April Towers at Nottingham Contemporary. photo: Martyn Boston
Each venue has a host who have helped select the line-up and The Space in Nottingham Contemporary has been put together by the Beeb’s Dean Jackson, a man who has had more than helping hand giving a leg-up to local talent with his show radio show The Beat and helping break local talent on the national stage via BBC Introducing.
One of those bands is April Towers, made up of former members of Frontiers, and who play thumping four-to-the floor eighties-flavoured synth-pop; think New Order at their electronic best and Ultravox. These are big, shiny, glossy songs that aren’t shy of packing a punch. If you close your eyes The Space could be the Hacienda in '83.
It makes sense that Shelter Point follow. Again a duo with an array of electronics and keyboards on stage, but instead of looking back to the glory days of the eighties for inspiration, they are very much a 21st century creation. Taking music cues from hip hop and urban r 'n' b and blending it with yearning, soulful post-dubstep; the first time I saw them I was too drunk to really appreciate their subtelties, but this time around, only drinking green tea, it hits me how elegant their glitchy and sparse music is. Really gorgeous stuff.
Shelter Point at Nottingham Contemporary. photo: Martyn Boston
As is always expected at these type of events it’s a miracle if all of the stages are running on time. Some Skeletons are a band I’ve wanted to see for ages now but something has always got in the way. Thinking today would be different I made sure to get to the venue in good time to find it running about thirty minutes behind schedule, which meant I only had time to squeeze in three songs before dashing back up the road. Next time, lads. Next time.
Going back towards the heart of Hockley, the area where Goosegate, Stoney Street and Broad Steet meet and intersect is buzzing with a mix shoppers, music fans and curious passerby’s, the festival-feeling assisted by Stiff Kittens spinning tunes in a shop window. Adding to the area’s vibe is The Music Exchange who are doing their bit by hosting a series of in-store performances and where garage rock two-piece Bus Stop Madonnas have squeezed themselves amongst the racks of records and walls plastered in posters. It’s a proper no-nonsense rock n’ roll performance with the band and audience on the same level, eyeball to eyeball as the store shakes to their high-octane rock n’ roll bluster.
CANs at Annie's. photo: Sylwia Jarzynka
Back down at Bunkers for Ear Vings who are doing their best to weld together the swaggering riffage of Jailbreak-era Thin Lizzy with the sexy strut of Prince. It’s a much needed shot of energy at this time of the evening when on any other Sunday I would already be in bed. Staying in Bunkers for I Am Lono, the deliciously dark duo who make pounding gothy synth pop that’s the musical offspring of The Cure, Suicide and Depeche Mode. The only thing missing is the copious amounts of dry ice.
Downstairs in Annie’s Burger Shack the punky and probably drunk three-piece known as CANs are keeping it held together at this late hour to power through a set of short, sharp, swilling garage rock that feels like your seventh Stella of the night and sounds like being shouted at by the local drunk.
Things are running late at The Corner but it doesn’t matter because White Finger are here and like a slap around the face and a kick in the balls they rough us up and knock us around a bit with scuzzy, lo-fi guitars as singer Joey Bell hangs himself from the rafters with his microphone lead. I’m pleased he kept his top on this time, though.
Kagoule at The Corner. photo: Ralph Barklam
It’s late and I’m not really sure who I am or where I am anymore, but the one thing that I’m sure of is that Kagoule play the set of the festival. Raw, honest, powerful songs played with honesty and full of heart. You can’t really ask for more from a band, can you? The sound in The Corner is ever so slightly wrong, but it suits the band down to the ground as Cai’s guitars are allowed to roar. A nice touch is when Lucy sings Made of Concrete; hearing their songs with a female voice makes perfect sense. Knowing the festival can’t really get any better, plus it’s way past my bedtime anyway, it’s time to call it quits. But Nottingham, you did yourselves proud yet again.
Hockley Hustle took place at various venues in Nottingham on Sunday 19 October 2014
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