Gig Review: Midnight Rodeo and Catmilk at The Old Cold Store

Before the live music was to commence, those who got down to the venue early were lucky enough to be the first to taste the International Women’s Day special beer, Order + Disorder, in the Vat and Fiddle bar.

In fact, there were two varieties of this beer to try, differing only in terms of the hops used: Vol 1, Nelson Sauvin and Vol 2, Harlequin.

Hosts No Half Measures members, Lucy from Let's Beer UK and Steph from Murphy & Son Ltd, guided us through the event, which was very helpful since this was my first experience of beer tasting.

But they didn’t reveal which beer was which until the end, creating a fun (yet somewhat challenging for a newcomer to beer tasting like myself) guessing game.

Then we all filtered through to The Old Cold Store, at the back of the Vat and Fiddle, for the first of two performances.

Catmilk took to the stage, performing songs from their recent EP Artichoke such as Strange Island, as well as some unreleased tracks.

There is no doubt that Alex Milne is one of Nottingham’s most talented female vocalists right now, with an understated, delicate and mesmerising tone.

After a short break, it was time for the second band of the evening, Midnight Rodeo.

Fronted by Maddy Chamberlain, the psychedelic art-pop sextet was a huge hit on the Rock City mainstage at Beat the Streets earlier this year, so it was no surprise to see a crowd of fans awaiting another performance from them.

Bringing good vibes and upbeat energy, Chamberlain commanded the room and got everyone grooving along to tunes such as The Big Melt.

International Women’s Day was drawn to a close on a note of celebration, for the women who fronted these two brilliant bands, those who hosted the beer tasting, and everyone else who made this event possible.

With all proceeds from both the beer tasting and the gig going to the Nottingham’s Women Centre, there’s nothing better than enjoying some great beer and some great music, all for a great cause.