Second Hand Thoughts + escapegoat + Ben Hayes - HMC @ Railway Workers Club, Fratton. 01/08/05

Ben Hayes is more often seen ripping his tonsils out with both In This Defiance and Enochian Theory or seizing at the chance to jump on stage with any heavy band and doing extra vocals so it's nice to find him perched on a seat with just an acoustic guitar for comapany and no wall of noise to hide behind. It's not the best environment to play acoustic numbers with far too much chatter going on, but Ben shows his gentle side with some wonderful gentle songs that also show him to have a fine voice when he sings rather than growling. He offers a selection of soft lilting rock songs, conjuring up images of late hours, smokey rooms and soul searching. I believe he is thinking of giving up playing this material live which would be a real shame as it's nice to see someone known for their harsh music taking time out and stripping the music back for all to see, showing their delicate side and revealing some lighter shades.

escapegoat are a strange experiment where indie meets ladishness and throw in some punk attitude and let the fireworks begin. They come over as a harder version of Razorlight/Libertines, in your face hyperactive twitchers who look ready for a fight. Treading a fine line between annoying and good, the vocalist spends half the night out the front climbing chairs and nearly strangling himself with the mic lead. When they go for it they are quite excellent as they do get people moving and they are another of those Pompey bands that appeal to both the alternative and 'townie' population which is quite strange but also part of the charm as it always makes for an interesting evening.

Another acoustic set rounds the evening off as Matthew Harrison aka Second Hand Thoughts takes to the stage; although very young in age he has a confident manner in front of an audience and many take an interest in his performance. Music wise it's best described as pop punk meets emo and the songs do have the feeling that they would sound great with a full band which is a tribute to his skills; I believe he slips in some cover versions from some emo type bands but I wouldn't notice as that's not my cup of tea but all the tunes aired tonight sound equally acomplished and fully formed.