First things first and a big shout out to Will Robinson and his team for all the hard work they put into the Old Bus Depot, a venue that deserves far more recognition and applause on the live music scene they are currently providing in Nottingham. As with all live music venues these days, use them or lose them!
Next on was the Derby based trio Reavrr and this was their first gig in six months, however we had to wait another twenty minutes before their performance started because a smoke machine set off the alarms! Hey Ho... Eventually the alarms stopped and the trio Zoey, Harry and Zak gave us a mighty fine performance.
The rhythm section duelled with each other; at times the savage drumming forced the bass along on a ride of painful intensity and then the bass would take over with thunderous riffs that demanded the drum obedience, leaving guitar and vocals from Zoey to soar over the top. Their indie and alternate rock sounds were greatly appreciated by all and hopefully they won't be leaving it another six months before their next gig.
Baby Tap was on next and delivered an anarchic and captivating show. It was difficult to define his sounds but I'll settle for absolutely awesome! Digital hardcore and noise influenced cyber rapping walls of sound - a Nottingham artist who deserves so much more attention.
It's probably not the kind of music that BBC Introducing will go for but Baby Tap's sure to get plenty more gigs this year. Song titles included Bounce Me On Your D*ck, Up The F*ck, Burger Flip and Do It Anyway. What's not to like, eh?
And so... after three acts and a smoke alarm had all helped to build up the intensity and our anticipation of the main act, Erotic Secrets of Pompeii (ESOP) invaded the stage and our space. A five-piece weird art rock band from Bristol, destined to be one of the great cult band that everyone boasts about having seen them play live. With a new album just out, these guys are on a mission to get all willing ears onto their post punk sounds, BBC Radio 6 can't get enough of them at the moment and I'm happy to join the list of plaudits.
Bristol has had a healthy post rock/prog rock music scene for several years but can now claim fame to post punk/experimental art rock noises too. I was getting some pretty varied influences in their music including Bowie, Roxy Music, early punk and experimental electronic sounds -phew! It shouldn't work if mixed together but the result is a crazy, fast paced clash of chaos and imagery. ESOP are much more than guitar, synth, bass, drums and vocals, ESOP are much more than just another alternate rock band, ESOP matter - and that makes them awesome.
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