Psyattica + Fivemiledrive + Little London + A Stranger In Moscow - Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth. 16/10/05.

The latest Devil's Roadshow gig and the chance for some local bands to play a decent venue with a big sound and it's credit all round to those involved as this is sold out and a friendly crowd are expecting big things. First up are A Stranger In Moscow who are riding on that post-hardcore train with just a hint of emo hanging on for dear life; some of them have those nice pretty boy fringe haircuts that I hate but they are saved by a fine looking chap with a mass of unkempt curly hair which shows they are not just all image. Music wise they deliver some quite fine melodic passages with bursts of hardcore hardness mirrored somewhat with a nice line in dual vocals that sees singing giveway to guttural roars; it's very 'now' sounding and they seem to have a good fan base that should see them continue to grow at a fast rate in the local scene.

Tonight is a rare sober excursion for the mighty Little London and boy does it show. There may be little in the way of carnage and drunken banter but what we witness tonight is a band at full capacity and delivering a finely balanced set that hits all the right spots and sees Little London claim the night as their own because frankly they wipe the floor with the other bands. Basically, LL rock, in much the same way that The Wildhearts, Therapy?, Motorhead and Turbonegro rock. They go straight for the jugular, rip it out and piss rock n roll down it. What they do have in abundance is top quality tunes and the newer songs aired tonight sound just as mighty as the established classics such as Love Reaction and go down a storm. The crowd reaction says it all at the end of their set as they are treated like homecoming heroes and on this performance it is well deserved.

Fivemiledrive have been building quite a reputation for themselves but it has to be said that having to follow Little London does them no favours as they sound pale in comparison. They are another of those bands that fit nicely into the whole post-hardcore/emo type scene right down to the image and once again, those annoying fringes that they have to keep smoothing down to one side to keep them out of their eyes; I don't know about you but I find it most distracting and I may now have to become some kind of serial scissor attacker or something because it drives me mad. But anyway, back to the music, Fivemiledrive sound as you would expect them to, melodic guitar work giving way to blasts of noise. The vocals tonight sound a little whiney but it's easy to see why they are building a decent reputation and while they may not be my cup of tea I can see them doing well over the next year or two.

It would appear that the majority of people who are here tonight agree that Psyattica stand a pretty decent chance of being spotted as they have crafted a sound that lies somewhere between all the major rock genres. Unfortunately that kind of makes them slightly bland and lack that spark of true genius, but they do have that foot tapping kind of radio appeal that could reach a wider audience. They round the evening off nicely and it's great to see that so many people have stayed to the bitter end to support the local scene, tonight is a real victory for everyone.