Psicle: A Hideous Christmas for War Child

Sunday, December 14, 2025

A Hideous Christmas for War Child

Having persuaded Pete and Wendy to trek from way out east Debbie and I cycle in the crisp December air to the Windmill. Where else? It's billed as A Hideous Christmas all dayer but we don't arrive until gone 8. So called as procured by Hideous Mink records and all proceeds going to War Child. So although very expensive for the Windmill (£16.50!) I guess we could have been here since early afternoon and all for a very good cause. We arrive to catch most of Dog Race who are getting the punters going pogoing, moshing and crowd surfing to a hard edged helping of punk rock. A great start for us although I guess some have been here quite a while already. I always have a fatherly worry about crowd surfing here as the ceiling with various metal fittings such as lights is very low. So low that I now worry for some of the taller pogoers and there are a lot of tall people here. Just afterwards Pete and Wendy arrive so we have a good natter and laugh and exchange presents. Welsh sea salt for them and baked potatoes and sloe gin for us. Next up are the highlight of the night being Friedberg who are an all women group serving a selection of punky funky dance. Individually and altogether. The steady drums underpins a dirty gnawing bass whilst a mixture of rhythm and lead guitars disintegrate into near noodling and high pitched twanging before reforming as a rocking riff. Great stuff indeed. At times they are cleaner with their more danceable tunes and go into what I guess you'd call alt rock reminiscent of New York sounds melded with the likes of Garbage. The main vocalist has a clean voice too when needed but can shout a lyric when called for. Cow bells are a thing with Friedberg and used a fair bit at one time the guitar players including bassist ditch their instruments to hit cow bells to the drums and a dance backing track. The last song is out and out dance which we all do. A great set which I tell them when I bump into the band at the bar. On later listening on-line their sound is more measured without the hard edged grittiness of them live and whilst excellent a live album or EP would be interesting. We go out to the garden to chat and miss the start of Opus Kink and are therefore at the back of the crowd. It's a good rocking set verging on a bit of psychedelia and more so into jazz which may be helped by the sax. Go down very well with the crowd but after being near the front for Friedberg doesn't grab us quite as readily. Probably my tiredness too as have been to Guildford today for Debbie's cousins Xmas pizza meet up although hardly as tiring as drinking and moshing since 2 pm like the kids have been. Well worth seeing again though as I have before. Pete and Wendy can't stay too late so instead of pints Pete suggests a tequila. They aren't really geared up for such cosmopolitan drinks at the Windmill and the shots arrive with an apology that there are only 2 slices of lime left so one of us has to have lemon. When asked for salt the barman roots about and again apologises for not having salt. Surely there's some? No problem as Debbie reminds us that she's just given some to Pete and Wendy so we prematurely break into their Christmas present and mix Welsh salt with Mexican tequila. Goes down a treat. Not the last band of the evening but the last for us are Y who I'm intrigued by as the name of The Slits' semi-bootleg album. They don't seem to be influenced by The Slits except that they are what I guess would be termed experimental post punk post jazz. Yes they have a saxophonist too. Pete and Wendy have left to catch tubes back east and after a couple of numbers Debbie and I decide to call it a day, well, an evening, and retrieve our potatoes from the radiator, to the bemusement of the woman sitting next to it, and cycle back home. Once back I fry up one of the potatoes and wash it down with sloe gin and tonic. An excellent end to the day although I was a bit woozy this morning only resolved by a bike ride down to the river and back in the cold December air.