‘VARIOUS ARTISTS’ – ‘BAD POND’ FESTIVAL, CHALK, BRIGHTON 2.9.23
This year it was all change for the people at Bad Pond as not only was their annual ‘Bad Pond Festival’ taking place in a different month – last year’s was held on 1st May – but also the event has moved as well, with the 2022 show have taken place at Concorde 2, this year’s place of choice is Chalk in Pool Valley.
Another significant and much welcomed change being that this year’s event was made possible from assistance from Arts Council England. Thus the folk at Bad Pond passed this win situation onto the general public and so made the Saturday 2nd September festival free of charge! Early bird tickets last year were £20 and general sale tickets were £35, so concert goers this year should have been queuing around the block in order to get in!
To ensure guaranteed entry the Brighton & Hove News Music Team arrived a short while before the doors were to swing open at 12 noon. Before this, a leisurely stroll was had along Marine Parade in order to catch the start of The Brighton National Speed Trials, which witnessed many folk putting their choice of cars through the quarter mile sprint past the Concorde 2 on Madeira Drive. More interesting information on that can be found HERE and HERE.
There are no less than eleven bands taking part at this year’s ‘Bad Pond Festival’, with the first beginning at 12:30pm and the last finishing at 9:50pm, so there’s a lot to get through, so without further ado let’s crack on with it. Listed below are the bands in performance order with their scheduled set times):
WELLY (Second Stage 12:30pm – 1:00pm)
Today is the eighth such ‘Bad Pond Festival’ and it has established itself as an event for fans to rock on out! Therefore it came as a surprise to note that openers Welly were on the bill, as they aren’t really known for their hard rock/heavy metal sound! But I for one aren’t complaining one iota as they are easily sitting in my Top 5 Local Bands list.
A Welly set is a happy affair! They aim to please and succeed every time and with shift-witted amiable banter from frontman Welly – yes he too is called Welly – they are a joy to watch! So it’s a real surprise that it’s been absolutely ages since we last reviewed the band! Ohhh OK, that’s not strictly true! In fact it’s a barefaced lie, as we caught up with them a mere 8 days ago when the quintet played the Casemates Stage at the ‘Victorious Festival’ in Southsea on Friday 25th August – Read that day’s reviews HERE.
Meanwhile at Chalk, the gym-tastic Welly had a decent 28 minute workout (from 12:30pm to 12:58pm) on the Second Stage or as I was going to call it ‘The Photo Booth’ Stage, but Welly (himself) jokingly welcomed us to “The John Peel Stage”. The Welly trademark is their school PE kits and their equipment of choice being mini Korg keys, presets and drumpads, cowbell, shakers, triangle, bass guitar and two guitars. Yep you’ve guessed it, no drums at a heavy rock bash!
The comedy value was again had when in between numbers, one of the owners of Goo Records – who incidentally put out Welly’s ‘Home For The Weekend’/‘Me And Your Mates’ 7” white vinyl single – mobile phone rang and Mr Welly requested to talk to the person on the end of the line. They hung up!
Welly’s bassist was in fine form this lunchtime and made an almost immediate foray into the crowd. One thing was apparent though, and that was having the mini Korg keyboard on a little stool which wasn’t high enough for its player. Thus Mr Welly at one point crouched down on his hands and knees and the keys were briefly placed on his back for ease of play! Today’s set seemed even funkier than normal, especially the aforementioned ‘Me And Your Mates’ and I was suddenly aware that I had to pace my energy levels for the rest of the day, having merrily bopped along to the delightful Welly set.
New students to Brighton & Hove will get the chance to witness the Welly experience as part of ‘Freshers Week’ at the Concorde 2 on Monday 18th September.
MINDFRAME (Main Stage 1:05pm – 1:35pm)
A mere five minutes after Welly had concluded their set, the punters ambled across to the Main Stage for the first of nine bands that were set to play on the raised, clean, spacious stage. It was the turn of Mindframe who it has been claimed are an experimentally driven trio from Brighton, tying together influences of punk with odd time signatures, dungarees and shoegaze undertones.
Thus far, the lads have dropped a trio of tunes over the past 16 months. These can be located on their Bandcamp page HERE. The band underwent a change of personnel at the beginning of the year as drummer Alfie Sayers absconded away from Sonny Whittington (vocals/guitar) and Dom Coleman (bass), in order to play for another trio, these being HotWax, who we last encountered a few days back on the West Stage at ‘All Points East’ festival in Victoria Park, East London on 25th August – Reviews HERE.
Mindframe take to the Chalk stage two minutes early at 1:03pm and immediately inform us that the band name is in fact one word. They start playing and it is immediately evident that the sound levels on the Main Stage are far in excess of those found on the Second/Photobooth/John Peel Stage* (*delete where applicable). Hopefully my lugholes will run the course of the day!
Mindframe (“one word”) offer up the standard guitar/vocals, bass, and drums (including Roland presets) as their tools of the trade. To my lugholes they are a bit more melodic than Nirvana, but very much along the same lines. It’s still a tad early to be seriously rockin’ out, but they gig it a real go. After just a couple of numbers, it is already noticeable that their new recruit (Tom O’Sullivan, I think) is really giving it his all behind his drumkit. If anything, it is he who is leading the way for his new chums to follow. Interestingly, before one of the tunes they played a sample which stated “unexpected item in the bagging area!”, this surprised me as I believe Welly had played the sample sample in their set!
‘Trap Door’ was a full on rock number and the tune after that had some decent bass slaps. I would even go as far to say that there were even slight nods to Motörhead in their sound, but obviously nowhere near as full on. They signed off with their debut release, ’Monochrome’ from May 2022. As noted above, this outfit are for fans of Nirvana and would make a truly decent support band for the top rock names in the business. They left the stage five minutes early at 1:30pm.
Mindframe are next playing live at a BN1 Collective function aftershow for BN1 Style at the Green Door Store from 5pm to 9pm on Sunday 10th September. Also on the bill will be Wimp, Mount Doom, Dozy, and Prom. Entry is via a cash donation.
HONEYBADGER (Second Stage 1:45pm – 2:15pm)
We stroll back across the room to the Second Stage and after a mere wait of 13 minutes we are to be entertained by the high-energy grungy rock three-piece from the Brighton area going by the name of Honeybadger (also one word). They too begin playing two minutes earlier than planned. They state on social media that they play “original material played with passion for the love of music. Influenced by Nirvana, Arctic Monkeys”.
We last covered this outfit – consisting of Eddy on lead vocals and Fender Jaguar guitar as well as a Gretsch, Luca, with his locks of frizzy hair, on a mean looking Epiphone Thunderbird bass (and vocals), and Joe, who is Eddy’s brother, on drums (and vocals) – when they played Shortt’s Bar as part of ‘The Alternative Escape’ back on 12th May. Back then, we observed that “together they make a noise as ferocious as the notoriously fearless mammal with the same name”.
Today, it’s very much the same, although Eddy, who has a hint of the late Kurt Cobain about him, with blonde locks, is struggling with his plug connections from his guitars into the foot pedals, throughout the set. This loss of sound stresses him somewhat, and once even slapped Luca’s wrist as he was trying to assist.
I would suggest that Honeybadger carefully tread on the borders of punk and heavy rock, especially with Eddy’s shouty vocal delivery style. Their 2022 single, ‘Change Your Mind’, has a stabbing rhythm and ‘Take Me Away’ has a similarly ludicrous level of intensity that would sit nicely when heard on the stages of the ‘Rebellion’ festival. You have to admire the band’s energy and some might even say that they are feral.
Despite the (embarrassing, but unfortunate) technical difficulties, Honeybadger were a tight unit that got the crowd on side. Especially for their final number which witnessed a mean drum roll intro before showing us one last push. They finished a minute late at 2:16pm, which wasn’t bad in spite of the delays.
Honeybadger’s release can be found on Spotify. I’m not currently aware of any other Brighton concerts, but being local, no doubt they will pop up sooner rather than later.
WACO (Main Stage 2:25pm – 2:55pm)
We stroll across to the Main Stage for the first of eight bands in a row. Thus the turnover times will now increase as Bad Pond are now only using this stage, although this particular turnover is a mere nine minutes.
Taking to the stage bang on their allotted time of 2:25pm are quintet WACO (which is pronounced ‘Wake-oh’). The outfit formed back in 2014 and currently consists of Jak Hutchcraft, Tommy Pallot, James Robinson, Ian Crook and “Welshy” who might also be Craig and they hail from various ends of the country from North Yorkshire, Teesside and Jersey, but are now London based.
Their format is the usual rock configuration of lead vocals, two guitars, bass and drums and refer to themselves as ‘cosmic punk’ and ‘super rock’. Their sound melds a spread of ’70s classic rock influences with punk, prog, psych and more. Their latest release, ‘Flip Forever’ 4 track digital EP, came out on 15th August and is dedicated to Chris ‘Flip’ Cowley, who was their bass player who passed away in 2018. Anyone who purchases the release will be contributing to Cruse Bereavement Support, download it HERE.
WACO grace the stage and within seconds it’s clear that frontman Jak has enough energy to fill the whole room. He is trying to really get everyone onside and behind the band, maybe too much so, some would argue. I couldn’t really hear any indication of anything punk during the tunes witnessed, to me it was standard heavy rock and as a result was being lapped up by the appreciative ‘Bad Pond’ festival punters. Jak stated that he was up for “any creative criticism”, thus maybe ‘talk less’ would be mine to him. Whether it was nervous energy or just ego, he was overdoing it a bit.
There were guitar riffs from Tom and his pal, and even one that was quite close to Deep Purple’s ‘Smoke On The Water’, which lets face it is one of the Top 5 tunes of the genre. It’s rather fascinating how the track got its title, you can find out HERE. The WACO set was beginning to drain on me and my colleague if I’m honest and were offering nothing of interest, thus it was decided half way through their set that we should leave the venue and get some nourishment as there were no sizeable gaps between all of the acts.
The band don’t have any other Brighton gigs planned at the moment, but you can catch them on Sunday 8th October at the New Cross Inn at 3:30pm as part of the ‘Till The Fest’ punk festival held at various venues from 6th to 8th October. Full lineup and details can be found HERE.
INTECHNICOLOUR (Main Stage 3:05pm – 3:35pm)
Bellies full we return back to Chalk and are raring to go! On entering the venue we hear the kinda Brighton based InTechnicolour quartet beginning their set bang on time. The outfit consists of Tobie Anderson (vocals), Dave Jackson (guitar), Vlad Matveikov (bass) and Sam Coveney (drums). We are in their hands for the next 29 minutes for their showcase set.
InTechnicolour formed back in 2015 and are on the roster of the Small Pond label which is based in Castle Street in Brighton and the drumkit being used throughout today proudly boasts the Small Pond logo. InTechnocolour’s latest long-player ‘Midnight Heavyweight’ was written throughout the winter of 2020 and recorded in an old chapel on the south coast. It dropped back in November last year and was given the remix treatment back in April.
You certainly can’t fail to notice Tobie’s flowing dreadlocks as the swing about his person as he delivers each tune. There’s the grunge look about him and the band arguably are well placed in the remit of Nirvana, although they also sound rather similar to WACO as well.
Although it’s been stated that they land somewhere between the slack desert-groove of Kyuss and Karma To Burn, and that InTechnicolour combine deeply satisfying riffs with a dynamic vocal style, which calls to mind the sounds of Baroness, Alice In Chains and Soundgarden.
One thing is certain with this lot and that is that Tobie certainly has a great set of lungs as each track is delivered with 100% commitment. The punters clearly approve of this riffy, groovy, rock band as they are well received, although for me personally, not one of the day’s highlights. Their set concluded a minute early at 3:34pm and a 19 minute wait is had until the next act graces us with their presence.
The band have previously toured across the UK and Europe with the likes of Physics House Band, Black Peaks, Town Portal, Bitch Falcon and Haggard Cat, and are rumoured to apparently be gearing up to hit the road this autumn with dates to be announced very soon.
ARXX (Main Stage 3:45pm – 4:15pm)
Due to technical difficulties the ARXX set finally gets under way eight minutes later than planned, which has a knock on effect as they finally conclude their performance at 4:22pm, which was an overrun of seven minutes. However it must be said that this set more than any of the others on the day sped through the fastest. It felt like they were only half way through the tunes when they had finished.
I can recall first discovering ARXX several years ago in the same building, but it was a different stage and the venue was then The Haunt. They were supporting PINS on 4th November 2017 and were new, raw, and an exciting prospect! Back then I stated: “ARXX are a Brighton based Garage Rock duo of Hannah Pidduck (vocals/guitar) and Clara Townsend (drums), who broke onto the scene early 2014. They marry together an eclectic range of influences stemming from punk, blues, soul, and garage rock and tonight their half hour set went down rather well with the punters. There sure was quite a bit of energy coming from the stage especially as there was just the two of them”.
After a host of singles and EP’s ARXX finally dropped their debut longer-player, ‘Ride Or Die’, at the tail end of March. The record encapsulates a band brimming with ideas and one that is not afraid to go to new or unusual places with them, without compromising on pop immediacy. It thrives with passion and excitement, a result of its creators’ continued commitment to following where the music takes them.
Today’s concert was a rather different affair to that 2128 days ago. Although Hannah is still on guitar and vocals and Clara is on drums, there is the addition of drumpads and programming. It’s fair to state that ARXX have come a very long way since I first saw them. I note from the very first number that Hannah’s vocals are now delivered with an American twang and there’s a much more poppier vibe to their overall sound. This will endear them to hoards of new fans. In fact it was so poppy that I made an observation in my notes “what next autotune”, and then as if by magic (the shopkeeper didn’t appear, but..) we were served a tune that heavily featured autotune and “do you believe” Hannah also enquired whether we like Cher.
If there was an award for ‘The Most Polite Act at Bad Pond Festival’ then without doubt this would go to the bright and happy ARXX duo, who very politely asked for this and that on the levels to be increased or decreased throughout the set to the sound engineer. There was even polite banter in between their strum and drum tracks too. I particularly enjoyed watching Clara elevating herself out of her seat as she hit her kit with fervour. They left us with the album’s title track and overall were a band that were heading off in another direction, one which should bring them more success!
ARXX currently haven’t got any other Brighton gig planned as they are off on tour with Fletcher, which takes them around Europe and back to the UK where the nearest gig is in London at Eventim Apollo on 1st and 2nd of November – Tickets HERE and HERE.
SICK JOY (Main Stage 4:40pm – 5:10pm)
After a 19 minute live music hiatus, we were back with Sick Joy for their brief 26 minute set that concluded three minutes early at 5:07pm. Here is a band that I saw live when they played the Hidden Herd one day fest at Patterns back on 13th July 2019, back then I observed thus:
“One name that keeps on cropping up on the local gigs listing is that of Hove based Sick Joy, who I understand originally hail from Newcastle. We last saw them making an appearance at The Great Escape launch party on Brighton Beach on 8th May. The trio tonight is made up of Mykl (lead vocals/guitar), Danny (bass/backing vocals) and Simone (drums). Now this scuzzy lot simple ooze Nirvana from every pore of their bodies. Maybe throw in a smattering of The Pixies too and you have the Sick Joy sound. These power merchants certainly make a lot of noise for just a trio and the crowd certainly approved of this as does Radio1’s Daniel P Carter who gave their new single ‘Shoot Your Lover’ a spin on his show last week”.
Would their set this afternoon be any different? Before that, there the matter of their 12 slabs of fuzzy riffs and melodic heaviness contained on last year’s ‘We’re All Gonna F***ing Die’ album, which it has been stated that it “takes life’s gristle and turns it into something uplifting and euphoric”. Clearly you can decide for yourself by having a listen or purchasing it HERE.
Since they have been on the case, Mykl Barton (guitar/vocals) and Sam Fenders (drums) have received huge support from Radio 1, Kerrang! Radio and Radio X. They have shared billings with the likes of Feeder, Demob Happy, Deaf Havana, Dinosaur Pile Up, Pixies and Pearl Jam as well as appearances at Reading & Leeds, 2000 Trees to name just a few. Bassist Danny Piston wasn’t appearing today and I’m not sure if he is still with the unit.
As a result the bass guitar parts and electronics are on a backing track, but Mykl’s vocals and guitarwork are very much live, as is Sam Fenders drumming. There’s a real indie rock sound pumping out of the speakers this afternoon that could arguably be likened to a gritty version of Oasis, with the vocals at times sounding not too distant to the tones of Brian Molko of Placebo. There is virtually no banter in between tracks and was a case of they came they played they conquered they left. It was quite an in depth sound for only two guys (plus the backing) and a head nodding set that went down well with the punters.
Sick Joy don’t appear to currently have any local Brighton gigs planned, but the nearest is at the Sebright Arms in London on Tuesday 3rd October – Tickets HERE.
THE PHYSICS HOUSE BAND (Main Stage 5:40pm – 6:15pm)
After an eternal wait (OK it was 37 minutes), the ‘Bad Pond’ festival got going again with Samuel Organ (guitar, keys), Miles Spilsbury (saxophone, keys) and Dave Morgan (drums) who collectively are The Physics House Band, who graced the stage at their allotted time (5:40pm) and did their thing for the next 37 minutes until conclusion at 6:17pm.
The Physics House Band have their own record label called Unearthly Vision and is a place to buy records, t-shirts and more direct from the band! Their latest long-player dropped on 3rd December 2021 and is called ‘Incident On 3rd’. It runs to 54 minutes and is available in clear double vinyl as one of the formats. The work was recorded and produced by Dave Lynch at his Eastbourne-based Echo Zoo studios. Find it HERE.
You may have noted from the first paragraph the lack of the word “vocals”, as The Physics House Band material is all instrumental and is delivered in a frenetic jazz rock style for a vast majority. Dave on drums tends to lead the way and Miles on sax breaks up the sounds with his bursts. Other parts in the set are very quiet with only the keyboard on the go. During these sections, it is as though the punters assume that the band are tuning up and there is a considerable drone of many voices as folk talk to each other.
The performance often had the air of a jam session and my friend referred to it as math rock, but to me the sums didn’t add up! OK, one section reminded me of Hazel O’Connor’s 1980 single ‘Eighth Day’ due to the saxophone break, but I guess that I wasn’t born with the jazz rock gene. Having said that, they did go down well with the eager punters, and clearly affected a few souls who were visibly enjoying the set by almost tripping out! Thus historically speaking, they might have gone done well at Woodstock. But for me it was too surreal and would have benefitted from being played at Wieliczka Salt Mine.
They concluded with a plus 5 minute track called ‘Drug Store’ and that was the end of my encounter. Like Black Midi, who I recently witnessed at ‘Latitude’ Festival in Suffolk, here is a band I have no intention of seeing live ever again.
There doesn’t seem to currently be any future performances in the offing, but if frenetic jazz rock is your bag, then you could benefit from witnessing the guys in the flesh.
www.instagram.com/thephysicshouseband
WITCH FEVER (Main Stage 6:40pm – 7:15pm)
After a 23 minute gap, we were back with the live action courtesy of Manchester quartet WITCH FEVER who notoriously played a Resident instore on 21st October last year, which was the first of four record store shows celebrating the release of their debut album ‘Congregation’. I say “notoriously” on the account of singer Amy Walpole who was at one point singing atop the racks of records – read the review HERE.
Accompanying Amy in Witch Fever are guitarist Alisha Yarwood, bassist Alex Thompson, and drummer Annabelle Joyce. Yep all four Christian names begin with an ‘A’, just like the 4 Elliott sisters in Maid Of Ace (Alison, Anna, Amy and Abby). Clearly the parents didn’t get past A in the list in the book ‘100,00+ Baby Names’ then.
The debut Witch Fever album, ‘Congregation’ is purported to be the sound of punk without boundaries of any kind, and with it they are ushering in a new era of heavy music that’s accessible, confrontational and, most importantly of all, a huge pressure release. So dynamic have the band been, that it will come as no surprise to learn that they have previously been selected as the go to support act for not only IDLES, but also Bob Vylan. Read our review of the latter at The Hope & Ruin from a couple of years ago HERE.
Witch Fever take to the Chalk stage at 6:43pm and for the next 32 minutes show us exactly what they have to offer. Clearly the quartet are in fine form and I note several new faces at the front of the crowd who have obviously just dropped in to witness this lot! It’s meaty rock and echoey guitar from the get go, but initially Amy’s vocals were down in the mix, but this was rectified by song two. She struts across the stage from left to right and back again like a caged animal. Is she eyeing her prey? Possibly so, as after a while she dispenses with the need for the stage and comes down amongst us lot and gets up close and personal which adds to the excitement of the set. Interestingly she was the only person to do this of all of the eleven acts!
There’s some mean guitar and bass playing through the set, and the drums and programming are on point too, add to that Amy’s vocals where every line is delivered with conviction as though every single word counts, it’s the sermon according to rock! So much so that Amy manages to chip her tooth on the microphone. Although even the slower album title track has an almost hypnotic effect to it, but by 7:15pm they were done.
There are no forthcoming Brighton gig dates, but the band are out on tour this month and in November, when the nearest date will be with Hot Milk at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town – Tickets HERE.
WHORES. (Main Stage 7:40pm – 8:20pm)
The penultimate act for ‘Bad Pond’ 2023 have travelled the furthest to get here, namely Whores. (stylized in capitals and with a full stop at the end). The trio who formed in Atlanta, Georgia, USA back in 2010 consists of Christian Lembach (vocals/guitar), Casey Maxwell (bass) and Douglas Barrett (drums).
Whores. have shared the stage with acts such as Red Fang, Torche, Big Business, Melvins, Mudhoney, Retox, Deafheaven, Iron Reagan, Metallica, Slayer, Kylesa, Black Tusk, Royal Thunder, Floor, Lamb of God, Tombs, The Sword, Baroness, Dillinger Escape Plan, Chelsea Wolf, Youth Code and many more.
Tonight, however, their set is delayed by 7 minutes whilst Christian’s mic and units are sorted as he kept on getting electric shocks on his lips! Once rectified, they set about their business at 7:47pm and rocked all the way through to 8:30pm, which was an overrun of 10 minutes. This was the second longest set of the festival, but I guess they were second on the bill and had travelled the furthest, not the USA but from playing the ‘Bunkerpop Festival’ in Landgraff in The Netherlands on the previous night.
The trio began with a call to arms with just deep guitar licks from Christian that got the folks in the mood. Then after about a minute Casey and Douglas joined him. The result being hard rock central! The pedals on the guitar made the instrument sound so different, it had become the 15 oz ribeye steak of the music world! These lads kick ass! Everyone who frequented The Hungry Years back in the day really need to check out this outfit. Their fans must surely have some strong neck and back muscles if you catch my drift. Headbangers of the world unite!
Whore. recorded material can be located on their Bandcamp page which includes their 2016 debut long player ‘Gold’, which you can find HERE. An album that at the time was widely praised, garnering spots in the top ten on album of the year lists through publications such as Rolling Stone, MetalSucks, Heavy Planet, Invisible Oranges, Shiny Grey Monotone, and more. Apparently they are currently recording the follow-up, but with this band, it does tend to take a while between releases.
After this ‘Bad Pond’ set Whores. are travelling around the UK for several other dates before heading off to Europe for another 17 dates. If you want to catch them again before they go, then the nearest date is London on Friday 8th September when they play the Boston Music Room in Tufnell Park – Tickets HERE.
JAMIE LENMAN (Main Stage 8:55pm – 9:40pm)
We now come to the ‘Bad Pond’ 2023 teetotal headliner Jamie Lenman who took to the stage with his two chums Jen Hingley (guitar) and Jack Wrench (drums) 10 minutes late at 9:05pm. His set was due to close at 9:40pm but thankfully he played on until 9:50pm in order to keep within the curfew.
Jamie initially established himself on the UK underground scene as part of noughties post hardcore trio Reuben, touring relentlessly for ten years and releasing three critically acclaimed albums along the way. His first of currently five solo long-players dropped back in 2013, but his latest album came out only last year and is titled ‘The Atheist’. Interestingly, Jamie also has a career as an illustrator and worked full-time for The Guardian from 2007 until 2014. He has also frequently contributed to the Doctor Who Magazine under the pseudonym ‘Baxter’, releasing a collection of his work so far for the magazine called ‘Whoah!’ in 2014. His wife Katie is a burlesque dancer.
Back on the music front on the Chalk stage this evening, Jamie is on vocals and guitar as you would expect centre stage, and to his right (our left) is Jen who is on another guitar, plus on occasion uses a tambourine and a tiny shaker, as well as offering backing vocals and behind the two of them on the stix and backing vocals is Jack. It’s fair to say that Jamie has a distinctive visual look with his tuft of hair at the front and side burns. Tonight, if you catch him from the rear you can see his Lord Voldemort funny face on the back of his bald head. I do hope that it’s not a permanent look!
There’s uniformity with this unit as all three are wearing the same outfits, those being white shirts, chequered trousers and black braces. They and openers Welly are the only ones to don stage uniforms. Musically they offer up a more melodic sound of rock, but it still can be full on, so something akin to a heavy version of Busted and other bands of that ilk. Due to time constraints ‘Like Me Better’ from his 2020 ‘King Of Clubs’ album was dropped.
Jamie points out that he has been doing this for a quarter of a century now, since he was 15, thus he is 40 years old. He still gets nervous but still gets a buzz from it all which is as it should be. One of the mid-set numbers was a quieter funky number with a drum solo which was a little surprising. Also, they played an old number, ‘I Ain’t Your Boy’, which was almost in a different style to the other songs and was more commercial. Before we knew it, they were done. Despite it being a festival erring on the heavy side, it was interesting to note that there wasn’t a single stage diver all day, and no-one was carried aloft, or really being a full-on mosh pit. Guess that we’ll have to leave that to the likes of the Lambrini Girls and Electric Cowboy Club then! But it’s fair to say that ‘Bad Pond’ was very well organised and everyone behaved themselves.
Jamie’s next concert appearance will be in St. John’s Church in Waterloo on Saturday 25th November, where he will be performing two shows, an afternoon one at 4:30pm (Tickets HERE) and a later show 4 hours later at 8:30pm (Tickets for than one can be found HERE).
