Sabres

Main support last Saturday at the @hopeandanchorlive at CW XIX were Portsmouth’s @sabres.band - back for I think their third outing for us - and following on from some strong opening performances that night. I’ve bigged up these guys for several reasons in the past, focusing on their songwriting and the potential of their recorded music, but another facet of their music - in this case their performance - really registered with me. I’ve been in bands and in music for 20+ years now, so I do know a thing or two, and what I noticed with Sabres this time was the grit and confidence that they have developed through regular gigs on the road, increased stage time, and the priceless benefit of more and more experience. In the 3-4 years that I’ve known Sabres they have come on from being a promising ‘new’ band (admittedly built from experienced parts) and have slowly turned into a road worn, hard-hitting, experienced unit. The music is louder, heavier, more intense, sharper, somehow more honed, and better fitting their original vision. It is no mistake that Sam was wearing a @nick_o_1971 t-shirt - he’s supported him a couple of times playing live at south-coast shows and you can hear that influence seeping into his own sound, in a most excellent way. Sam’s own older sung vocals are giving way to a more gnarled soul-scream and Dominic’s drumming is tighter, more focused, and more direct than ever - with no wasted strokes. Every hit deliberate and powerful. On top of that, Sam seems to have made peace with himself as a performer, happier and more accepting of his own skin and with his strengths and talents - hitting the audience with heartfelt honesty on variety of difficult real world subjects. Now - some listeners might argue that real world subjects like politics, mental health, racism, death etc are best left offstage, but that’s bollocks. If a musician is giving his heart and soul in a performance I want to know what they truly care about, what they see, and how they feel. If you want some tepid neutral bullshit go and see a covers band or some overpriced pop star in a stadium. Closing Stooges cover ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’ was the cherry on the cake. 💪🔥

As time goes on with everything we do here at CW - it’s becoming more and more obvious to me that every single gig we run is special. These are not *just shows* and I’m not just saying that because these happen to be our shows. We are turning up gems every single time, the people who come down always enjoy themselves, and the musicians who play here appreciate that we get the basics right, that we genuinely care, and we never cut corners. Last night was no exception, and the standard of the bands - from openers @wytchpycknyck (surely one of our best ever openers) all the way through to headliners @r_l_a_t was extremely high. On a night where @taylorswift packed out 80,000+ fans into Wembley *again* and people blithely spent £300-500+ to cosplay as teenage cowgirls and cowboys (which is *fine*, and good luck to them if it makes them happy) in comparison last night at the @hopeandanchorlive we had four superb underground rock bands playing in our historic basement for just £10 or less, and I can tell you now that ours was the better show. The scene is crying out for *real* music - not just homogenised money-machine mega tours playing team-written songs. @wytchpycknyck kicked the night off good and proper with a blistering set of eccentric bangers in honour of their new album release, @attendantband delivered a tight, punchy and technically excellent follow up on the bill, with excellent songwriting and harmonies, @sabres.band continue to gain in swagger, strength and confidence and are really hitting top form in their craft, and @r_l_a_t were a joy to see hitting home their first CW headline set. We have backed RLAT for a few years now and it was a rich reward to see them find a whole ‘nother gear to their music and performance last night - live onstage for all to see. Absolutely epic - truly. I’ve seen them play very well before, but the extra 10-15% they dug down and found last night was magical to witness. Individual reviews to follow when my hangover clears, but massive thanks to all the bands, to our CW team & tight friends who keep this thing alive - especially @bonesmccoy @marafarak @rmbarradas and also @paulannisdrums @val.p.drums & many others ❤️🔥💪

Top night at the Hope & Anchor, fun to play State of Disarray for the first time live. Here's a clip! Thanks everyone who watched our set, and those who came up and said hi afterwards, it was great to meet you. Cheers to the other bands, who rocked, and Civil War for putting on another brilliant show. And of course, the real star of our set, the Digitech Drop pedal 😆 #londongigs #livemusic #gig #punk #punkrock #grunge #alternativerock

Loved seeing Red Light Acid Test headline at Hope & Anchor + the supporting bands, Wytch Pycknyck, Attendant (nice to meet you briefly) and Sabres. And for once, I got a picture of each band WITH the drummer. A rare occurrence! Big thanks to @civilwaruk for putting the show together.

@sabres.band live at @hopeandanchorlive at cw xix

@sabres.band live at @hopeandanchorlive

Tonight is the last show of season ready for a little break in the summer 🌞 Local headliners @sabres.band join us with support from @ididid666 and @wooedband See you there!! Tickets available OTD £10- doors at 8PM! #neuwaves #southsea #southseasound #localmusic

*3 DAYS LEFT!* Just a reminder that our next show is just three days away - THIS SATURDAY - at the @hopeandanchorlive for a night of fuzzed our, dirty, alternative rock & grunge! London’s @r_l_a_t will be making their first & long-awaited headline set at CW- and if their past performances with us were anything to go by it’s gonna be heeeeeeuuuuuuge! South coasters @sabres.band are back with their big signature riffs & punch, while @attendantband and @wytchpycknyck will be stepping up for big CW debuts with brand new music being released as well. So many reasons for you all to come down to this big DIY smash up and it’s not one to miss! Get your cheap tickets over at @wegottickets while you still can, and see you down the front! Dave K @ CW HQ #redlightacidtest #sabresband #attendant #wytchpycknyck #cwlxix #civilwarlondon #civilwaruk #altrock #grunge #hardrock #riffs #diy #heavyscene #authentic #gig #islington #londongig #livemusic #collective #civilians #rock #rockshow

*ADVANCE TICKETS* Hello Civilians! As we are almost 1 week away from our next show - CW XIX at the @hopeandanchorlive on Saturday 22 June, I just wanted to remind everyone to get their tickets in nice and early, in advance. We’ve got a cracking line up for this show - with @wytchpycknyck @attendantband @sabres.band and @r_l_a_t all set for a massive show. If you know anything about what we do at CW, you’ll know that we *never miss* with the bands we book, and every show is a banger. It seems like a small thing, booking tickets in advance, and it’s easy to put off, but real DIY events like ours rely on advance sales. To help make that happen we make these tickets cheaper to the tune of £3.50 (so, £6.50 rather than £10 on the door). Underground bands getting ready to play shows need to know that ‘their people’ are coming down so that they can really focus on their main job - performing on stage at the highest level - and if nobody books then not only will the musicians be on edge, worried about attendance, but there is the risk that some promoters and venues will simply cancel the show (and many do). Thankfully that’s not how we roll at CW, and we back our bands to perform their music safe in the knowledge that our collective & community will support the night, but we do need YOU! Like I’ve said before, without you - the people - what we do is pretty meaningless. So turn out, get your tickets booked over at @wegottickets (it literally takes 2 minutes) and support this scene, which has given so much to so many bands in the past 5 years! #redlightacidtest #sabresband #attendant #wytchpycknyck #cwlxix #civilwarlondon #civilwaruk #altrock #grunge #hardrock #riffs #diy #heavyscene #authentic #gig #islington #londongig #livemusic #collective #civilians #rock #rockshow

Only 10 days till we hit the stage at London’s @hopeandanchorlive and headline @civilwaruk XIX show! Head to links in bio to grab tickets while you can!

RIGHT, you lot, this is a big one. We're playing a London show on 22 June - THE DAY AFTER OUR DEBUT ALBUM RELEASE. Ticket link in bio ☝️ It costs less than a London pint if you book in advance, plus the other bands and the venue are ace, so you'll get more than your money's worth. Come hang out, it'll be great to see you x (Also, presave the album. Three guesses where you'll find the link) #londongigs #debutalbum #rockmusic #grunge #punk #alternativerock

🔥PORTSMOUTH WE’RE CRAWLING OUT THE SEWERS FOR YOU. 🔥🐀 We can’t wait to be playing the @thedecopub on the 20th June with @sabres.band and @wooedband . Thanks so much @neuwaves and @southseasound for putting this on it’s going to be LOUD. Tickets in Bio, buy an id id id band ticket to support our pot noodle addiction.