LIVE REVIEW: The Big Pink - Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth

Published at: http://sonarmagazine.co.uk/2012/03/live-review-the-big-pink-wedgewood-rooms-portsmouth/

I have very mixed feelings on the Big Pink as I struggle to work out what their meant to be about. The fact that they have added elements of dubstep to their new album, if I’m honest is rather comical. It’s as if their chasing after a band wagon that left town two years ago.

 The sound was bad at their Portsmouth show, at times unbearable. I actually covered my ears at one point. I felt genuinely bad for them, as they had no idea. The sound trouble wasn’t strictly their fault, so someone really needs to have a chat with their technician, a serious one.  As singer, Robbie Furze ran up to enthusiastically turn the sound up, the crowd winced.

‘Stay Gold’ was a nice moment and they got the audiences interest back. ‘Hit the Ground’ was another moment where the crowd sang the lyrics back to them, along with ‘Dominoes’ and ‘Velvet’. Other than that it was just white noise and it was hard to differentiate between tracks as the sound was so terrible.

All in all I would hardly describe their gig as mind-blowing. I think the fact that they left it two years before releasing a new album lost their fans momentum. People like them, but I didn’t see anyone who looked like they loved them. That’s what a band need, passion and audience interaction. They didn’t seem to embody either qualities, and it was all just a little too stale.

It’s such a shame after such a great debut album, songs like ‘Velvet’ and ‘Dominoes’ which were moody dark and powerful, why did they not stick with their signature sound? It all just seemed a little wishy washy, and was very disappointing for an old fan like myself. I feel bad for them, but at the same time, there is footage of Robbie Furze smacking a kid in the face whilst at a show in Atlanta a few years back, so I think I can live with myself.