It looked like I may have a space of a few weeks without any shows. There was one I’d pencilled in as a possibility, knowing it would likely be a solo excursion. Then, a couple of other events found their way to me.
At the tail end of April I accompanied Ed Shaw to see Roddy Woomble (or was it Rodney Womble?), the frontman of Idlewild, playing at Staggeringly Good Brewery in Portsmouth. I’ll be honest and say it was the beer that sold it to me. I can’t claim to know any of Idlewild or Roddy’s own material, though I did recognise the song Live in a Hiding Place.
The set up was quite unique. I’ve been to Staggeringly Good a couple of times before gigs at the nearby Wedgwood Rooms, but this was my first time seeing a band there, and my first time venturing into the upstairs of the converted warehouse.
The seats and tables were set up in crescent lines from the stage backwards. I joked that it looked like a TV talent show and Roddy himself noted that it felt like an audition. Having a seat and great beer options was a welcome change for a gig.
Perhaps against my better judgement I’d decided I wouldn’t make the midweek trip to London to see Hundred Reasons play their final show at the Royal Albert Hall with Rival Schools. I’d have gladly gone if it weren’t for the travel, or timing, but as it was I decided to settle on having seem them both, coincidentally on back-to-back nights in July 2023.
Then HR announced a warm up show, in Southampton. What a result. I would get to see them one last time before they called it a day (again). I have a feeling they may be back, as I really didn’t think they would be this most recent time and yet they surprised us with not only gigs and tours, but a remarkable comeback album, 2023’s Glorious Sunset.
Finally, to the show I only pencilled in. Soda Blonde at The Joiners, back in Southampton two days after Hundred Reasons. The deliberation about whether to go initially was whether I’d have chance to listen to more of their discography by the time May rolled around. I really liked the few new singles (Bully featured on my December mixtape) but I have such a backlog of albums to listen to, I probably wouldn’t get to it.
Then the internal debate was, did I want to go back to Southampton again? I’m pleased to report that despite a busy four day working week, I decided FUCK IT.
I drove through the golden hour across the New Forest, made time to listen to some other new albums en route and enjoyed my deluxe introduction to Soda Blonde, in the room, and at one point in the crowd (see below!). Beat that Spotify…
Liam Toms 