Self-proclaimed as Southsea’s best kept secret, Southsea’s Social Club play host to another evening of live music courtesy of promoters Champagne Justice.
Manreads
Experimenting with one bass, one drummer and the occasional duel vocals, this two piece perform a distorted and hypnotic noise with some seriously heavy bass lines. At times incredibly tight, and times slightly out of sync, either way Manreads are great to watch – on paper some may think they’d be missing a guitar or two but where there aren’t six strings they certainly make up for it with just the four, and the minimal combination leaves more room for crazy drum fills.
Wild Smiles
Having released single “Tangled Hair” on Invada Records (owned by dance producer Ashley Anderson and Portishead’s Geoff Barrow) Wild Smiles played a live set worthy of being alongside other acts on the label such as the recent collaboration of Boris and Joe Volk.
With a sound more contrived than that of this evenings opening act there were a number of influences being bandied around the crowd, but these made Wild Smiles all the more enjoyable as a live act, with tunes which in some way sounded familiar but on the other hand fresh and exciting – check out “Get off my Back” on the bands website link below.
Bad Guys
In the afternoon prior to the gig I had been listening to the likes of Fu Manchu and Monster Magnet, and as such Bad Guys certainly gave my eardrums the barrage of stoner doom rock they needed.
Riffs that would make Tony Iommi proud, and vocals similar to the likes of Clutch, Bad Guys are heavy and have a stage presence to match, with a performance that definitely comes from a love of all things that rock.
When it came to the end of the night, only two songs left but ending on an epic number that could draw comparisons to Earth and Sunn o)) Bad Guys showed the diversity in what ultimately was a set whereby lovers of classic and new rock could both fully appreciated.
The self-titled album has just been released on Riot Season so I look forward to hearing if they make my ribs shatter as much on record as they do on stage… I’m sure I for one won’t be disappointed.
So after more nights like this evening, and if promoters Champagne Justice have anything to do with it, Southsea’s Social Club is looking like it won’t be too much of a secret for very long.
Mr Teeth
http://www.myspace.com/badguysfuckingrock
