LeftLion's top ten recommendations of bands and artists you should check out at Hockley Hustle 2008 (apart from those at our gig of course)...
Hockley Hustle is returning to take over the streets of the city centre on Sunday 5 October. Now in its third successive year the creative arts and music festival will be bringing together the cities finest promoters to put on over 120 live acts across 13 Hockley venues. Promoters hosting venues on the day include, LeftLion, Default This, Oh My Gosh Records, Im Not From London, MNSTR, Farmyard Records, Wigflex, Rubberdub, Misst, Folkwit records, Drowned in Sound and NGHC. Paul Klotschow picked out his top ten acts of the event...
You Slut!
Easily one of the best bands in Nottingham! If you've never seen them before, use this as an opportunity to right that wrong and head upstairs to The Bodega Social to catch what is bound to be one of the sets of the festival. Just like their name suggests, You Slut! don't care what anyone thinks about them. Instead they just want to blow you away and destroy whatever your previously held perceptions of music were with their melodic, noisy, angular post-rock ear assaults.
Bodega Social, 5.30pm
Foncheros
The Foncheros have been around for a while on the local scene and there is a reason for that - they're totally ace! If you need a breather from the loud in-your-face rawk that's happening upstairs in the social, then just take the short walk downstairs where these will definitely massage your ears back to full fitness. Think a heady mixture of soul, jazz, country and classic rock topped off with a drizzle of that special Nottingham class.
Bodega Social, 8.30pm
The Elementz and Karizma
Ohmygosh Records are in control of things at Stone, and that can only mean one thing; you can expect nothing but a class slice of Notts hiphop. They've put together such a tasty line-up (which includes two DMC champions in the place) that I'm shaking just thinking about how good it's going to be. One of the highlights out of many has to be production maestros The Elementz collaborating with Karizma, one of Notts best wordsmiths. Expect slick lyricism over tight beats.
Stone, 7.00pm
Love Ends Disaster!
Spiky, nervy, edgy, and melodic new-wave will be hitting up Bunkers Hill when these chaps step on to the stage. Definitely one of the brightest hopes in a long time to come out of Nottingham. X-FM love them, Fuzz TV love them, and once you've seen them, you will love them. Intelligent indie rock that won't bore you in the slightest, unlike all those Libertines clones that have a habit of clogging up the charts. See you down the front.
Bunkers Hill, 6.45pm
Yunioshi
The perfect pop band. They're as catchy as hell, have indecipherable lyrics, always have a cheeky glint in their eyes, and they make you want to dance like a fucker. Think Beck dry humping the Flaming Lips with the robot from Lost In Space looking on and filming all the action for his own personal collection. Get your groove on to these and if you are lucky they will give you a piece of cake. Perfect.
Dogma, 5.30pm
Jezz Hall
If you have spent half the day standing up, craning your neck, whilst simultaneously being elbowed in the back by all and sundry whilst trapped in a sweat box that passes as a venue when it more closely resembles Broadmoor Mental Hospital, then let this be the perfect antidote. You may not be able to sit down, but at least you can chill with a smoothie or herbal tea, and let the folk musings of Jezz Hall soothe your battle wounds.
Lee Rosy's, 4.30pm
Jezz Hall on MySpace
Cuban Crimewave
The twin bass assault of Cuban Crimewave is likely to tear you a new arsehole. Scuzzy and gloriously sleazy, ignore the gothic surrounds of the Pit and Pendulum and immerse yourself head first into their brand of experimental punk. Cuban Crimewave are what would have happened if Lemmy had ever fronted the Ramones.
Pit and Pendulum, 9.00pm
O Lovely Lie
Aside from the novelty of going for a wazz behind a 'bookcase', another reason for hanging around the Pit and Pendulum is to catch Nottingham's premier alt-rockers. O Lovely Lie create a wall of fuzzy guitars and pounding drums that transport you to a Robert Smith afterworld. So smudge your eyeliner, don your Doc Martins and bask in their gothic delights.
Pit and Pendulum, 9.45pm
Transit Mafia
If you are a DnB head then you can't go wrong by dragging yourself along to the recently refurbished Brownes to catch local favourite, Transit Mafia. Often found DJing at Detonate's various nights (not least because he runs them all), alongside recent sessions at Londons Fabric, here he is going to get the dancefloor shaking as part of Finger Lickin' Records 10th Anniversary, so expect nothing less than a dance fuelled orgy of bass, beats and drums. Finger licking good!
Brownes, 1.00am
The Hot Club
If you are a jazz head, then you need to get yourself down to Escucha, which is where I think I will be for most of the day. Chilling with friends with a drink or two and some genius music to soundtrack it all. What more could you ask for on a Sunday? It's hard to pick a highlight, but gypsy-jazz kings The Hot Club are worth checking out, even if it is just to gasp in awe at their fingerpicking prowess, that is enough to make any young aspiring guitarist want to give up there and then.
Escucha, 4.00pm
Hockley Hustle, various venues, Sunday 5 October, noon – 4am. £5 adv/£7 on doors. www.gigantictickets.com £7 on doors. www.hockleyhustle.co.uk
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