Cardiacs + Johnny4 - Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth. 07/11/05.

Quite why Johnny4 are supporting Cardiacs is beyond me, four pretty boys playing middle of the road indie rock is not what you would expect but here they are and after only one song in my mate, Johnny Spankmaster, has gone off to find people to talk to outside. It's pleasant enough MTV music that has a few heads and feet tapping but it just washes over me and nothing has lodged itself in my memory apart from dullness.

When it comes to Cardiacs, VP mainman Skif is the loyal fan and I'm sure a much more informed review of the London gig will be up on the main site soon; I'm more of the looking in at the window thinking that looks interesting type of fan with only one Cardiacs album in my collection. But this was just one of those gigs you have to go to, the Cardiacs family were out in force from youngsters to oldies, even whole families kitted out in t-shirts that gives the gig an air of being at a family event...It may be a slightly odd event, some kind of weird nightmare family funeral complete with creepy uncles dressed in black who call us wankers, but a family event nonetheless. They take to the stage in a theatrical way, surrounded by smoke and head straight in to a set that would last for near on two hours; they manage to squeeze on all nine members at one point while the straight faced female backing singers/percussionists come and go as needed or sit expressionless on stools behind the band. It's hard to describe the music, you either love it or hate it, nightmare disintegrating fairground music with punk n roll guitars while Jim Smith on bass looks like he has wandered on to the wrong stage in search of some big band type thing. Meanwhile Tim Smith veers between charming and just plain strange as he babbles away between songs constantly wearing a very large overcoat as if he's just left work at the bank. It's all part of their charm and it's easy to see why after nearly thirty years they still have a fanatical following, I spend the gig entranced down the front, others know the words to every song and go mad in the middle but not one person left this gig without a big smile on their face. Two hours of pure genius and top tunes in the company of the strangest family I have ever met but already I feel enormous love for these odd fellows.