Welcome to the soap opera currently being played out through the tabloids in the shape of Sir Peter Doherty. Sometimes, due to arguments with the rest of The Libertines caused by the usual stuff such as flatbreaking, being in court/prison, drugs, blah, blah, blah, etc. Pete is often seen in his other band Babyshambles. The question is, will he be able to demonstrate the "bouncebackability" required since his well catalogued troubles.

When the part of Portsmouth University was found (quite tricky - even the locals didn' t seem to know where it was - the building was eventually given away by the crowd that had formed outside it), the queue was so large that it seemed best to go to the nearby pub called 'Scream'. I am quite happy to recommend this place as the place to go to beforehand because it was very studenty in atmosphere and the beer was reasonably priced!!!

After a sherbert, it was off to join the still quite large queue. One thing that was a pleasant surprise was that outside the venue was an off-licence which made standing around a worthwhile exercise. I mean how many times have you been stuck in a long queue thinking to yourself that you are wasting VDT (valuable drinking time!)?

When I was getting into the building there was quite a lot of commotion. It seemed that there were a lot of people not being allowed in. Apparently, despite no publicity saying this, under eighteen's were being turned away at the door. I hope they all got in, but if not this seems a shoddy arrangement, so at the very least I hope they got their money back.

Anyway, after being let in (my friends and myself had not actually received our tickets in the post but at least our names were on the list!). Up the stairs and into one of the rooms where we were greeted by a band on stage. The band on, were playing a very recognisable opening chord sequence. One of my favourite Libertines songs 'Don't Look Back Into The Sun'. And Mr Doherty joined them on stage for vocal duties. It has to be said that he did look very pale from where I was standing. Still, it was a cracking performance.

I missed the next two support acts. One a solo performer bloke with an acoustic guitar and a straw hat, and one which was a quite good band according to my friends Pennie and Paul, as I was at the bar trying to get the drinks in. Four staff and about four hundred frustrated people all jostling for a beverage. People had been standing there for up to an hour waiting to be served, hell I even saw one geezer who had been waiting since Pop Will Eat Itself played there in the late eighties. They were serving drinks not based on the traditional 'first come, first serve' basis but a new one on me called the 'get served by either looking hard or being cute'. I eventually went for the 'I'm going to give the barman a good kicking if he doesn't serve me next' look after trying and failing to get anywhere fluttering my eyelids. Funnily enough, due to the poor service at the bar, when I did eventually get served, people just chucked money in my direction to get them a beer in. Not only did I come away with the drinks but somehow I managed to make a profit!

It was my first time at this particular venue. Inside it looks like a quite trendy bar with 'S' shaped seats/sofas at the bar end. The 'S' shape theme continued with the lighting at the front by the stage. The toilets are by the stage on the right and were of a reasonable standard. There was also a raise balcony (like Brixton Academy but not as pretty) bit in the venue. The floor has no slope so anyone under 5 and a half feet is always going to struggle to see unless they are on the balcony or right at the front.

Eventually Babyshambles took to the stage and went straight into their set. Pete, definitely has a stage presence. The band are a four piece - Bassist, Guitarist, Drummer and Pete who only took vocal duties (I was surprised by this as I thought he might play guitar). The boys all looked unnaturally skinny (yes I am jealous!) and to my mind the best musician award went to the female drummer. During the song 'Babyshambles' Pete went for a massive stage dive and this was the cue for the world, his wife and his dog to all try and get on stage, over my head, for the rest of the set. Boys and Girls were all trying to kiss the very spaced out looking Mr Doherty. General pandemonium ensued! At one point the bouncers threatened to eject all the crowd surfers (apparently they didn't). An announcement that managed to encourage even more people to fly over my head.

I have to say that I really enjoyed their 'What Katie Did Next' which I also consider to be one of the real stand out tracks on the latest Libertines CD (called 'The Libertines') and I also have to say that Babyshambles next single 'Kilamanjaro' sounded very good.

All in all I enjoyed the set. I felt like I had broken several ribs ( I hadn't!!!) in the constant crush but that's Rock'n'Roll for you!!!

At the end of it all I couldn't help thinking that although the gig was good, I preferred The Libertines (even at Reading 2003 when they were Doherty-less - see my review here). I wish Pete well, though, and I hope he can put all his troubles behind him and continue to keep the likes of me entertained. After all it is much better that new up and coming bands use the likes of Babyshambles as a template than Busted or McFly.


Ric Mansell


Check Out The Official Website Of The Band Babyshambles