On Monday, 28 March 2016, I posted a blog titled A Decade Of Gigs Part One - The Wedgewood Rooms. In 2016, I realised I had been going to gigs for 10 years and decided to write a lot about it, with my first focus being 10 years (though it was actually 9) of gigs at the Wedgewood Rooms. I chose the Wedgewood Rooms at the time as it was my favourite venue in my home town. 10 years on from that post, the Wedgewood Rooms is still my favourite room in Portsmouth to go and see gigs in. That first post effectively covered 2007-2015, and this one will be covering 2016-2025, and it won’t cover everything I’ve seen at the Wedge in this time, but it will cover a good number of my highlights.
12th January 2016 - Cancer Bats
The first gig of 2016 for me was at the Wedge, which was to see Cancer Bats. I’ve seen Cancer Bats a lot now, and whenever they come through town if I can make it I will go. This gig was ace not only because Cancer Bats played, but also because the support bill was mega - I didn’t catch Incite (they fell victim to Beers Before Bats), but I did see Palm Reader and Lord Dying - I liked Palm Reader before this gig and became a fan afterwards. Cancer Bats were great as per, and it was a lovely time.
17th March 2016 - Crossfaith
In 2016, I was raising money for Cancer Research UK through running. I did 5 races to help try and raise a bit of money for them, and the first one was a St Patrick’s Day themed 10k on Thursday 17th March. I know this because the race finished in Old Portsmouth and I then jumped on my bike and cycled to the other end of the seafront (where I lived) to get freshened up before heading to the Wedge to see Crossfaith. I was a bit knackered by the time Crossfaith came on stage but they were superb. I am definitely glad I went, even if it was a bit of an effort to get there. This gig is one of the examples of why I love watching gigs in the Wedge; I saw, and was blown away by, Crossfaith at Reading 2013 and raved about them to pals, one of whom came to see Crossfaith with me when they were the main support on the Kerrang tour (to Limp Bizkit). Anyway, the sound in that room was really shocking, and I almost felt the need to defend my previous hyping of this band. Roll on a few years later and Crossfaith sounded amazing at the Wedge, and I felt vindicated.
1st November 2017 - Marmozets
Sometimes, gigs getting briefly postponed is a good thing (completely selfishly, I accept!). On this occasion, I originally was going to miss seeing Marmozets because I was in Birmingham seeing Metallica. They had to postpone for a few days, meaning I could make the gig. Marmozets were incredible that night (my 5th favourite gig of 2017, according to that particular list!) Marmozets are back together after a long hiatus, and it would be lovely if on a future tour they come back to the Wedgewood Rooms (they are going to be at Papilion in Southampton, which I’ll be at). This night was something special though.
April 22nd 2018 - Code Orange
Jumping forward to 2018, and Code Orange played a headline show while they were here supporting Trivium with Power Trip and Venom Prison (speaking of good bills, fucking hell). They played the Wedge and were supported by Employed to Serve, who were one of my favourite new bands at the time (I still love ETS!). Code Orange were touring Forever, a cracking album, and the gig was a great one. On the night, I enjoyed Employed to Serve more but Code Orange were ace, and I was hoping they might come back at some point. I think it is all but confirmed they’ve split up now so I guess that won’t happen, which is a shame.
November 11th 2018 - Skindred
Sticking with 2018, Skindred came through for one of their many tours. Skindred have had a dependable live show, one which has barely changed (aside from the set list I guess!), for probably over a decade at this point. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and it definitely didn’t need fixing on this night. This was just a party. Retroactive apologies to anyone who saw me with my shirt off…
February 10th 2019 - Black Peaks
2019 started with a headline show from Black Peaks, and I look back on this gig with fondness now that Black Peaks have split up. Black Peaks were such a good band, and getting to see them at the Wedge was great. I now feel slightly sad thinking about how they’ve split up so let's move on!
September 25th 2019 - Frank Turner
Frank Turner played a solo show at the Wedgewood Rooms on behalf of Nordoff Robbins. I love Frank Turner’s music, and seeing him live, so I was very happy seeing him on this night. He played a new song that night called The Work, which ended up on his next album - it was ace to get to hear it live while it was still being developed.
January 15th 2020 - The Bellrays
I only have one gig to talk about in terms of going to the Wedgewood Rooms in 2020 for reasons I probably don’t need to talk about. To this day, I still don’t know if The Bellrays were originally supposed to play the main room or were always due to play the Edge of the Wedge (the smaller room, for those not in the know). I remember the Edge being packed for them, and they were great.
July 17th 2021 - Fleetingwood Mac
There was a pause on gigs for a bit, and my next one was a sat down, socially distant affair in 2021 just before restrictions were lifted. I went to go and see Fleetingwood Mac, who were bloody great. It wasn’t until they came on that I found out I used to go to school with a member of the band, and I have since subsequently worked with another member of the band - small world/city! Anyway, they were ace, and I felt a bit emotional going back into the Wedge after such a long pause.
September 16th 2021 - Ash & October 3rd 2021 - The Subways
Gigs were properly back in the second half of 2021, and in fairly short order I went to see Ash and The Subways, gigs that were originally booked for The Pyramids, but that venue had since closed and become a gym. Getting to see these two bands at the Wedge was really cool. Neither are bands I listen to often, but they are excellent live acts and always worth a watch. Both came back to the Wedge in 2025 and I couldn’t make either gig (admittedly, the Ash one is because it sold out before I sorted a ticket, so that one is on me).
February 22nd 2022 - Beans on Toast
2022, and my first Wedge gig of that year was to see Beans on Toast. Beans was a pandemic discovery for me (I had heard of him as I was a Frank Turner fan, but never checked out his music). This gig was my 4th time seeing him live in under a year, and just like the other shows it was a lot of fun! He is due to come back in 2025 and as I write this, I haven’t yet sorted a ticket but I will be doing so soon (EDITOR NOTE - did I end up going?)
18th October 2022 - Hayseed Dixie
The penultimate one for me in 2022 that I want to talk about is Hayseed Dixie, who were playing the venue for the first time in nearly 17 years I think - when they were in the area they tended to play The Brook in Southampton. I am glad they come through and play the Wedge now as well. I saw them at this 2022 show and saw them again this year. They are always a lot of fun live and put on a great show.
28th November 2022 - Currls
The final note from 2022 goes to Currls. I had seen the band Congratulations supporting Spielbergs in Southampton, and then saw they were supporting Currls alongside Weekend Punks (who were also due to support Spielbergs but had to pull out). I was going to see Congratulations, wanted to catch Weekend Punks and figured I’d hang around to watch Currls. What actually happened was both Weekend Punks and Congratulations pulled out, so it was just Currls…and they were bloody excellent! I’ve seen Currls a number of times in Portsmouth since and they are such a good live band. Also, shout out to congratulations who are also ace. This isn’t intended to shade Weekend Punks, I’m not sure what happened with them after this.
24th June 2023 - The Black Charade and Fell Out Boy
2023 had a number of cool gigs at the Wedge that I went to, but the next one I want to give a nod to was the first time Fell Out Boy and The Black Charade came to town. At this point, I rarely went to tribute band gigs but the chance to see tributes to both MCR and Fall Out Boy on the same night sounded like a lot of fun, and it was ace! They came back again in 2024 which was just as good.
13th July 2023 - CVC / 23rd July 2023 - Paracetamol / 14th August 2023 - Pinch Points
In 2023, I went to a few gigs on a whim - I like gigs you see (have you noticed?) and now by this time I had moved closer to the Wedge, so going there was a lot less effort. The first on a whim gig was CVC, and my word that was a good choice. CVC’s debut album is superb, and they are such a good live band. I’ve seen them twice since, but this one at the Edge of the Wedge holds a place in my heart. Paracetamol was in the same room 10 days later, and that was another on a whim gig, and it was also very good. My favourite band that night were the openers, Salvo. The final on a whim gig I want to mention was Pinch Points - I don’t have a lot to say other than Pinch Points were great.
23rd August 2023 - Obituary
2023 and PVC brought Obituary to the Wedgewood Rooms. The Wedge doesn’t get that much metal anymore, and certainly not death metal. Getting to see Obituary sell out the room was really cool. They were very very loud though; they gave my earplugs a good work out! Shout out as well to Pest Control, I’d seen them before this gig but they are great live.
11th October 2023 - Coach Party
The next gig I want to mention is when I saw Coach Party in October 2023. I very much like Coach Party, and they were very good on this night (as they were when they headlined Night Currents Festival at the Wedge the next year). I look back on this gig with fondness though due to the company I had that night, it was a lovely evening.
7th November 2023 - Tigercub / 1st December 2023 - Therapy?
I was back at the Wedge soon after for Tigercub, who released a great album in 2023. They were very good live that night, helped by the fact I was stood at the barrier for this one. I was back at the barrier for Therapy? in December, and they were outstanding. I had forgotten before this show just how good Therapy? are live.
2024 - The Year of the Tribute Show (mostly)
2024 is the penultimate year I want to reflect on with these words. I only went to the Wedge 4 times in 2024, and three of those gigs were tribute band shows. The first was the second Fell Out Boy/The Black Charade gig, which was great. The second was Nirvana UK, and they were outrageously good, so much so they came back again this year and I went again. The final one turned out to be a bit of a ramshackle tour of Rage Against The Machine, Beastie Boys and Cypress Hill tributes. It was ramshackle only in the sense that I gathered at least one person didn’t join the tour as expected, and all three bands had 1 singer. It was a lot of fun all the same.
2025
The first one from 2025 I want to highlight is Dry Socket, which was in the Edge. That was a gnarly hardcore show, gnarly in a very good way. The next one though is definitely one of my favourite shows I’ve seen at the Wedge ever, let alone this year, which was Oh My God It’s The Church - can I once again get an amen?! That was such a fun night and I would definitely see them if they came back through town.
In August, I had two gigs in two nights at the Wedge. The first of these was Arab Strap, who released a delightfully moody album in 2024. They had a short tour around their Arctangent set, and I was glad it had a stop at the Wedge. The second night was Nirvana UK and they again were excellent. They have become another one that I will see annually if they come back through.
October saw me at the Wedge twice in a week for two very different gigs. The first was Gama Bomb, who were supported by Raised By Owls. I won’t lie, Raised By Owls sold me the ticket and they were a lot of fun, so very silly. Many mascots, a game show, and a song titled “I’m sorry I wore a ‘Dying Fetus’ shirt to your baby’s gender reveal party” - what’s not to like?! Gama Bomb were also very good, which was nice. The second gig in this October week was Better Lovers, and seeing them in this room was something special; my favourite time seeing them live without question.
And that, as they say, has been another decade of me going to the Wedgwood Rooms. It will be interesting to see what the third one brings for sure.
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