Pregnant live - Photo via Facebook
There was a distinct family feel to this Friday night gig. As Mazmere took to the stage at a little after half past nine, their red wine swigging frontman welcomed his friends Pregnant to Nottingham. Mazmere brought their alternative rock to the small but entertained crowd, playing a surprisingly solid set considering it was their first gig. A special mention must go to their guitarist who resembled the Pixies’ Frank Black in more than looks, and flooded the songs with distortion-flooded riffs and solos.
It was then Pregnant's turn, and they brought their breezy electronic dream-pop straight from the West Coast to the cold Notts evening. Two out of three members sat behind benches brimming with laptops and drum machines, but the female singer with her frenetic dancing brought more energy by herself than most bands do collectively. The male singer's outfit suggested that he hadn’t used his laptop to check the Nottingham weather; it’s fair to say he was the only one at the gig in shorts, a Hawaiian shirt and a turquoise cap.
The sound that emerged from these vast electronics was surprising, sounding like their countrymen Animal Collective or a more blissed-out Jagwar Ma. Yet I bet neither of those bands travel as lightly as these Californians. The band’s suitcases, still adorned with flight tags et al, are positioned at the side of the crowd – life on tour is not always glamorous. Their stage set up wasn’t exactly decadent either, their equipment sat atop tables fashioned from balancing guitar cases on keyboard stands but the sound was luscious and captivating.
The weather was grey, the crowd was small, but everyone in the venue basked in Pregnant’s Californian sunshine.
Pregnant and Mazmere played at The Chameleon on Friday 12 September 2014.
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