Southsea Fest '09

So. I usually post up the day after I go to gigs, but this time, I decided to take my time. Southsea Fest was indeed awesome. Too awesome in fact, that I need a full six days to process the awesomeness so I can write a coherent account of our travels.

The line-up for Southsea Fest is nothing short of amazing. We've got Tubelord, Blakfish, James Yuill, Tellison, Peggy Sue, Brontide, Sam Isaac, Official Secrets Act, The Joy Formidable, This Town Needs Guns, And So I Watch You From Afar and so many more. In fact, here's a conveniently placed poster that you can click on to enlarge:


The sad thing is, there was no way we could've made it to everyone's shows. The Joy Formidable, Tubelord and James Yuill all performed at the same time, they were headlining! So what to do.

Here's a list of who we did see (not in chronological order):

Tubelord with their amazing but cruelly short set. They also messed up our request for Somewhere Out There A Dog Is On Fire. They redeem themselves by apologising to us after the show. Again, these are top lads playing brilliant music. As they say, they play 'pop music for rock kids.'

Tellison were probably the best of the fest, at least for me. I was standing right in front of the frontman. So close in fact, we had to endure the spit and sweat of these fine fight pop musicians. But the sweet thing is we got to literally sing along with him, sharing the mic with him, and lifting him up for a crowd surf that didn't go as well as we would've hoped.

The Xcerts had their bassist's wrist fractured the night before, so they had to play as a two-piece. But then they tried their best not to let that ruin the whole thing, and they mostly succeeded. Jokey cries for 'sack the bassist' might be exaggerated, but we know where they're coming from.

Sam Isaac and his band were, they had said, performing their last set for a very long time that night. And they gave a very good last-for-a-while show. Sticker, Star & Tape is my favourite song from them, and the remix by James Yuill is brilliant.

Brontide

Mammoth! Mammoth!

Part Dinosaur

Band of Skulls, we only managed to see them perform one song. But it was one hell of a song. We got to see them play 'Fire' from start to finish. They were the last band we saw perform that night.

Huw Olesker is a cheeky kid with wacky wordplay skills singing about being physically attracted to marmite and the story of a pedophilic tortoise. He was the first performer we saw. You can't help but smile at this... child.

The Little Phillistines were the first 'proper' band we saw, and it was obvious a 12pm start to the day did not fare well with the festival-goers. There were not more than ten people in there, and it's a shame, because the Little Phillistines weren't half-bad at all.

Abi Lanigan is an acoustic guitar-playing singer-songwriter who cites Avril Lavigne as one of her influences, which is weird because she sounds nothing like her. Lanigan has this wonderful singing voice that reminds me vaguely of Alanis Morissette.

Peggy Sue, labelled anti-folk as some, had quite an audience in the small Magick Bean Cafe. Dark lyrics infused with folk sensibilities, maybe the anti-folk tag is not completely inaccurate. The lack of space did affect their performance though.

Blitz Kids, as a band name, sounds like an emo pop band that I'd absolutely hate. But thankfully, they're not. They're energetic, charismatic and basically just all over the place, in a good way.

Blakfish was amazing. This was when Southsea fest really kicked off for me. Mosh pits, human pyramids and a vocalist that spits out phlegm more often than Gordon Ramsay says the word shit make for a very incredible gig. They're also best friends with Tubelord, so that's always a plus.

Futs Lung

Tigre Bite Tigre

We also met up with James Yuill after his show to apologise because we didn't make it to his. It's quite nice of him to remember us little people:


Wait, what? Where did he remember us from? Well, from here.

At The Relentless Shots Lounge, Gallery32

It's a good thing we caught him performing to launch the Relentless Shots drinks, which, to be quite honest, aren't the best energy drinks in the world. After the show we had a chat with him to say we might see him in Southsea Fest, and as future events played out, we actually didn't.

James Yuill - She Said In Jest

We also found a new friend there, who we hung out with for the rest of the night, and she brought us to Rough Trade East. She's also going to the Foals show in London with us. Good times.

Signing out

Over and out