Picture from Impact, the link is worth clicking on for the hilariously ill-informed guide to music venues.
I have just returned home from a rare gig, one that contained a totally new (to me) line up of acts. There are a great deal of bands and musicians from Nottingham that I rate very highly but as I was saying to my friend Gary, I am starting to tire of seeing the same artists every time I go out. This gig was listed in Leftlion magazine's picks of the week so I was a little taken aback to see that there wasn't a single member of their writing team in attendance, how do they know what to go and see? It's almost as if Nottingham's music scene is governed by people who don't have the first fucking idea what they are talking about. I'm not suggesting that Nottingham's music scene is governed by people who don't have the first fucking clue what they are talking about, but that is the impression one gets. I can say what I like because I am invisible to Leftlion so they'll never know. Perhaps they gave up on music and have reverted back to cocktail bars and catwalks like the old days before they acknowledged local music existed.
The pub wasn't exactly what you would call full, let me put that another way, the pub was virtually empty. A few people turned up to talk over the acoustic musicians but that is par for the course I am afraid, we moved tables to try and get out of earshot and it worked once the other bands kicked in. I would have done another recording of the gig talkers but the Wi-Fi was a bit shaky so I lost interest.
As I said, it was nice to be seeing an entire line-up of music makers that I hadn't seen before even though the night was a little on the flat side. More people would have made a difference but Nottingham has a slightly hit and miss approach to live music and tend to have the opposite opinion to mine in that they happily go to the same things every time. First on the bill was an acoustic duo called C.R.A.F.T. who surprisingly (only surprising because I am getting a bit bored with acoustic musicians) caught my attention straight away with their delivery mixed with humour and a few covers thrown in for good measure although a little floppy in places - if you say that you're not having a good gig then people will take your word for it if you're not careful. I'd like to see them again but after they have tightened things up a bit, not that I disapprove of musicians having a laugh but forced banter that sounds rehearsed makes my teeth itch. I also hate the need to retune after every song, either have a spare guitar on stage with you or invest in a better one.
Sunset Nebula were next, an instrumental band who I had mixed feelings about. There's no denying that they are a band of talented musicians, but it did seem to blend into itself a little bit after a while and if it hadn't been for the gaps when one tune ended and another one starting them you wouldn't know. Please don't think I'm slagging them off because they were very good at what they were doing, it is just that it wasn't really for me.
I have worked with George Gadd a couple of times and have always enjoyed his company, and it was his new band Little Bribes that I was most interested in seeing. Having only seen him as a solo performer before it was refreshing to see him in a band and playing a far punkier sound. The only problem (which wasn't the band's fault) was the sound quality in the pub that sometimes interfered with the vocals. That said, even Rock City has issues with the sound in different parts of the room so maybe it is the shape of the Fleece that causes this problem.
All in all I am glad that I went tonight if only to see something different. As for next week (I rarely go out at the weekend as the town fills up with idiots) I am unsure what I will be seeing apart from Georgie Rose's gig on Friday but hopefully there will be something worthwhile on before then.
This week's edition of The Sunday Alternative can be heard here.
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April housekeeping
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