Bang in the centre of Nottingham lies the Old Market Square. It is apparently the second largest public paved space in the UK, measuring in at 12,000 square metres or approximately three acres. On one visit into town on the afternoon of 05/07/08 I witnessed a local band called Dub Masters playing on a temporary stage in one corner of the Square.
On Broad St is located the Broadway Cinema and Café Bar. I have a real soft spot for independent cinemas, and this is a jewel of a place and I have seen a couple of movies there including Quantum of Solace with a civilised pint in hand. There is another terrific independent cinema near where we live now called the Savoy which I am hoping and praying will still be in existence post Pandemic. Next to Broadway was a terrific curry house which I have frequented several times.
The music stage was located within the bar area and we saw a suite of bands there on 25/10/09. On the bill was Dave Apple, Shadow boxer, Young Republic and a local blues rock band called Ulysses Storm.
The Pit and Pendulum is a Grade 2 listed building in the Lace Market Conservation Area. It is a grand gothic themed pub with a basement area and quirks such as hidden bookcases leading to the lavatories. The bands played in a very novel slot which was halfway up a staircase between the basement and the ground floor.
Alright the Captain were a proper loud math rock trio in the mould of bands like Primus and they were fine fun in this unusual setting. Also, on the bill were Garrison who were the ultimate gentle antidote to the previous noise fest as they clocked in as a female folk style trio.
Sat at the bottom of Hockley was a great real ale pub called Bunkers Hill and there was a regularly frequented music stage upstairs. On the Hustle day we attended they were predominantly populated by uproarious guitar bands which suited me down to the ground.
The first band were Boxer Rebellion, a brit rock influenced act from London. The second band were the fabulously named 93 Million Miles from the Sun from the renowned creative hotbed of Doncaster. They lived up to that lofty moniker with a set of cacophonous reverb shoegaze in the mould of such luminaries as Loop and Slowdive. They were followed by Exit Calm, a rock band from Barnsley.
The last band on the day were well worth waiting for. Nottingham based Spotlight Kid were formed by former Six by Seven (a fellow Nottingham band) drummer Chris Davis and their thunderous shoegaze was further embellished by female vocalist Katty Heath. They were named after a Captain Beefheart album. They had formed four years earlier in 2005 and based on the crowd reaction had obviously built up a local following. They were excellent and worthy headliners.
I saw Six By Seven at the Adelphi in the 1990s Jimmy and for some reason the singer was in a foul mood moaning about the sound and the crowd. At the end of the gig he kicked his mic stand and it landed mere centimetres from my face. He stormed off, the lights came on and I went home. If he had kicked the mic stand harder it could have been a serious gig injury.
My favourite Nottingham Band are Echoboy.
I was at that Six by Seven gig also Nick and he did have a proper grump on that night!