 |
| Hot Japanese Girl - Photo by Melimoi |
With five stages and taking in two pubs, The Waterfront Festival saw the canal side hijacked for the day by some of Nottingham's best bands.
The Barnum Meserve are tucked neatly away in the corner of the back room of the Fellows, Morton and Clayton pub or what today is being called 'Stage 5'; where they combine jaunty, catchy chamber-pop with the forceful delivery of a heavy metal band. Picture Bruce Dickinson sliding in to his tight denim shorts to front a not-so-geeky Ben Folds Five and you are almost there. The only thing that is missing is a giant mascot hovering in the background, but in this cramped space there wouldn't be any room. Props also to the bald chap down the front who dances and pogo's his way through their whole set.
Deliverance are outside in the warm evening air surrounded by a massive crowd who seem to have been loving every minute of their set. Unfortunately, I only manage to catch their final song, a cover of Carly Simon's Nobody Does it Better. It is a belter too with their guitars cranked up and it causes a mass sing-a-long that adds to the already present good vibes of the night.
Broadcast By The Sea body slam the Canal House on to its back with their tense, tight and quite frankly sublime alternative rock. They create a glorious racket, but the chaos is reigned in enough so that the strong melodies that make up each song aren’t lost in a cloud of noise. But when they do unleash the rock, it’s like being elbow dropped from the top turn buckle.
 |
| Fixit Kid |
Up stairs in the Canal House and Fixit Kid are, put quite simply, outstanding. They are a breathless rush of punk, metal and hardcore and if anyone in the room was feeling a little bit of a dip in energy levels, then Fixit Kids set is the perfect shot the arse. Their heavy energy in intoxicating and it’s hard to not get swept up by it.
Still heavy, but in a different sense, Kingclaw bring a psychedelic, other-worldly magic to proceedings. They are a bewitching mix of 60’s psychedelia and heavy blues as if they have stepped right out of Roky Erickson’s frazzled mind. Unfortunately, some of the magic of their set is lost by some appalling bar service I was subjected to.
On paper it sounds absured, yet Bodukwe show that mixing ‘Ride The Lightning’-era Metallica thrash metal, with generous servings of funk and worldly rhythms can work in the right hands. And boy does it works tonight. What should be musical dog-poop, is actually a mesmerising journey of guitar virtuosity and pummelling grooves and pulsating riffs.
 |
| Baby Godzilla - Photo by Gary Gent |
Things are getting messy by this point and a bunch of pissed up men, acting like spoilt children, dressed up as Robin Hood characters attempt to sabotage Hot Japanese Girl's set by behaving like a bunch of inebriated chimpanzees and spoil the set for the rest of us. Fortunately, one of them thinks getting in to a fight would be a good idea and the whole lot of them get shown the exit. Hurrah. Anyway, back to the music and Hot Japanese Girl show why they are one of the most exciting bands in this City of ours at the moment. They are loud, they are raucous, and their punky, spiky garage rock packs a devastating punch. Plus, they have a great sense of humour that seems to enamour them to the crowd even further.
Finally, Baby Godzilla, and what a way to end the festival. The band start their set by clambouring up from the canal and take to the stage dressed as sailors – but with small, red, ‘Alan Partridge’ type shorts on. They seem out to have a good day and make sure everyone else does, and they don’t disappoint. Delivering a schizoid set of mangled heavy blues and acidic post-punk, they look like they have enjoyed today as much as the rest of us and this adds to the chaotic fun. By the end band members are literally hanging from the rafters and the drummer takes a leap in to the canal. Glorious.
The INFLUX Watrefront Festival took place on Saturday 31 July 2010 at Fellows Morton and Clayton and The Canal House.
Read comments and make your own
Comments