The Hockley Hustle is now in it's fourth year and has grown into Nottingham's largest live music event, with over 20 venues and 200 acts involved in this years festival. With hopes of rasing more than £20,000, the Hockley Hustle is part of Oxfam's 'Oxjam' line-up of music events and also raises money for local NSPCC causes.
Not only was LeftLion involved in the festival with taking care of things at the Broadway Cinema, but we also have two intrepid writers making their way around the various venues and here is what they saw...
Becky Syson - photo by Steve Rowe
After fuelling myself with an obligatory bacon cob from the ever-lovely Homemade Cafe, I headed to Lee Rosys Tea Room for coffee accompanied by music from Folkwit Records. I caught a charming set from Marc Block and the Breezes, who furnished the early afternoon crowd with warm, harmonica-filled folk with deliciously subtle dark undertones.
Whilst wandering down Pelham Street I was caught off guard outside Cape by the Nottingham School of Samba, an awesome community project who lit up the street with thumping rhythms and broad smiles. Any Hustlers suffering the after effects of Saturday night would have been well and truly shaken into a more lively state, and the group pulled a pleasingly large group of onlookers from the Hustle crowd and regular folks alike.
Down to the Pit and Pendulum, which was filled with the glorious post-rock vibes of Beyond This Point Are Monsters, as well as frankly more audience than it could comfortably handle. Reverb, crisp, complex guitar work and fleeting moments of discord abounded, with the boys from Derby building each song through constantly morphing shapes and sounds up to epic, crunching crescendos.
Still at the Pit, I managed to catch a glimpse of Alright The Captain! before having to scuttle off to pastures new. Having only just recovered from seeing them play a week or so ago, I was happy to be plunged into their enveloping math-rock, chock full of huge noises and complex structures, once again if only for a short while.
natalie duncan - photo by Rachel Williamson
Oh my, good grief and holy crap, what a sight was Shaws. Being a big fan of soulful singing sensation Nina Smith, I was excited that she was being showcased by the BBC Introducing.. stage - turns out I wasn't the only one. The crowd was so huge I barely had room to sip my beer and there were people desperately trying to cram their way in throughout her whole set. It was worth the big squeeze though as she was on sparkling form, with her pristine, porcelain vocals permeating through the chilled grooves of her full backing band. Definitely one to watch, and I have a feeling I'm going to be glad that I got to see her before she gets whisked away by a major label.
Nipping back down Pelham street I was drawn into the Pit and Pendulum once again by the ethereal, ambient sounds coming from Brighton lads Monsters Build Mean Robots. As well as marking a personal first for me - seeing two bands with monster-themed names who play epic post rock in the same afternoon, completely by accident too - they played an encapsulating set of slow-burning, steadily building numbers with heartfelt, tentative vocals and even managed a full-on audience singalong at the end.
Captain Dangerous at Shaws - photo by Steve Rowe
Back to Shaws to see Captain Dangerous who served up frantic indie rock laced with violins and keyboards, and who are some of the cheekiest chappies I've ever clapped eyes or ears on. With the charm and chaotic energy of your favourite 6th form band but the tightness and polished performance of accomplished professionals, they laid on a relentlessly fun and enjoyable set of poppy, rapturous yelp-rock tunes.
Without realising it my feet somehow found their way over to Dogma, because it appears that I am now utterly incapable of missing a set by Rebel Soul Collective. And thank goodness, because they were on the best form I've seen them as they bounced, thrashed and stomped the crowd every which way they pleased to their unique mix of soul, jazz, rock, electro and anything else they feel like chucking in to the mix. Everything clicked, the band looked ecstatic as did the crowd of manically dancing fans.
Alright the Captain - photo by Steve Rowe
After a sizeable break for my feet and ears I headed over to Broadway, where I was just able to catch the tail end of Ulysses Storm. By the time I got there the crowd was in an adoring frenzy as they pumped out intensely funky, bluesy numbers.
Having work the next day I decided that it might be an idea to call it a night, but as I made my final descent down Pelham Street I was caught again, this time by the fiery gypsy jazz sounds of Maniere Des Bohemians emanating from the Bodega Social, and was unable to continue my journey without one last stop. Having amassed an unbelievably riled up crowd they had the walls dripping with red hot fiddle playing, jaunty accordion sounds and had the audience almost literally swinging from the rafters. It was perfectly debauched sight with music to match, and a spectacular end to a ridiculously fun day and night.
Sarah Morrison
Tasty Morsels - photo by Steve Rowe
I made my first stop at Broadway to see some alternative folk from Timothy J Simpson, who played his acoustic songs to people relaxing with their afternoon coffees and Sunday dinners. His honest and heart felt lyrics created a feel-good atmosphere, and you can see that he has a genuine love for what he does. He grew up listening to punk bands like Dead Kennedys but his transition to subtlety and delicacy gives him a Willy Mason feel.
Next was Tayla Jade on the BBC Introducing stage at Shaws, who sang soulful R'n'B songs over guitar and keyboard, that come from the heart and molded by her own experiences. She engaged people with her controlled and confident voice clearly inspired by modern urban acts like Beyonce, and to prove it, even finished her set with a Beyonce cover.
I then went to see some atmospheric rock from The Amber Herd at Brownes, where the managed to fuse melodic guitar riffs with powerful vocals and lyrics.
Next was Rugosa Nevada from Derby, who have had the most requests on BBC Nottingham’s The Beat in recent times, proving that indie rock mixed with a cheeky charm can pay off. They have a distinct tight sound that stands out from the rest of the indie dribble that tends to come and go.
Liam O Kane was a personal highlight at the Old Angel playing acoustic ska with songs with light-hearted subjects like Taxi Man and Post Man. Liam is from ska band Jimmy The Squirrel and was joined by the bassist and drummer to play tracks that got everyone ‘skanking’ on the dance floor, and singing along to his simple yet powerful chilled out songs.
photo by Rachel Williamson
Breadchasers create unity with their political reggae-ska tunes and features a couple of familiar faces, Gaz who manages The Maze and the ex-Alright The Captain drummer. They address serious issues with songs like No-one Believes, but they do it in a fun way with ska shouts and skanking galore. The Scottish sax player completes the band, entertaining the crowd with his love for drinking!
Resolution 242 tonight showed why they have been featured on Radio 1’s Punk Show. Without getting too much on their 'high horse', they make people aware of injustice in the world and issues such as animal rights through their punk influenced reggae music. Singer Perkie has genuine passion for what the band stands for and their song Shotgun, with an early RX- Bandits feel, is a gem.
Girlfixer are an aggressive girl fronted punk band with attitude that speaks volumes through their music. Natalie’s growling vocals is the driving force for the The Distillers/Bronx influenced punk rock creating a mini mosh-pit at Old Angel. Songs like Blackout and Addict show why bands like Anti-Nowhere League and Random Hand want to share a stage with them.
Kristi Genovese
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