Hidden Herd All-Dayer at The Green Door Store

Hidden Herd All-Dayer at The Green Door Store, Brighton, 1st March 2025

With the sun shining for the first time in a long time, and a stack of talented acts on the line-up, Hidden Herd presented an all day event that perfectly reflects the importance and ethos of local grassroots venues and the platform they offer to emerging artists, along with an opportunity to see those more established playing in an intimate setting.

First up at Green Door on Saturday were Triple Drain, their ‘goth sludge’ tunes making an impact that proved worthy of an early arrival. The opening slot is never an easy one but the trio gave a strong performance, with nods to the likes of The Banshees and The Slits.

With an unapologetic step into the world of pop-punk, crysometimes continued to warm things up with audience participation and a late set singing slot knelt on the cobbles of the venue floor – dedication to the cause because, believe me, that floor is cold!

And then perhaps one of the most talked about slots of the day from Francis Pig. This was very much a visual as well as musical display, and I felt their confidence had grown since last seeing them along with the quality of the set. Last time if I’m honest, I wasn’t sure – this time they left me suitably impressed, and I clearly wasn’t alone in that.

Triple Drain

crysometimes

Francis Pig

Another act gaining a buzz around them, lots of interest in Cordelia Gartside amongst the gig-goers both before and after they played. With captivating vocals and tight support from the band, their music is a beguiling mix of fragile and hard-hitting, and leaves a little bit of intrigue behind.

Next, Room Service brought lots of energy to their pop/rock offering and segued things nicely into the evening section.

Switching out the genres again, an impressive helping of soul-fuelled rock from Car Boot Sale took the pace up a level. Great to see a band that looks like they’re having fun and has the venue bouncing along with a party atmosphere and some solid tunes in their repertoire.

Cordelia Gartside

Room Service

Car Boot Sale

And so, to the final three acts of the day – Porchlight gave an animated, angular performance, keeping energy levels high. If you’re a fan of the likes of Keg and Duds, you’ll likely find the direction they’re heading is right up your street.

Next up, the formidable DSM IV. At times intense, humorous and the best possible version of unhinged, the trio have mastered the art of syncing chaos into order, their accomplished elctro-dance-punk riffs the perfect backdrop to an immersive journey for the crowd as the venue transports into their own little piece of late night clubland. A lot of fun underlying just how good they are.

No better way to follow on than with another foray into darklands club utopia with two-piece Baba Ali. Heavy dance synth beats and fuzzy guitar combine to make theirs a hypnotic and potent production. What an ending to an all round excellent day.