The Beautiful South + Aberfeldy - Guildhall Portsmouth. 28/05/06.

Another day of doing local crew work and sometimes you kind of think you are not that bothered about seeing a particular band and The Beautiful South fall into that category. I'll admit I've tapped my foot to the odd tune on the TV or radio but beyond that it's not really my kind of thing, so I was planning to come back quite late and just catch the last few numbers before getting back to the job of clearing all the gear away when I noticed the stage running times pinned up and saw the name Aberfeldy as support band. A-ha, I thought to myself, I recognise that name from an EP I reviewed for VP quite a while back, I'll have to come back and check them out. The EP in question was a 4 track 7" put out by Mute/Rough Trade that contained some old Primal Scream/Josef K stuff along with the rather fine track Vegetarian Restaurant by Aberfeldy and I'm sure glad I picked that single up because it would have been a travesty to miss their fine set.

Aberfeldy are a fine looking bunch from Edinburgh made up of the handsome Riley Briggs on vocals/guitars, rock n roll drummer Murray Briggs, Ken McIntosh over on bass, the lovely Sarah McFadyen playing her fiddle/keyboards while doing backing vocals and the equally lovely Ruth Barrie who moves between keyboards either side of the stage and also does angelic backing vocals. They've got the perfect sound for the start of summer, bright melodies, the threeway vocal harmonies...they positively shimmer and sparkle up on the Guildhall stage. Aberfeldy have a big pop heart, with a nod to all things that are jangly, spangly and indie by way of some sexily squelching keyboard action and not forgetting that lovely fiddle that weaves it's way into the mix...must be the time of year for fiddles and violins, I've seen about 4 bands use them in the last couple of weeks; they also allow themselves to hit a heavier groove (I have it on good authority that a couple of these chaps used to cover the mighty Turbonegro in a past life!) but it's always done with one eye on those delightful melodies that drip like honey from the flowering buds of Aberfeldy. They must have some honey jars stored back home that they keep all their melodies in and when they arrive back they just dip their hands in and pull out another. It was well worth coming back early to catch them and despite the fact that I'd only heard Vegetarian Restaurant before tonight they made me feel right at home and each song had something to grab onto that drew you in and bounced you along on the crest of a wave with them; they seemed to go down well with the BS crowd who appreciated the fine tunes and I would heartily recommend them to anyone with a love of real indie music, lush melodies and fine lyrics.

So, because of Aberfeldy I'm now here to watch The Beautiful South and while much of it isn't the kind of stuff I'd rush out to buy, one can't help but enjoy the bouncey tunes and fine wordplay of Paul Heaton. In fact, you couldn't get anything that looked more out of place than the twin vocalists of Heaton and Dave Hemingway who, in all honesty, looks like he'd rather be anywhere else than on stage, hidden as he is behind a cap and shades with minimal audience contact. Heaton, meanwhile is born for the stage, camping it up with dance moves and interacting with the audience. Of course, we must not forget Alison Wheeler who provides all the upfront female vocals in great style and a fine band including a full brass ensemble who really add to the sound. Although out to promote a new album there is no shortage of well known hits in the set list and it's hard not to enjoy the likes of Song For Whoever, Old Red Eyes, A little Time, One Last Lovesong, Perfect Ten & Keep It All In; most of the set is crowd pleasing and there's plenty of dancing and singing along going on and the newer material sits well in amongst the standards. One can't get away from the lyrical side of the band though, without Heaton's acerbic wit and life observations the band wouldn't be half as interesting; but tonight I've seen the band in a new light and while I wouldn't say I'm a fan I certainly appreciate them more than I did previously and I was happy that they played Perfect Ten, the only song they've done that I've really loved!