Situated bang in the centre of town is Nottingham Bodega (previously known as the Bodega Social) opposite the Pit and Pendulum pub on Pelham Street. The venue opened in 1999 and comprises of a small welcoming venue upstairs with a capacity of 200 and a bar area downstairs. In their embryonic days they welcomed very early performances by the likes of White Stripes and the Strokes, and the venue is still going strong over 20 years later.
My first visit there was in 2006 to see Quasi, an indie rock band from Portland, Oregon comprising of an ex-spouse couple. Their sound was all too angular and obtuse and didn’t move me at all in anyway. They were supported by a band called Home Science. In 2009 I saw a couple of local bands runWALK! and Shapes there.
In April 2010 the plan was to complete a double header of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club dates as the gig four days before at Manchester Ritz was to be followed by a further date at Nottingham Rock City. However, via a phone call en route I was informed that the second date had been cancelled at short notice which was rather deflating at the time.
Thus, an alternate gig needed to be sourced and the Paddingtons fitted the bill. They were a rock band from Hull and produced a fine set and were supported by the Jet Boys.
My next gig there a year later was to see the local shoe gaze legends Spotlight Kid who I had first seen a couple of years earlier and they produced another stellar and blissfully noisy performance. Shortly after that they headed over to my patch to play the Mad Ferret in Preston, but I was unfortunately unavailable for that gig. My final gig there was to see a decent New York punk band called the Skaters.
As previously alluded the Nottingham Bodega Ground Floor was primarily the main bar however, they periodically had acoustic gigs there under the Hockley Hustle banner. On the 2007 shindig I saw Chris Macdonald and a Band Called Sarah and on the 2009 edition I witnessed Ali Powers, Sian Alexandria and the quaintly named Ben Playford and the Spooky Boots.
In April 2012 in a decent pub called the Tap and Tumbler on Wollaton Street we saw Mansfield’s finest rock covers band called Three-Legged Cat.
The Arboretum is a large welcoming green area above Forest Fields alongside the tram line into town. There used to be a pub called the Arboretum on the fringes which we frequented on sunny days at the end of last century.
It was known as the ‘pub in the park’ and was highly popular with students from the nearby Trent Polytechnic (now Nottingham Trent University). It suffered two significant fires, one in 1965 and the second in 2006 was the death knell to the pub leading to its demolition. The Arboretum area has been on the national news this week for all the wrong reasons with large gatherings and litter louts gathering there, but this is patently a national problem and not just isolated to Nottingham.
On a balmy Sunday in June 2012 prior to heading back home my brother, Uncle George and I headed up to attend a food and drink festival in the park area. Whilst munching on a tasty snack we witnessed a local Turkmenistan influenced hip hop trio called Balkan Express tinkling away on a small stage in the corner.
