Deville + DNA + Charlie Flesh - Messclean, Portsmouth. 16/09/05

Bit of a disaster this gig in terms of bands pulling out and one band apparently booked to play who didn't even exist so it's down to some regulars to fill in and once again Charlie Flesh gets the chance to strut his rock n roll in solo fashion. This time he has to go for the electric guitar and he's joined by a drummer and it works surprisingly well as Charlie sings about sex, sex and more sex; he may look like a combination of Mick Jagger and Chuck Berry with big hair as he duck walks and struts around but it's fun and I look forward to hearing the Bee Gees influence that he is going to work in to his future material.

Nikolai who runs Messclean is lucky enough to have his own band, DNA, so fellow members are called and they jump into this last second gig with gusto and sound remarkably good. They have a big epic floaty sound, prog meets psychedelia via soulful rock and they make it look effortless and with two good voacalists now in the band an extra dimension is added, quite where that dimension is I'm not sure but it's a long way off, out there past the moon in some dark glittery place that is occupied by bands that like to go off on one. They seem to get better with each gig and as long as they do not get lost out there they should continue to astound with their musical journeys.

Fresh from the ashes of Drivin' South come Deville with a slightly different line up but just as much attitude. They still plough a similar furrow but have punked the sound up a tad so they sound like a heavier Libertines, at times it is most enjoyable and on this performance (along with a handy manager with connections) they will soon gain the kind of attention that Drivin' South warranted. My only thought on them breaking out of Portsmouth is that they have that same laddish Pompey following that works well for them when playing in Portsmouth but could work against them when playing further afield as they will not have their energy and banter to work off but we will see as they already have local supports lined up with the likes of The Paddingtons whose genre they fit into perfectly. A promising start and the beginning of a journey that I'm sure will have much controversy along with the twists and turns.