Stockport’s finest Blossoms returned to Portsmouth Guildhall on Tuesday evening to deliver their delightful sounds and in support of this years album ‘Ribbon Around the Bomb’. The house lights dimmed, as is customary, the stage lights began to pulse with a purple light as the band entered the stage which was flooded with smoke and you can only just make out their silhouettes for a short while (a photographers dream?!). Blossoms open with ‘There’s a Reason Why’ before moving straight into ‘Honey Sweet’ and ‘Oh No (I Think I’m In Love).
Lead singer Tom mentioned to the crowd that it had been a while since they have been in Portsmouth and apologises for how long it has taken them to return. I think the last time must have been Victorious Festival 2021 which to be fair to them isn’t that long ago. One of my favoured Blossoms songs ‘I Can’t Stand It’ from their second album ‘Cool Like You’ is played mid set with its driving drums and bass line which blends nicely with the heavy synths. ‘The Keeper’ and ‘The Sulking Poets’ are played either side complementing nicely.
Tom was very chatty in between songs and told us a little story of when his Dad used to be in the Navy and was based in Portsmouth for a short spell. His Dad watched Elvis Costello play on the same stage at Portsmouth Guildhall in 1984 and now Tom was here with his band which felt like everything had gone full circle for the family.
After ‘My Swimming Brain’ the rest of the band leave the stage for Tom to play ‘My Favourite Room’, from the first album, solo on an acoustic guitar. As the song comes to a close he begins to play the opening bars and sings the line to the Babybird hit ‘You’re Gorgeous’ with the crowd reciting every word back, this then moves into Oasis ‘Half the World Away’ and finishes with none other then Wham! classic ‘Last Christmas’. A little bit too early for me to be dropping the Christmas numbers but the crowd are loving it as they sing Tom off the stage.
Blossoms return for their encore opening with ‘Visions’ before the usual explanation from Tom of how he wrote the tune ‘Your Girlfriend’ which, if you’re anything like me, is a song that is hard get out of your head once you’ve heard it, a right little ear worm. Blossoms finish their biggest and arguably well known song ‘Charlemagne’ (as expected), the most surprising thing for me during this song is how the crowd opened a small pit and began to mosh to it!
Special mention must go to Brooke Combe who has been supporting Blossoms on their UK tour so far. Brooke is a singer/songwriter from Scotland and is an exceptional talent. I have had the pleasure of seeing Brooke play a few times now and every time she gets better and better. Her soulful numbers are a delight and her voice is second to none. I would definitely recommended heading down to the gigs early to catch her play before Blossoms or to try and catch her on a solo date in the future.
You can find Blossoms remaining tour dates here.
