The Mescalitas + Star Collector + The Good Time Charlies + The Family + Alex Creesh - Messclean @ The Frog On The Front, Portsmouth. 09/06/06.

Not sure what Alex Creesh is doing on the busy bill tonight, but his acoustic mellowness is lost on a lively crowd looking to party and most of his set is carried away on a wave of chatter before hitting my ears so we'll move on quickly to The Family who sound like the early Rolling Stones playing The Beatles. If Oasis had leaned towards the Stones rather than the Fab Four they would probably have sounded like this, indie blues with that Gallagher swagger and some decent tunes that are raw with a good beat. On a personal level it does little for me as it sounds like too many other bands but there is no doubt that they are good at what they do and they go down well with the slightly drunker elements in the crowd who enjoy a good singalong and dancing session.

The Good Time Charlies ooze quality tonight, no bullshit, just good quality rock n roll that's as tight as an emo ladyboys jeans. The Charlies have somehow managed to get to their 4th album so tonight sees them airing new material alongside some old classics and its chunky riff after riff of good time tunes with Brother Nish conducting affairs centre stage with his flying bass and rock god poses while to his right Craig is the epitome of cool knocking out sexy riffs while fellow guitarist Steve does battle with a limp mic stand and provides classic one liners. Up the back is Andy, who quite frankly scares the shit out of me, a more solid drummer you'll never find and a menacing look that many would kill for. Combined they make classic rock n roll that draws on many influences, a hint of punk, a whiff of the sixties with those tasty vocal melodies that come over as a souped-up Beach Boys, some Turbonegro deathpunk, a few pop hooks and you have hard hitting songs that drip with sing-a-long choruses. Tonight they are sounding tight and full of burning energy, the old and new songs go down a storm and even headliners The Mescalitas are down the front getting down to the rock n roll groove; the good thing about the Charlies is that even though you know they are following a well worn rock n roll path, they still come out sounding like The Charlies rather than a mix of their influences which is no mean feat and tonight shows they are still a valuable asset to the Pompey scene...long live the Charlies and Rock N Roll.

Canadians Star Collector are over for some UK dates and are friends of The Charlies hence their appearance tonight. They are a slightly more polished band in terms of sound taking their cue from that very British power pop kind of sound that nods towards the like of The Who with big songs, big melodies and big power riffs. Indeed, live they are a cracking band full of energy and they seem genuinely pleased that we should be giving them our attention on this hot evening and it kind of endears you to them and I'm more than happy to stand and watch them run through a catchy set. In personal terms it's all a bit nice and shiny for me, I like my rock n roll with a rough edge, a hint of danger and something to really get your teeth into; Star Collector are very good at what they do, there is no doubt about that, if you want big shiny power rock/pop then look no further, you'll lap them and their big tunes up but for me they just lack that dirty element.

Finally we arrive at the much hyped part of the night, The Mescalitas and their little rock n roll circus. Three high-heeled clad ladies with enough attitude to take on the whole of Guildhall Walk in one go and a drunken rabble already worshipping the very ground they walk on...so are they any good? Well, there's no doubt they look good, Gem Jones up there dark eyes smoldering and a pout that could kill at 100 yards strapped into a guitar and letting rip with an impressive voice while ice cool Mel melts hearts with those throbbing bass lines and Gabi Woo over there on the drums has one of those don't mess with me faces; musically they sound pretty decent knocking out fizzing indie garage rock, not as hard as The Good Time Charlies or as polished as Star Collector, but somewhere inbetween...perhaps if The Charlies were female and had added some Shangri-Las into the mix. It would be easy to say they've arrived on the scene on the back of bands like Baby Shambles but they are better than that and while I can think of a good number of bands playing decent rock n roll that are far better in the tune department and probably won't get the exposure that The Mescalitas are going to get eventually, I hold out hope that they will turn into a pretty decent band. At the moment I'm in two minds, I love the tunes on the website and parts of the gig I loved but you get the feeling that all that rock n roll nonsense that overshadows certain bands could happen here which would be a shame as the seeds are there and it depends which way they turn. I feel I need to see them again which is a good sign, there certainly is a good amount of energy flowing around the band and most people seemed impressed by the performance and I'll be keeping an eye on them to se how the sounds develop in the future and let's face it, you can't beat a bit of sexy high-heeled rock n roll as Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction proclaimed once upon a time in 'High Heel Heaven'!