2012 sees Blissfields expand its stages to include one in collaboration with Portsmouth’s own Express FM and one hosted by the inimitable Beans on Toast! Add to that the School Sports Day theme and the chance to see all winners from the Road to Bissfields events and you have yourself one hell of a festival.

Taking to the Main Stage will be Patrick Wolf, Charlie XCX, Guillemots, Spector, The Noisettes, Man Like Me, Eugene McGuinness and Dreadzone (among many others) Gracing the Second Stage will be Clock Opera, NZCA/Lines, Theme Park, Imperial Leisure, Citizens!, Toy and local legends Bear Cavalry (and far too many others to mention) The Comedy Stage and Hidden Hedge will be back this year and the Acoustic Stage (in association with Express FM) will feature performances from Bebe Black, I Dream in Colour, Sam McCarthy, Leigh Mary Stokes, Colourmasks and Will McNicol & Jack Palmer (phew!)

An adult weekend ticket is £74 plus booking fee and day tickets are available from £16 (see the website for further details) The Camel Camp provides the ultimate in luxury camping. For booking details please go to: https://blissfields.co.uk/camel-camp It’s also worth mentioning that the Camel Camp cafe does the *BEST* coffee first thing in the morning

Taking place at Vicarage Farm, Woodmancott from 29th June to 1st July, even the British weather won’t dampen Blissfields. For tickets and further information, please see www.blissfields.co.uk

After a years hiatus, Takedown Festival returned for 2012 with a lineup of local and national bands filling Southampton University campus for a day of energetic pop tinged hardcore and punk. With a crowd of a thousand plus tattooed kids ready to get their fill, eleven hours of distortion seemed a daunting prospect at one o’clock on a Sunday.

First on were local competition runners up Forever Can Wait with a set paying homage to the likes of Motion City Soundtrack and second generation pop punk of the mid noughties. They produced strong songs with a somewhat lacking performance, far too many times were you left focusing on the sloppy time changes and wondering whether you were actually hearing what they imagined in the studio. That being said, there was no doubting their effort and gratitude with the slot so, unless you had never touched an instrument in your life, you left with a good feeling about the youngsters.

Over on the Southampton Music stage were Housefires with vertically challenged front man Daniel Callis sporting an interesting hair cut – well, it was evident his hair had been cut, whether by some freak accident or deliberately is not quite so clear. Having occupied slots in local bands for a number of years, its little surprise they command the stage with ease and comfort. Only pausing briefly to introduce themselves, the quintet launch into a set ticking all the right boxes with regards influences; Far, At The Drive-In, Thrice and early Glassjaw are all combined expertly to create just the right mix of dynamics, melody and aggression to both remind and educate the audience in equal measure. As already mentioned, the experience of the band shines through expectantly but they also show a youthful enthusiasm that is a bit more surprising and a credit to the chaps. All hot air blowing aside though, you get the feeling that they may need to step up a gear to break through to playing higher up the bill in years to come. Just a bit more of a slow burning approach in the song writing process or maybe an increase in aggression, again small, may help them to do this. More rig climbing from Daniel Callis might be all they need though, time will tell.

From Housefires, it was over to James Cleaver Quintet on the Guitar Central stage who brought a true taste of originality to the all day festival. Starting out with a relentless aggression and carrying on with break neck speed, they commanded the first large scale crowd participation of the day. Lp release, That Was Then, This Is Now, has certainly struck a chord with fans as a big crowd had assembled to see them on fine form and revel in the swing/jazz undertones they harness as a matter of course rather than gimmick. Think half an hr of Mike Patton covering Every Time I Die and you’ll have an idea of what went down. Needless to say, it would be worthwhile catching these guys when you can if you were unlucky enough to miss them.

Over at the Monster sponsored main stage it was time to catch Don Broco in an absolutely packed crowd. Having been playing to substantially smaller crowds back at the end of 2010 – they last came through Portsmouth’s Edge of the Wedge venue with under a hundred in the audience – it is amazing to see how far the have come. Falling somewhere between Lost Prophets and heavier acts like Your Demise, they look like seasoned professionals who have been doing this for thirty years or more. They don’t hit a dull note throughout the set and encourage the crowd at any given opportunity to make the event memorable. Nothing is off limits for these guys as they create mass crowd jumping with as many people on shoulders as possible and create the first two walls of death of the day that aren’t bettered at all. Commendation aside, its easy to see why crowd interaction is such a pivotal part of their stage show as the songs don’t seem to hold enough weight on their own – as I mentioned, Lost Prophets taking on Your Demise isn’t going to break down musical boundaries any day soon – and most of the crowd fall short of twenty years of age by some distance. That gripe aside, they take what they do and push it as far as they possibly can which is more than most other musicians do at the best of times.

Not quite so much can be said of other bands today. Throughout proceedings, there seem to be more than a few bands who are more than comfortable to relish in the melodic hardcore sound that the target audience are familiar with. To try and describe Verses, The Light Divided, Break The Stock or Lower Than Atlantis – who’s only notable aspect was playing to the worst example of over crowding ever – with anything other than a list of artists they sound exactly like would be a disservice to the English language. It wasn’t all copy cat doom and gloom though, Subsource brought a break up to proceedings with an interesting mix of dub-step infused metal and provided the most interesting cover of Nirvana’s Senseless Apprentice I have ever heard. Accompanied by a strong repertoire of the genre fusion, they would only be pipped by JCQ as the most innovative band of the day.

Blitz Kids closed the Big Deal Clothing stage with a slightly mis-timed opening when a certain lead singer was caught short in the toilet for the first verse of the set. Picking up quickly though, they showed what a great exponent of the lighter side of hardcore they are with a criminally small crowd eating out the palm of their hands. They called on both their early Ep’s, Scavengers and Decisions as well as debut Lp Vagrants and Vagabonds so there was something for everyone in the audience, old time fans and new comers alike. A strong lyrical content throughout matching the intensity of the sample of Peter Finch’s diatribe from the cinematic classic The Network fitting was a great close to the stage.

Festival and Monster stage headliners Skindred had a less than great start with a faulty amp delaying them by half an hour but did not waste time once they got started. Knowingly playing to what could very well be a tour crowd rather than festival, lead singer Benji Webbe takes a personal approach from the start. Whilst being sure to focus on their four studio outputs, the audience is always addressed, often directly. The onus is always fun, as one might expect from a band who describe themselves as ‘ragga-metal’ and you get the feeling, with endless commands to keep movement to a maximum, they want to leave their mark with the few festival goers able to get in to see them. More than once is a song stopped mid intro because Webbe is satisfied with the audience participation, always in a good nature though with the focus always rock’n’roll and its positive influence. Just after eleven, they are done and Monster stage has become a happy, human sweatbox with all in attendance smiling from ear to ear and that is the point to take home from the whole day, smiling from ear to ear. Very few times do you find a festival that satisfies so many of the attending fans, whether this be down to selective booking or the level of receptiveness is irrelevant. Everyone who paid the small amount of twenty English pounds for their ticket left happy and that, in today’s busy festival schedule, is as good a review as any of the above.

From Housefires, it was over to James Cleaver Quintet on the Guitar Central stage who brought a true taste of originality to the all day festival. Starting out with a relentless aggression and carrying on with break neck speed, they commanded the first large scale crowd participation of the day. Lp release, That Was Then, This Is Now, has certainly struck a chord with fans as a big crowd had assembled to see them on fine form and revel in the swing/jazz undertones they harness as a matter of course rather than gimmick. Think half an hr of Mike Patton covering Every Time I Die and you’ll have an idea of what went down. Needless to say, it would be worthwhile catching these guys when you can if you were unlucky enough to miss them.

Over at the Monster sponsored main stage it was time to catch Don Broco in an absolutely packed crowd. Having been playing to substantially smaller crowds back at the end of 2010 – they last came through Portsmouth’s Edge of the Wedge venue with under a hundred in the audience – it is amazing to see how far the have come. Falling somewhere between Lost Prophets and heavier acts like Your Demise, they look like seasoned professionals who have been doing this for thirty years or more. They don’t hit a dull note throughout the set and encourage the crowd at any given opportunity to make the event memorable. Nothing is off limits for these guys as they create mass crowd jumping with as many people on shoulders as possible and create the first two walls of death of the day that aren’t bettered at all. Commendation aside, its easy to see why crowd interaction is such a pivotal part of their stage show as the songs don’t seem to hold enough weight on their own – as I mentioned, Lost Prophets taking on Your Demise isn’t going to break down musical boundaries any day soon – and most of the crowd fall short of twenty years of age by some distance. That gripe aside, they take what they do and push it as far as they possibly can which is more than most other musicians do at the best of times.

Not quite so much can be said of other bands today. Throughout proceedings, there seem to be more than a few bands who are more than comfortable to relish in the melodic hardcore sound that the target audience are familiar with. To try and describe Verses, The Light Divided, Break The Stock or Lower Than Atlantis – whose only notable aspect was playing to the worst example of over crowding ever – with anything other than a list of artists they sound exactly like would be a disservice to the English language. It wasn’t all copy cat doom and gloom though, Subsource brought a break up to proceedings with an interesting mix of dub-step infused metal and provided the most interesting cover of Nirvana’s Senseless Apprentice I have ever heard. Accompanied by a strong repertoire of the genre fusion, they would only be pipped by JCQ as the most innovative band of the day.

Blitz Kids closed the Big Deal Clothing stage with a slightly mis-timed opening when a certain lead singer was caught short in the toilet for the first verse of the set. Picking up quickly though, they showed what a great exponent of the lighter side of hardcore they are with a criminally small crowd eating out the palm of their hands. They called on both their early Ep’s, Scavengers and Decisions as well as debut Lp Vagrants and Vagabonds so there was something for everyone in the audience, old time fans and new comers alike. A strong lyrical content throughout matching the intensity of the sample of Peter Finch’s diatribe from the cinematic classic The Network fitting was a great close to the stage.

Festival and Monster stage headliners Skindred had a less than great start with a faulty amp delaying them by half an hour but did not waste time once they got started. Knowingly playing to what could very well be a tour crowd rather than festival, lead singer Benji Webbe takes a personal approach from the start. Whilst being sure to focus on their four studio outputs, the audience is always addressed, often directly. The onus is always fun, as one might expect from a band who describe themselves as ‘ragga-metal’ and you get the feeling, with endless commands to keep movement to a maximum, they want to leave their mark with the few festival goers able to get in to see them. More than once is a song stopped mid intro because Webbe is satisfied with the audience participation, always in a good nature though with the focus always rock’n’roll and its positive influence. Just after eleven, they are done and Monster stage has become a happy, human sweatbox with all in attendance smiling from ear to ear and that is the point to take home from the whole day, smiling from ear to ear. Very few times do you find a festival that satisfies so many of the attending fans, whether this be down to selective booking or the level of receptiveness is irrelevant. Everyone who paid the small amount of twenty English pounds for their ticket left happy and that, in today’s busy festival schedule, is as good a review as any of the above.

Starting off in Brighton on 9th March, the heats then take in Basingstoke, Winchester, Reading, Portsmouth and Southampton. Details are below:

Friday 9th March – Brighton
Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar, 7.30pm
Featuring: Half Crown; Yossarian; Astro Physics and Liquid Fuse.
Special Guests: Cut Corners

Friday 16th March – Basingstoke
The Sanctuary, 7.30pm
Featuring: Flashfires; KTS; Mummamoto; The Clarity and Ripslide

Friday 7th April – Winchester
The Railway Inn, 7.30pm
Featuring: Winterhours; Taming the Savage; Ben Goddard and Pony

Friday 20th April – Reading
Play, 7.30pm
Featuring: Kamikaze Test Pilots; Sleep:Repeat; Violet Class; Borderline:FIRE and Kinky Boot Beasts

Friday 27th April – Portsmouth
The Edge of the Wedge, 7.30pm
Featuring: Forest Floors; Laurel; Bigtopp and Kodiak Jack
Special Guests: Bear Cavalry

Friday 18th May – Southampton
The Joiners, 7.30pm
Featuring: The Novatones; Blue Screen of Death; Anja McCloskey and Morphic Fields

The winner from each heat will get a slot at this year’s Blissfields, which takes place from June 29th to July 1st at Vicarage Farm, Woodmancott. You can also vote for who you think should win by using the following link: https://www.facebook.com/Blissfields#!/Blissfields/app_319571988091929

For more info on the festival, the line-up and tickets please go to https://www.blissfields.co.uk

Like the actual Pyramids, the Pyramids Centre in Portsmouth could arguably be considered a wonder of the world; to fill such a large venue to near capacity on a Thursday night, especially in these times of austerity, not to mention consistently playing host to high calibre bands such as The Stranglers, Alkaline Trio, and indeed Reel Big Fish couldn’t be thought of as much less than spectacular. Tonight it’s the turn of California favourites and fisherman’s platitude Reel Big Fish to tantalise our ears with their brand of ska-rock. But, as I imagine they did with the actual pyramids, let’s look at the support first.

Guildford-based The JB Conspiracy are a strange bunch; they lack the more common facets of modern bands, such as a Wikipedia entry or even a band website, but, in an act of either arrogance or foresight, have made guitar tablature for their Clash-esque hit, The Patriot available online. Well, since these young skapunkrockers have managed to bag a worldwide tour with headlining act Reel Big Fish without a website etc, I’m inclined to think it’s the latter.

Their first track sets the tone for the evening; a torrent of two-tone with an agenda; an abrasive union of politically-charged UK punk lyrics, with unrelenting US punk guitar work, all accompanied by a rich brass segues. The band’s sound is a well-crafted, if predictable, Specials-meets-Bad Manners affair; the warm horn section juxtaposing fizzy, brittle guitars. All songs are well performed – all notes; whether sung, twanged or parped, were right on the money.

Orange are no strangers to touring – signed to Tim Armstrong’s Hellcat Records at the tender (average) age of sixteen, they have toured the world with the likes of Misfits, The Addicts, UK Subs, Rancid and Zebrahead – unfortunately, this doesn’t reflect in their style, which is saccharine-sweet pop punk at its most mundane; these not-so-rudeboys list their influences as Sex Pistols and Thin Lizzy, but their sans-attitude approach leaves them sounding like more McFly, without the hooks.

Entering to a ska’d up version of The Who’s Baba O’Riley, their proceeding set has a few glimmers of potential like No Rest for the Wicked, a chirpy number, which draws a more than a few influences from Rancid, but their overall sound is very bland. If their sugary-sweet style was an ice cream flavour – it would be vanilla. Mockney Vocalist/Bassist Joe Dexter, looking like a cross between Russell Brand and Sgt Pepper, performs admirably enough, but his predictable phrasing and delivery leaves no lasting impact. They end their set with arguably their catchiest song, Revolution; an upbeat effort halfway between Foo Fighters and Busted. Cartoon Network seem to agree, as it has become the theme tune for one of their newer shows, Generator Rex.

Reel Big Fish sound more Bad Company than Bad Manners tonight, as they lean more towards the ‘rock’ side of the ska-rock spectrum with songs like their NSFW anthem, Another F.U song, complete with brash guitars and insolent vocals.

There are a few ska’d-up covers tonight, like the Maytal’s Monkey Man, Van Morrison’s Brown Eyed Girl, and as their encore song, A-Ha’s Take on Me. You could presume that the abundance of cover versions insinuates that the band are simply bad songwriters, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Stand out tracks like Beer, She Has A Girlfriend Now, and super-hit Sellout prove that they are just as capable crafting their own songs, as they are re-vamping others. The set list reads more or less follows the track list of their greatest hits album, which feels a little contrived, but draws no complaint from the crowd; it’s clear that’s what they’ve paid to hear, and the band knows it.

Reel Big Fish have been together since 1992 so it comes as no surprise that they know these songs inside and out – they don’t miss a beat (or technically, an off-beat). Each song features pitch-perfect vocal harmonies, which are wonderfully punctuated by rich brass sections, and front man Aaron Barrett does a good job of entertaining the crowd in a predictably juvenile fashion. What separates Reel Big Fish from their Californian peers Sublime or No Doubt is their vivacious stage presence – something that was strangely lacking in tonight’s performance. I can only presume this was an issue relating to the size of the stage, but coupled with the predictable song choices, it left the performance feeling a little stoic overall.

As Reel Big Fish leave the stage to the audible disappointment of the crowd, it’s clear that they have done what they set out to do. As the final strains of their offerings fade into the night, they show that Ska is still very much alive and kicking – it’s just not moving around very much.

I photographed these guys last time they played in Portsmouth and to be honest, I wasn’t overly impressed. Their vocals were a disappointment and the timing was quite off at various points throughout their set, but credit where credit’s due. Since then, they’ve played endless amounts of sold out shows around the world.

The first band to take to the stage were With One Last Breath from York. I had never heard of these so really wasn’t sure what to expect. They opened up the night so well with their heavy breakdowns, powerful guitar tones and catchy chorus sing alongs. Being the newest band on the tour, they had a few pranks played on them during their set including one of the guys from the other bands stopping their set for ‘security reasons’. Then laughing at them hysterically before letting them continue playing. I listened to them when I got home from the show to see if their recordings matched their live performance, and it was spot on. While listening to them I realised how much they remind me of Glamour Of The Kill who are another up and coming band from York. Then the next track came on and it had the vocalist of GOTK doing special guest vocals. I felt like a genius! But anyway, enough rambling, check them out!

Up next were a band called Chelsea Grin who I’d heard a lot about, heard local bands cover, but never actually listened to. A few hours before the show I was just browsing through Facebook and someone had posted a video from YouTube of a live performance by them, and I literally thought ‘my poor ears’. But kept an open mind in the hope they wouldn’t be like that when you’re in the actual room. And they weren’t. The only downside to their set was the amount of strobe lighting they used, thank God I’m not epileptic! They’re one of few bands who can actually pull off having three guitarists. Their tones all worked so well together and the harmonizing, sweeping patterns stood out so well in the mix.

Bless The Fallwere next to take the stage, another band that I’d heard a lot about but had never actually listened to, so I spent some time searching their songs on YouTube to see what they were like and listened to their most recent album ‘Awakening’ which is really good and I suggest you all go check it out! To top off it all off, their stage presence was electric. The amount of crowd surfers being lifted off the barrier was phenomenal and definitely gave security a run for their money.

Finally, headliners Asking Alexandria’s set time had come. Instead of the usual, stereotypical, atomospherical intro with the fading lights and all that jazz, they just cut the room to complete darkness which added drama and gave an instant buzz. Opening to the intro to their most recent album ‘Reckless And Relentless’ then pounding straight into ‘Closure’  The band were incredibly tight with the samples and effects all in the right places. The vocals had improved a lot since I had last seen them, which made me change my opinion on them slightly until a clean section came which he ended up singing out of key. But I thought ‘Maybe it’s just a one off’, but then it happened again, and again. But in their favour, this was the last night of their UK tour, so I suppose they’re allowed to be exhausted and worn out.

The only thing I HATED about them was how in between every single song they would be saying how they want to have sex with the audience, including the underage girls. But hey! It’s their reputation they’re ruining! Overall, I was pretty impressed by their performance, crowd participation, crowd movement and just general atmosphere. If you ever get the chance to see them.. Go!

January is a month that has become synonymous with many things; resolutions, quiet weekend nights in, the breaking of aforementioned resolutions and the endless list of artists tipped to shape the sound of the next twelve months. Radio stations and record labels clamour like jesters at court to let YOU know exactly who will be you next favourite band. More often than not, you’ve forgotten who these bright new stars are quicker than you have that you’re still paying the local gym £30 a month for that membership you never use. Every now and then though, a gem is revealed. Yes they are sometimes rough around the edges and little green at the ears but their talent is unable to be hidden by the dross surrounding them. Enter, King Charles.

Having been beating around for a few years – a notable Glastonbury set back in 2009 kept the BBC busy for a few weeks with replays – a strong effort with single Mississippi Isabel has led to him being added to the forefront of new acts for 2012 and, as tonight shows, this is for good reason. Effortlessly marrying influences from Prince to the Beach Boys leaving no prisoners in-between, King Charles is someone to truly get excited about and the Wedgewood Rooms was the setting for his first Portsmouth show since his debut Southsea Fest performance back in 2010.

First on were local act Melodramas who ran through their repertoire with confidence and precision. Angular, pop guitar and keyboard melodies complemented by a strong rhythm section made for a set that was easy on the ears without straying too far from the modern indie blueprint. Lead singer Matt Woolway was not too chatty with the crowd, but for a support slot of this kind, that is not necessarily a bad thing. The majority of the audience tonight were around for King Charles and not Melodramas, so letting the music do the talking as it were was always going to be the best way to work the set and the pockets of dancing club goers in the crowd supported this choice. With new EP Kids being released in early March, they can reasonably be hoping for a few returning audience members.

Next up was the main attraction of the night, King Charles. Straight away, the quality of the headlining man is apparent. To liken him to a cross between the Beach Boys and Prince wouldn’t do justice because he has so much more going on than these influences, notable though they are. Throughout the set, he draws on rhythms reminiscent of Peter Gabriel, bluesy distorted guitars that would do a nineties Metallica proud and manages to draw them together seamlessly with the pop hooks that have garnered him such attention in the last twelve months. Talking is kept to a minimum and, quite frankly not really needed as the performance is flawless – special note at this point to the backing band who are all masters of their instruments – and all released material stands up well in the live environment.

With all this said though, there is a down side in that the audience didn’t really seem to realise how good King Charles was. Throughout the forty five minutes or so of performance, there isn’t a moment where chatter can’t be heard and the crowd didn’t ever seem to truly embrace the energy coming from the stage. This was a real shame as, toward the end of the set, you could see the band lose touch with the crowd and start looking at the clock, knowing that their efforts were falling on deaf ears. By the time the encore came around even a cover of Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start The Fire fell flat with zero sing along participation from the crowd.

It is sometimes the worst shame of all when a talented musician’s performance is marred by their audience and tonight that was the case. This is not to say that people didn’t enjoy what they heard and saw – many will likely be in attendance again and purchase the music – it is just that they perhaps didn’t appreciate it for what it was worth, a stand out performance from what will surely be one of 2012’s best artists.

Following a quick changeover (and an opportunity for Richard to head off for gas and air) Aesthetic Perfection arrive onstage. It is as rare as hen’s teeth for me to be utterly blown away by a band’s performance but AP were pretty damned close. Despite a few mic issues early on in the set, the show was energetic, frantic, vociferous and relentless with synth player Elliott nearly climbing the walls. It is unknown whether this was due to adrenaline or a botched escape attempt.

Aesthetic Perfection may not be the most innovative of bands but, by Jeebus they put on a show. Fans of lo-fi, easy listening should steer well clear but those of a stompier persuasion will be impressed by Daniel Graves’ gutteral vocals (would “Gravel” be a more appropriate surname?) and the pulverising tunes. The presence of a live drummer grants them many extra Brownie points and gives them a dynamism sometimes lacking in other industrial bands and I conclude by stating that the future is bright, the future is aggrotech…

Mr B is your alter-ego, is it hard to stay in character and what helps (if anything)?
Character? Alter-ego? I’m sure I have no idea what you’re on about my dear!
 
As a chap about town, do you have any recommendations for those interested in becoming a gentleman?
Tweed for the colder seasons, a nice irish linen for the warmer. A pipe, when carried with the correct amount of je ne sais quoi can add a tad of gravitas. A decent pair of high-waisted trousers (corduroy for the autumn and winter), a tie (or cravat if one is feeling a little dandy, so to speak). All of these things help.
 
You are well known for your parodies of particular genres, is there a style you have yet to cover that is on your “to-do” list?
I have just started performing a ‘madchester’ medley, it seems to be going down well. At the moment though, I am concentrating largely on original songs.
 
Do you identify with the term “chap-hop”? Or do you feel it is an attempt to categorise you?
I certainly do, as it was a term invented by yours truly, so to deny it would be to deny my very self!
 
“Straight out of Surrey” became a bit of a cult hit, did this surprise you and how will you better this?
It was an unexpected pleasure, but when I thought about it, I realised that of COURSE it should be a huge cult smash! As far as bettering it, to be quite frank I think I have far stronger material than that these days. That was the second Mr.B number ever penned. 
 
What have been the high points of your career so far? 
Crikey, it has been such a splendid wheeze altogether it’s hard to pick out a winner. I was rather delighted when the ex-editor of US Vibe magazine told me ‘The only interesting thing happening in Hip-Hop now is you’. That was rather nice. Apart from that, my appearances at Glastonbury and Latitude festivals this year were rather raucous and splendid I must say. 400 people unable to get into the tent for be-tweeded chap-hoppers. Certainly an ‘I was there’ type of moment.
 
When can we expect the next album and will you be taking a new musical direction or sticking to the tried and tested formula?
‘The Tweed Album’ shall be available early next year. There will be familiar sounds and a few oddities. One has to keep things fresh, but I’m not about to go all dubstep or what have you.
 
Have you had any involvement with The Chap Olympiad? What would be your event of choice?
I’ve missed the last couple, unfortunately. ‘Tis always an important date in a chap’s calendar though. The last time I was there I competed in a spot of orange fencing.
 
What does a typical day look like in the life of Mr B?
Breakfast, elevenses, brunch, lunch, a spot of nympholepsy, tea, some music-making, dinner, after-dinner-sherry, supper, single malt, midnight feast, brandy, bed. That’s when I’m not performing, in which case ‘showtime’ comes in between after-dinner sherry and supper.
 
What bands/artists do you listen to? Any recommendations?
The Correspondents are good chums of mine, Busdriver, Ronald Frankau, Tommy Dorsey, Noel Cowerd, Jack Buchanan, Public Enemy…

Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer plays at Waster on Friday 9th December. For more information, please see the Facebook Event https://www.facebook.com/events/175972322488111/?ref=ts or visit http://www.gentlemanrhymer.com

For such a long standing club night whose modus operandi is to debut next year’s greatest bands and DJs, it is always interesting to see how a new city and venue will take up the mantle when it comes to the aspect. With this in mind, Saturday was a chance to see how the Wedgewood Rooms will be adding to the NME’s club night with its second outing as host. With the usual mix of local and established acts, the line up consisted of Lucky One Dies First (LODF), The Planes, Cerebral Ballzy and Jumping Ships. Rotating between smaller side room, The Edge Of The Wedge, and the aforementioned main room, the evening was already displaying a growth since its debut night.

Starting with local hardcore punk act LODF, the Edge was in fine shape. A close to capacity crowd really showed the perfect example what a local music scene can be. With their already strong reputation as a tight three piece outfit, the performance of the evening was never going to be in question. The main note of the set was witnessing the growth of the band with every song receiving a stronger reaction than the last. After seeing many performances from LODF, this is a point of notable development. The big question, come close of set, was when would these boys be making the jump to full U.K band from their current position of city wide favourites?

Following on in The Wedgewood Rooms were The Planes, who find themselves ever so slightly behind LODF on the musical journey but not without a great deal of potential. The first notable point of the set is the relative comfort which the youngsters enjoy on the stage. With more of a swagger than the known indie self-consciousness, it’s clear that influences are changing with the times. With song titles like “See You Next Tuesday”, you get the feeling that Luke Pritchard spent a considerably greater amount of time on their stereo than Ian Curtis. Where this is not a problem for the younger, like minded people in the crowd, it does provide something of an obstacle for those who grew up with the original incarnation of the indie scene. This current issue shows no bind to the boys and more time to develop their sound could see a truly stand out act.

With the local aspect to proceedings complete, it is back to the Edge for what seems to be the international band of the millennium, Cerebral Ballzy. Such has been the national media exposure – let’s not forget that the band have only just released their debut long play – that they have enjoyed a successful summer festival tour of the U.K and Europe and f ind themselves more in demand than most bands in the punk genre. When they take the stage, it is easy to see they are enjoying the current ride they are on. Lead singer Honor Titus immediately reminds the crowd that they are here to party and refusal is not an option. Belting through most of their material at a rate that would make Black Flag seem like prog-rock dinosaurs, moments are only taken to goad the crowd into further anarchy and remind them of Cerebral Ballzy’s four pillars of faith; drinking, girls, pizza and skateboarding. By the end of the set you are sure you have seen something special, but what? For all the excitement and clamouring for presale tickets, at the most all the Brooklyn five piece has done in the last half hour is rip through a punk rock 101 lesson from 1984. They are doing nothing more than Bad Brains, Husker Du and many others have done before – all be it well – which seems to leave a slight amount of disappointment in the amount of praise afforded this band. Having held the opposite of this argument against Planes in this same piece, it may just be a case of the reviewer not being able to have his cake and eat it.

Final band Jumping Ships appear in the Wedgewood Rooms in what has been yet again a seamless turn around – take note all other promoters – and bring their blend of melodic, angular rock to Club NME. It is instantly apparent that they will be, if nothing else, the most interesting band on the bill tonight. Effortlessly merging their clear love of melodies with the nuances of post punk, they produce a well rounded sonic attack with more smooth edges than rough. As each song passes the crowd are treated to honed song craft and a plethora of time changes. As a headline act who seem to be playing second fiddle to penultimate band, they take the depleted crowd in their stride and own the stage as if it were a sell out. With that duly noted, they have been hindered by the line up this evening. It was always going to be a hard task to headline a 400+ capacity venue on any night but with the stark contrast in genres on offer, they are unable to own the crowd for themselves and take the attention away from the lauded Cerebral Ballzy. A return visit to the Edge Of The Wedge on a solo headline night would easily see them assert themselves as the band that may well be next year’s greatest.

First of all, apologies to the band Page 44 who I missed due to the joys of working late before the gig. A quick check on the website that time forgot, AKA Myspace, suggests that they would have put on a solid show of slick yet generic pop-rock. And they’ve also previously appeared on Popworld on T4 if that can be considered a positive.

Thankfully I made it to the venue just as Canterbury was taking to the stage. Hailing from Surrey and Hampshire, they were keen to declare this their hometown show, peppering their on-stage banter with mentions of how good it was to be ‘home’ and cries of ‘Portsmouth, make some noise’. Whilst it’s hard to find a band who don’t name check the city they’re playing in it all came across as a bit cringeworthy, particularly when they gave out sticks of Canterbury branded rock to the best dancers in the crowd.

However, when they let the music do the talking they were incredibly impressive with an assured vocal delivery layered over crisp punchy riffs. Whilst some of their songs were enjoyable straight up pop-punk numbers they also demonstrated a more imaginative and heavy side that showed echoes of Hell Is For Heroes and Biffy Clyro, particularly on ‘Friends? We’re More Like A Gang’. Here’s hoping they play more ‘hometown’ gigs in the future.

On the previous occasion that I’ve seen We Are The Ocean, the lead singer was accidentally pulling out his microphone lead after trying to crowd surf over several rows of chairs at the Guildhall. There were no such obstacles for him this time so he was able to throw himself into the crowd on several occasions throughout the set. Since then they have also re-released their second album with an added acoustic disc, but there was no time for any unplugged moments during their set, instead it was thirty minutes of average emo/post-hardcore. Alternating between a vocalist who shouts, badly, and a melodic singer is a trick that has been done to death by countless other bands in the genre but ‘We Are The Ocean’ have stuck with it. This meant that every song blended into the one before and after it, with the exception of one stand out song at the end of their set, even if it did completely rip off Alexisonfire.

The last time I saw The Blackout was back in 2007 just as they were bursting onto the scene on the back of the popularity of Lostprophets and Funeral For A Friend, when they were a mess of comically large fringes and skinny jeans. Whilst the haircuts have changed, the music hasn’t, with the overly American emo sound still to the fore and the influence of Lostprophets in particular still glaringly obvious.

With three albums to their name they were able to fill their set with songs taken from their whole career so far, including the contender for worst song title ever ‘Spread Legs, Not Lies’. To their credit they didn’t put a foot wrong technically, producing a slick and energetic stage show full of crowd interaction, handclaps, and shape throwing that their fans positively lapped up. Although I’m not if anyone enjoyed the lead singer spitting into the air and catching it before chucking it into the crowd. However, even with three full length releases the seventy five minute long set felt like an endurance test at times and not one that I want to go through again.