Subhumans – the Old Barn, Portsmouth
With the coronavirus currently hitting the music industry hard, Subhumans at the Old Barn managed to go ahead regardless. It was in fact one of 3 gigs for Mr Teeth Reviews from last weekend, something that’s looking unlikely to be repeated anytime soon!
As such, timing allows only to review the best of them – Subhumans. The back room of the Milton Arms in Portsmouth has been hosting regular punk nights for a while, always bringing with it a dedicated following. The near-sell-out this evening being no different, with one of the UK’s original bunch of punk rockers.
The Dinz
Support for the evening was that of local band the Dinz, a relatively new four-piece by comparison to the headliners. Although a group that are indeed no strangers to the local scene, featuring members of RnB and ska, rock n roll band the Racketeers.
While the Racketeers have performed on festival stages, complete with a full horn section, by contrast, the Dinz strip things back to old school punk rock. It may have been cold outdoors, but the Dinz pulled in the crowd with some classic three-chord rock n roll. If it had been the last song of the night, I’d have been singing “We are the Dinz” in my sleep, a song that pretty much writes itself.
Subhumans – the Old Barn, Portsmouth
The Subhumans
All the while there’s a time of uncertainty in the world, there’s a time to unite and that’s exactly what live music and punk rock embraces. Likewise when it comes to a disdain for the mainstream press or how many of us disagree with those in power. As such anti-establishment punk rock will always have its place in the modern world.
There’s always something to shout about, which for Subhumans frontman Dick Lucas is everything from politics to fast food. Given how vocal Lucas was between tunes, the songs still came thick and fast, with little time for the ageing crowd to stop bouncing.
Punk shows are rarely known for bands being on stage any longer than necessary, they’re more often a case of blink and you’ll miss it. However, with songs all under 3 minutes, the setlist for Subhumans still featured an array of songs both old and new. As tracks from the bands “The Day the Country Died” debut being just as culturally relevant as the recently released “Crisis Point”.
Even with a 4-song “encore”, this was a night of punk rock, just as it should be – short, sharp and to the point. With all us older rockers having barely been out long enough for the babysitter to have made a cuppa.
