I think it’s fair to say straight out of the gate, if you were unable to attend this event you quite clearly missed out. Big time! There were many big names attending the event including Mike Brown, who became president for Mercury Records in 2012 and is well known for signing acts including Blur, The White Stripes, Supergrass and scouting The Smashing Pumpkins! He was most likely in Nottingham’s city centre due to the performance of another of his signed acts, Miles Kane, who was playing at Rock City on the same night. This day was indeed a day in which Nottingham will not forget for a long time!
Starting of the night was the PRIVATEERS, whose three guitar line up at first glance looked unusual, but did however work effectively and lead to a great performance. The vocals were shared between two of the lead guitarists which provided an interesting combination of harmony and intensity. The guitar rhythms and lead lines seemed to bounce between two very different styles of Rock; those two styles being a Lostprophets-like clean guitar sound and fast tempogritty rock progressions. This did become confusing and was difficult to pinpoint what particular style of music they play, but it was pleasant to listen to! The clean and smooth tone of one guitar contrasting with the overdriven sound of another complimented each other well and gave the band an extra edge.
Next up was ROYAL BLOOD. There isn’t a singular word that I can use that will effectively describe the performance of this two piece from Brighton; but words including astonishing, intense and adrenaline fuelled aggression float into consciousness. These guys performed most possibly one of the greatest performances I have witnessed.Their music hints a mix between Death from Above 1979 and Wolfmother; lead bassist and vocalist’s Michael Kerr voice was electrifying and powerful whilst the drumming of Ben Thatcher would force Yars Ulrich and Dave Grohl into a state of disbelief. Through the use of EQ Michael was able to reduce the presence of bass frequencies, making the bass guitar sound very much like a standard guitar, but at the flick of a switch was able to unleash the full potential of a distorted and compressed bass. I think that everyone in attendance felt privileged to have been a part of such a night, because they know that this band were too good to play in a venue like this, not to discredit my favourite Nottingham venue, but they quite clearly need to be playing in front of larger audiences and receiving the attention they deserve.
DEBRIS SLIDE were last on, by which time most of the audience left, most likely to attend Splashh performing at Spanky Van Dykes or Spectres who were playing at the Golden Fleece. This was not a particularly great performance – they are obviously young and its one of the scenarios you have to face as a young musician; to gain practical skills via the experience of performing – it’s the only way you can grow as a musician. The lead guitarist James Walker washed away the sound of his guitar with an overload of delay, to the point you were unable to hear what was being played, the bass though it was not in time with drums did have a punch and clean tone to it, which made things easier to listen to. Drummer Luke Simmonds seemed a very capable drummer and would be interesting to see how he has progressed in a few years’ time!So though their performance wasn’t on point, in the upcoming years you might see its members scattered across a few Nottingham bands, by which time they would have gained the experience of performing and honing their instrumental skills.
Thanks are owed to Kieran Crosby, as this night was a success; it was remarkable to see so many faces and so many in awe of the remarkable performance of Royal Blood. The appropriate links to all of the band’s music are linked below. The Chameleon carries on housing the greatest performances in Nottingham, so make sure you get yourselves down there!
Royal Blood https://www.facebook.com/RoyalBloodUK
Privateers http://privateers.bandcamp.com/
Debris Slide https://www.facebook.com/debrisslideband
Live Review by Paris Lindon-Hall
