Pyrogaric, The Little Tap House, Newport, 24.02.23
I've seen bands in some odd venues, in fields, churches even a KFC but most of the time you're in a basement somewhere, usually as the band are setting up. This was the exact situation for Pyrogaric (8) when we arrived at Newport's newest craft beer venue The Little Tap House, having grabbed some very good beer, we went down into their basement area, usually the home of retro gaming consoles and screens for some drinking entertainment, for an evening that promised to be a bit louder. Having seen the band opening for Pantheïst at Fuel Rock Club before Xmas, this second viewing came at the princely sum of £0 and of course an excuse to visit some fine establishments with my favourite Newport resident (sorry Richard you're still not fully Newport yet).
I've seen bands in some odd venues, in fields, churches even a KFC but most of the time you're in a basement somewhere, usually as the band are setting up. This was the exact situation for Pyrogaric (8) when we arrived at Newport's newest craft beer venue The Little Tap House, having grabbed some very good beer, we went down into their basement area, usually the home of retro gaming consoles and screens for some drinking entertainment, for an evening that promised to be a bit louder. Having seen the band opening for Pantheïst at Fuel Rock Club before Xmas, this second viewing came at the princely sum of £0 and of course an excuse to visit some fine establishments with my favourite Newport resident (sorry Richard you're still not fully Newport yet).
Kudos to The Little Tap House for supporting local and live music, but as we entered for showtime drummer/vocalist Jamey-Leigh Butcher was staring quizzically at a laptop while guitarist Keelan Deri Powell tuned his guitar. After I helped by turning it off and on again (I'm an engineer you know), the psychedelic visuals were back and quickly Jamey-Leigh went behind the drums ready to begin. Retro-tinged psych rock is what Pyrogaric bring, the fuzz soaked riffs of Keelan peel off in that style of Kadavar/Graveyard, shifting from woozy atmospheres to direct, low strung riffs as the set unfolds. Behind the drums Jamey-Leigh beats the hell out her kit, the changing visuals projected over her as she played.
The beating the skins took so bad that they began to move towards the end of the set (nothing a Persian rug won't fix), the seismic activity meaning that during Don't Open The Door the mic also moved away from her mouth but luckily her voice is powerful enough to not really need a mic on this... 'intimate' venue. Consisting of songs from their 2022 EP Far Away and their upcoming as yet unnamed album, Pyrogaric played a set that could easily win over a bigger crowd than was in that fateful basement.
Well done for patrons of the bar to come down and check out the band, well done to the band themselves to rocking the basement so well and lastly I hope The Little Tap House book more local acts to play their venue, beer and music as we all know are a match made in heaven, so hopefully we'll be seeing a few capacity shows here soon.
Well done for patrons of the bar to come down and check out the band, well done to the band themselves to rocking the basement so well and lastly I hope The Little Tap House book more local acts to play their venue, beer and music as we all know are a match made in heaven, so hopefully we'll be seeing a few capacity shows here soon.