The Neighbourhood at The Pyramids, Portsmouth

Portsmouth’s budding music scene is becoming one of the most respected in the UK; a symphony of great events and artists all making their way to the city, spanning across a vast variety of genres. With the addition of top-draw events like Victorious and Dials Festivals, as well as underground dance music events taking place courtesy of companies like Concrete Music, Portsmouth is being embedded on the map as the south’s hub for modern music. 

With such a wide offering of bands and DJs performing in Portsmouth, we are unquestionably spoilt for choice. The past six months have seen the Pyramids Centre welcome tiptop acts to their stage.

One of those on offer recently was California indie band The Neighbourhood. The LA outfit, on their European tour, made pitstop in Portsmouth in support of their second studio album ‘Wiped Out!’. The five-piece entered a smoke-filled stage, lit up with white spotlights, in keeping with the bands black and white themed album artworks. The band rattled through a sixteen song setlist, showing off their alternative, unique style of rock. The Neighbourhood played an eclectic mix of songs from both albums, rounding off the performance with double-platinum selling single ‘Sweater Weather’ and their newest single ‘R.I.P 2 My Youth’.

The band performed well, with the crowd finding themselves singing along to The Neighbourhood’s biggest tracks. Frontman Jesse Rutherford brought an air of arrogance to the band’s performance, but somehow made it work. The group seemed well received at what I would call a slightly random date on their tour. 

Venue – 7/10

DJ/Band – 6/10

Music – 8/10

Overall – 7/10