Whilst I’ve always been rather fond of my home city, it doesn’t seem that long ago that if there was an event on you felt almost obliged to be involved or you’d risk missing out altogether next time, but right now with so much choice on offer Portsmouth’s a great place to be.
Victorious Festival is now firmly on the map, the upcoming Mutiny Festival hosts an impressive line-up for the dance crowd and with Icebreaker, Dials and the return of Southsea-fest this year (not to mention numerous other local events and gigs) there’s most definitely something for everyone.
With the Portsmouth Summer Show catering for more of a Radio One drive time and Saturday night mainstream TV audience I didn’t feel the need to put myself through Saturday night headliners Scouting for Girls, Union J and Peter Andre, but for a tenner (or 15 on the gates) even I had to admit it was a pretty good line-up.
Come the Sunday and having arrived late in the day for the sounds of local ska band the Racketeers and the headliners on the Southdown College stage, it was time to witness the badly choreographed dance moves of 5ive on the main stage (yes, the return of late 90’s boyband… well, three of them anyway).
Personally though this weekend was always going to be about Fun Lovin’ Criminals, they looked out of place on the line-up but it wasn’t going to stop them putting on a damn fine performance as they celebrate the 20 year anniversary of debut album “Come Find Yourself”.
Frontman Huey Morgan came on with a massive smile upon his face before even playing a note and continued to love every moment, fist pumping his fellow band mates in between songs and frequently checking his audience were also having a good time.
It wasn’t just how much fun Huey was having that was apparent, but it was soon obvious how much of an accomplished guitarist the front-man is, pulling off some nice bluesy guitar licks as well as his smooth charming vocals.
The set started with “Fun Lovin’ Criminal” itself and pulled the biggest cheers for sing-a-long single “King of New York” and of course the classic “Scooby Snacks“, where drummer Frank Benbini introduced a young lad on stage to help out behind the kit.
Some of the crowd may have dispersed once their favorite tune had aired but the rest of us lapped up the likes of “Bombin’ the L” and “Smoke ’em” from that debut album, as well as “Korean Bodega” and Barry White tribute “Love Unlimited” (with the talented Brian “Fast” Leiser taking up keys) from follow up “100% Columbian”.
With the majority of tracks coming from the two better known first albums the band played relatively safe, although there were still other gems hidden along the way, resulting in no need for an encore for what had been a (classic) fantastic set, thoroughly enjoyed by both the Fun Lovin’ Criminals and crowd alike.
As for the festival itself, whilst the majority of acts were never going to appeal to my personal tastes it was obvious the Portsmouth Summer Show had been another great success for the city and one we definitely hope to see return again next year.
Words by Mr Teeth, photo’s by Sam Taylor @ Loud Noises
