Gig review: Christmas Covers at The Bodega

Nottingham’s annual Christmas Covers Party is now in its 22nd year. Often billed as the office Christmas party for Nottingham bands (and in recent years the actual Christmas party for the excellent and ever-growing Nottingham Gig Buddies Facebook community), Christmas Covers features 8 bands each playing 15 minute sets of cover versions. Thanks to the support of the Bodega and the bands and organisers who volunteer to make it happen, all money from ticket sales (plus donations and raffle ticket sales) is given to local charities.

Opening up the night - as they have done (in various incarnations) for the last 10 years - were Vanity Project. A collective of Christmas Covers organisers, alumni and friends, Vanity Project’s job is to make sure the party goes off with a bang. A duo of Venus in Furs by the Velvet Underground and Good 4 U by Olivia Rodrigo set the scene for the night ahead - songs separated by 50+ years thrust together in celebration of the joy and power of music (in this case, with bells on). Lastly, Vanity Project’s version of Security by Amyl and the Sniffers brought all the fury and thrill of the original, complete with thrashing guitar solo. Job done.

Announced as the youngest person ever to have played at Christmas Covers, next was 18 year-old Tom Gensler whose lo-fi take on songs by Wunderhorse, Black Country New Road, Alex G, The National and Black Midi was bold, enthusiastic and charmingly ramshackle.

Deri and the Grains - a supergroup of alternative folk project Grain Mother and indie poppers Deri Sharman - provided the first singalong moment of the evening with their glorious take on Archie, Marry Me by Alvvays. This was followed by equally successful versions of This Must Be The Place by Talking Heads and SOS by ABBA - extremely enjoyable stuff. Big grins all round.

Christmas Covers is often a mixture of bands who play faithful versions of the originals and bands who choose to re-imagine songs in unexpected new ways. Noisy two-piece Family of Addiction took the latter route, stamping their frenetic blend of punk rock on to songs by Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, Irish girl group B*Witched and Russian pop duo t.A.T.u. Extraordinary.

Next up was George Gadd - on this occasion without his band, The Aftermath, and armed only with an acoustic guitar and a pair of Christmas pudding deely-boppers. 

George’s four song set bubbled with confidence as he instructed (possibly even demanded) the audience to get involved, at one point poignantly duetting with the crowd on The ‘59 Sound by The Gaslight Anthem. His final song - Kate Nash’s 2007 pop anthem Foundations - provided another big singalong.

Alt-rock three-piece Content Provider ensured the energy remained high, bringing their angular guitar riffs, urgent drumming and heavy heavy bass to create exciting new versions of Lunch by Billie Eilish and Reward by The Teardrop Explodes. The final song took me a little while to work out - very familiar but wildly different from the original. Eventually I got there - Blank Space by Taylor Swift, but seemingly re-imagined as a long-lost Arctic Monkeys song. Unique, memorable, full of character.

Speaking as somebody who has spent at least half of 2024 humming H O-T-T-O-G-O, I had wondered, on my way to Christmas Covers, if anybody would take on Chappell Roan this year. Nottingham’s hardest working band, Cheap Dirty Horse (this was their second show of the night, having already played at Rough Trade), provided the answer. Yes, yes, and yes again. A Chappell Roan medley - passionate, triumphant, fast, furious, iconic. Whether they want to take the world or not, Cheap Dirty Horse certainly took the city tonight.

Final band of the night was a festive version of local indie heroes ACHB - Alex Hale and the Yule Lads. Alex and his band are Christmas Covers veterans, having turned in some of the most memorable and fun sets in recent years. A medley of TV theme tunes? Check. Eleanor Rigby played to the tune of Parklife? You know what, it worked. A performance dressed as Shrek? Yep. A collection of male/female duets? Absolutely.

Taking to the stage in suits and sunglasses, Alex and the Yule Lads presented note perfect renditions of a bunch of Noughties indie floor fillers, received by the audience as rapturously as they were performed. Take Me Out, I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor, Chelsea Dagger - all played with precision, musicianship, energy and undiluted joy.

“I used to hate all these songs” said Alex, deadpan. And yes, it’s fair to say that over-exposure to these bangers had also affected my enjoyment of them over the years. Before I knew it, though, I had my hands in the air, singing my heart out - the way Christmas in Nottingham should always begin.

Finally, the band launched into Monster by The Automatic and what’s that, coming from the back of the room? Yes, it was a monster (well, perhaps a dinosaur), possibly with a member of Deri & the Grains inside. Just brilliant.

After that the raffle was called before the finale - an Oasis singalong (retooled as Don’t Look Back At Santa) - which was, perhaps, surplus to requirements but widely enjoyed nonetheless. Eclectic DJs Pies and Pints (the second DJs of the night after DJ Poxy Music kicked things off) - spinning everything from the Eastenders theme tune to Whitney Houston - brought the party to a close in jubilant fashion.

The organisers announced the next day that the night had raised a total of £2,928 which will be split three ways between three local charities - Nottinghamshire Hospice, Zephyr’s and the Lucy Phillips Art Fund.

Merry Christmas!

The Christmas Covers Party happened at The Bodega on 21st December 2024.