REVIEW: Vant at The Wedgewood Rooms in Southsea

Reading about VANT recently while having a quiet cup of tea in Southsea's Pie & Vinyl, I thought '˜at last, a band that has something to say'.
Vant at Wedgewood Rooms.  PICTURE: Paul WindsorVant at Wedgewood Rooms.  PICTURE: Paul Windsor
Vant at Wedgewood Rooms. PICTURE: Paul Windsor

There’s a fine line between naff political posturing and having a genuine inciteful view. Often it can alienate an audience – just ask The Enemy’s Tom Clarke.

Lead singer Mattie Vant certainly walks the talk, quickly despatching his guitar and engaging the crowd from the front of the barrier.

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Soon the moshpit is a sweaty mess with the crowd singing every word back to the band, even new single Peace and Love.

Whilst the idea of getting the audience to sit down during one of the songs sounds like a good idea, several bands have done it already, and I can’t imagine The Clash doing it, so it might be best to quietly drop the comedy routine.

But the band has a clutch of great punk tunes with an underlying sense of melody in the same way Nirvana did when I saw them all those years ago at Portsmouth Poly. With a little luck and hard work, who knows?

PAUL WINDSOR

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