Let’s be optimistic – here’s a gaggle of gigs to get excited about
EARLY 2022 MUSICAL PREVIEW Various Venues January-February 2022
Although the ongoing Covid situation makes previewing anything with 100 per cent certainty a fools’ game, The Guide likes to remain a glass half-full kind of operation…
With that in mind, here’s a look at some of the gigs currently pencilled in for the next couple of months.
In the week before Christmas, Portsmouth’s only dedicated independent music venue The Wedgewood Rooms decided to shut down until the new year.
As a result there’s a couple of rescheduled, belated seasonal shows to clear up – Acid Attack and Punk In The Loft’s Christmas Party is now in The Edge of The Wedge on January 14, while Kojak’s Revenge Xmas Party is now pencilled in for January 28.
But before those though The Wedge is expecting to reopen with a gig from fast-rising indie band The Snuts on January 12. The Scottish four-piece were originally due there back in November, capping off a year which saw them top the album charts with their debut release W.L. But the band pulled a run of shows due to illness. Although the gig is sold out, it is always worth checking for returns.
The gig by Urban Voodoo Machine on January 28 should also prove to be a highlight. The self-described ‘bourbon-soaked Gypsy blues bop’n’stroll’ nine-headed beast have been sitting on a new album $nake Oi£ €ngine until they could tour again. Frontman Paul-Ronney Angel’s debut solo album London Texas Lockdown, recorded in the interim, has recently featured in numerous end-of-year best of lists.
On Saturday, January 29, The Wedge and Edge of The Wedge are just two of the 10 stages for the Icebreaker
Festival, which takes place around the Albert Road area. With more than 100 acts lined up, including many Guide favourites (Hallan, Fake Empire, Fast Trains, Fugitive Orchestra, Tash Hills and Horseflies, to pluck just a handful from the list) this will be a welcome return for this celebration of regional unsigned talent.
And on February 2, eclecticallyminded singer-songwriter Jane Weaver brings the tour behind her critically acclaimed 11th album – Flock – to The Wedge.
And fulfilling the ‘long-awaited’ brief with aplomb, is a gig by Nova Twins. Originally due at The Edge in April 2020, the show has been rescheduled umpteen times and has been promoted to the main room. Fresh off the back of supporting bighitters Bring Me The Horizon and Enter Shikari in the arenas, the duo will bring their adrenalised punkmetal to town on February 3.
If the love of your life is into a bit of classic punk, then Portsmouth Guildhall is the place to be this Valentine’s Day – February 14. The Stranglers have billed this as their final ever full UK tour, but it is now also dedicated to keyboard player Dave Greenfield who gave the band their distinctive sound, and who died in May 2020 –an early victim of Covid-19.
Following the success of their shows in 2018, double Grammy Award-winning British band Soul II Soul will take their acclaimed Club Classics tour back on the road in 2022, paying tribute to their legendary debut album, Club Classics Vol 1. The tour stops at Portsmouth Guildhall on February 19.
For those who prefer classical to club classics, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is planning to resume more regular visits to the Guildhall. They play their Glorious Rachmaninov programme on January 20 and celebrate the career of film-score composer John Williams on February 17.
And Portsmouth Chamber Music will perform its Ensemble 360 at the Guildhall on January 31.
At the New Theatre Royal, the seemingly (and hopefully) indestructible Wilko Johnson brings his trio, and guest John Otway, for a rescheduled show as part of his ongoing and remarkable comeback – both musical and healthwise – on February 3.