grabbed a
list and got signatures from the band, bassist Joe Russo taking my list
backstage for his brother Tom to sign - apparently he was poorly, which didn't
show as he'd put in a good shift tonight, leaving it all onstage. Fair play!
A chat
outside with a couple of the Thyla lads about The Pixies as well, before a
swift drive home (1 hour 20!). A long midweek jaunt to Portsmouth, sure, but
well worth the pre-holiday faff for a couple of very promising guitar bands in
Thyla and RBCF!
I was the bloke you talked to who had seen the Clash in 1977 (+78). Only now been able to post a comment. Love your blog. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteI remember! Thanks for the comments and the good wishes. Keep gigging yourself!
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