Tag: Grey Hairs

Nottingham Venues 37 and 38

Many of the best venues are buried away down the city centre back streets, a case in point is the Chameleon Arts Café in Newcastle Chambers down Angel Row. It is a small eclectic place with a café downstairs with some quirky beers on sale and a 140-capacity venue upstairs. The venue is embraced by DIY promoters which presents the opportunity to catch some unusual and upcoming bands there.

My one criticism is the slightly cramped nature of the venue especially when busy caused by the small access to the venue but once you find your vantage point everything is ok again in the world! 

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The stage of the Nottingham Chameleon Arts Cafe. Image Credit YouTube

My debut visit on 29/09/12 was to see a roster of bands and the first I encountered was Standard Fare, a decent indie pop trio from Sheffield with a C86 aesthetic and the slightly wonky vocals of Emma Kupa. The second band was Milky Wimpshake, a lo-fi indie trio from Newcastle who first appeared in 1997 and remain on the circuit to this very day. Their original drummer had the terrific name of Ms Joey Ramone and they had a knowing charm about them.

The penultimate act was a five piece from Brighton called Shrag prior to the headliners Anguish Sandwich. The main act was a frenetic garage punk band from Northampton with high pitched vocals from Chris East and remaining in the C86 vein they reminded me of Stump, another band from that era.

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Anguish Sandwich. Image Credit blogspot.com

My second visit a couple of months later was to see the Nottingham stalwarts Grey Hairs for the third time. They were supported by an excellent energetic Spanish instrumental math rock three piece called Iepi. I would describe their sound as a more aggressive version of Leicester band Maybe She Will! Their 2014 album ‘New Wr’ is also well worth bending your ears around. They have supported Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and were the first Spanish band to play the post rock festival ArcTanGent held annually at Fernhill Farm in Somerset, which regretfully I have never yet attended.

My third and final appearance was on 24/10/15. Now I have never been a great fan of bands you might place in the Liverpool category of sound, though quite often having the jangly guitars, many bands from that area in my humble opinion sound too fey and lightweight.

However, that changed when I encountered Hooton Tennis Club in a live setting. I had heard some recorded output before and thought it sounded ok, but they were a revelation live with their diverse and inventive sound. The four-piece hailed from the Wirral and the name is taken from a local tennis court. Their debut album around the time was recorded by Bill Ryder Jones from the Coral and the band are currently on a hiatus.     

Continuing the Spanish theme, they were supported by the Parrots who are a duo from Madrid. Their rootsy wonky charm reminded me of their city counterparts the Hinds.

When my brother first moved to Nottingham, he had a flat off Mansfield Road in Sherwood. Just prior to Christmas in 2016 we took a sally out that way and encountered some non-descript pubs including the Robin Hood, a traditional Greene King hostelry. Whilst there we encountered a local cover band called Little Angels.     

Nottingham Venues 31 to 34

Nottingham Contemporary is an art centre near the Lace Market tram stop which is situated between Market Square and Nottingham train station. The gallery opened in 2009 and the site is allegedly the oldest in the city having originally been a Saxon fort and the building maintains links to its geographical location by being embossed with a traditional Nottingham lace pattern. It is a large structure and with over 3000 square metres of floor space it is one of the largest art centres in the UK housing four galleries and two event spaces where music takes place.

My first visit to the Contemporary Café Bar was during a night out in April 2012 with my brother and few of his friends. So, following a visit to the Old Angel and to a nearby curry house we walked past the local Pitcher and Piano and then upon entering the building we went up two flights of stairs to the café venue.

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Nottingham Contemporary. Image Credit universalworks.co.uk

It was a chilled-out space with the music meeting the same vibe with local loungecore act Magic Myrtle Turtles on stage. I recall us leaving the venue with synchronous timing to catch the last tram from the stop opposite. My other visit occurred the following year where we happened to catch another loungecore act called Umujh.

In June 2012 my brother, Uncle George and I attended a Gringo record label showcase event at the Contemporary Stage. Gringo records being a Nottingham based DIY ethics and experimental rock label founded in 1996. The event was over two nights and featured on the Friday night local legends Grey Hairs. They were supported by Hookworms from West Yorkshire, who have received a lot of radio airplay from Mark Reilly in subsequent years. Also, on the bill that night was That F#**##g Tank.  It was all noisy abrasive fare!

The following night we returned for another dose of industrial sounds with Hiremaka Redux, S’oerza and Polaris providing the entertainment.

The Music Exchange record shop situated nearby at No 2 Stoney Street in the Hockley area is an independent venture with a commendable ethos as it exists under the auspices of the Framework Housing Association charity who staff the shop with volunteers to gain valuable retail experience.

They also very occasionally stage in house bands, thus at 2pm on the Sunday afternoon 01/09/13 they played host to a local melodic band called Crushing Blows. They had formed in 2009 and metamorphosed into Ghost Twins in 2013. It is not a large shop, so they played their 6-song set inside with the windows open and punters scattered on the pavement, thankfully the weather was set fair!

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Nottingham Music Exchange. Image Credit Nottstv.com

Three doors away at No 8 Stoney Street is The Corner venue. It is a small performance and rehearsal theatre and I do not think it had been open that long prior to my one visit in 2013. On stage were a local band called Money who were a keyboard-based band and were unfortunately a somewhat bland proposition. One overriding memory of the gig though was that the venue produced the cleanest sound I have ever encountered, it was absolutely crystal. What would I have given of a band of Mogwai’s stature to be on that sight with the sound system so perfect!