1865, Southampton
Featuring; The Outlaw Orchestra, Dead Man’s Whiskey, Gallow’s Circus, Scarlet Rebels, Western Sand, The Hot Damn!, Florence Black, Massive & Mason Hill
Nozfest is back and promotor Jodie Bowie has successfully pulled out all the stops to bring together another fantastic line-up of acts, mainly from the NWOCR (New Wave of Classic Rock) scene. There are bands from England, Scotland, Wales, and Australia represented here today. The festival started back in 2019 featuring huge bands like Those Damn Crows and Massive Wagons on the same bill, who both have gone on to play on the main stages at Download Festival this year. Today the festival has sold out in advance and despite the temperature outside being in the 30’s, The 1865 is thankfully refreshingly air-conditioned. Once again I have been invited back as stage manager to smoothly organise nine bands on and off of the stage. With my team of my son Josh; along with Simon & Aaron of local band Regional One this will be a breeze, as plenty of preparation has gone on ahead of today; along with the help of the great team of staff at this well organised Southampton venue, including experienced unsung hero and sound technician Richard.
The shadow of COVID still sadly looms large over the industry, causing problems for promotors with both Ethyrfield and Collateral from the line-up having had to pull out with their band members testing positive for the dreaded lurgy. Though a negative for the two bands it’s a positive for their last-minute replacement The Outlaw Orchestra who apparently live within walking distance of the venue and turn up early to kick things off at exactly 1pm.
The three-piece featuring Ryan Smith on drums, David Roux on guitar/vocals and Pete Briley on banjo/lap-steel/vocals bring their unique sounding Americana-influenced “heavy grass” to the stage. The three totally loveable chaps have a wonderful on-stage chemistry, along with some hilarious risque banter that really gets the crowd warming to them. Their tunes are positively uplifting, toe-tapping and have the right momentum to get this Nozfest party started. Tunes like opener “Rocky Mountain Way” gives us some wonderfully delivered Blues-infused Rock with some impressive harmonies, along with some emotive lap steel. We are treated to a euphoric cover of The Beatle’s “Come Together”, which gets the crowd’s voices warmed up well. With a chuckling banjo at the heart of the song, “See You in Hell” leaves the crowd wanting more after a great performance from the local trio who get plenty of well-deserved applause.
Next up are quintet Dead Man’s Whiskey from London; who after the release of their debut album “Under The Gun” in 2017, are apparently well on the way to completing their second long player. They have already entertained audiences at the Ramblin Man Fair, Download, Winter’s End and Stonedead Festivals. The band appear on stage right after an introduction by local celebrity, and todays host Si Genaro. Kicking off with “Sleep When I’m Dead’ the band show that they are in fine form; lighting up the place with their melodic guitars, powerful rhythms and frontman Nico’s fine vocal delivery. You can’t help but being wrapped up in what the band have to offer with great tunes like “War Machine” and “This Fight”. The heart strings are severely tugged when the band perform an emotive tune called “Make You Proud”, which was written about Nico’s Mother who survived brain cancer; the vocals clearly came from the heart and brought much of the audience to tears. They end with probably one of their best tunes “Racing Bullet” and the atmosphere in the place steps up a notch as the crowd joins in to nearly raise the roof at the end of the band’s wondrously entertaining set.
After a quick changeover Kent quartet Gallow’s Circus take to the stage with all guns blazing, easily keeping up the momentum set by the opening two bands. Kicking off with “Faith to Believe” their Blues-infused Rock is gratefully received by the audience, who give the band the now customary Nozfest warm welcome. Frontman Ian Day is relishing such a music-loving crowd to perform to and has no trouble whipping up their excitement with some fine vocals, while accompanied by his ridged tight band who deliver in all areas. The audience is treated to the emotive “Holding my Breath” along with rip-roaring closer “Hell’s Whiskey”. The band leave the stage with more positive support from the well-entertained crowd.
After a motorway trek down from South Wales the Scarlet Rebels return to the 1865 stage after their memorable performance here at Nozlite in November last year. The band just completed a major support slot with Those Damn Crows at the De Valence Pavilion in Tenby, along with slots at a host of UK Festivals. The in-demand four-piece band thrill the crowd with emotive anthems that are full of uplifting melodic guitars, infectious rhythms and relatable lyrics. The Nozfest family lap up all the band have to offer and it’s clear that frontman Wayne Doyle appreciates the enthusiastic support from the musically well-educated Nozfest family. We are treated to tunes from the recent “See Through Blue” album including the goose bump generating “Take You Home” and crowd-pleasing “These Days”.
Dorset Rock band Western Sand are no strangers around these parts and have gigged relentlessly since forming in 2008. Tonight is their last gig as Western Sand and tonight the band are announcing their new project. Along with original members Jimmy and Tyler the band recruited bassist Dan De Vries after the departure of Finlay. They also unveil the band’s replacement for former drummer Nathan Kay; who is experienced stickman Zoot Hill-Vallier and has sat on the drum stool of many local bands previously. Kicking off with “Dark Horse” the band show their hand with their Southern-influenced style of Rock. Jimmy and Tyler’s guitar work is a joy to watch and these guys have fantastic chemistry, which has built into a brotherhood after years of performing together. The all new rhythm section does not let the side down one bit and it’s as powerful and pronounced as it’s ever been. Mainstays of the band’s set including “Broken Bones”, a cover of Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen” and the rip-roaring closer “Nothing Left to Lose” thrill the audience. It’s all smoke and mirrors though, the band are not splitting up, but changing their name to Black Water Redemption (Not to be confused with their track Black Water Resolution) and it all starts with the new single “The Angels Share and The Devils Cut” and a gig at the Joiners here in Southampton on 16th December.
The Hot Damn arrive up next and bring some vibrant colours with their Showaddywaddy-style bright coloured suits and equally vibrant sounds. The four-piece band comprising Gill Montgomery (Vocals/Guitar), Laurie Buchanan (Guitar/Vocals), Lzi Hayes (Bass Vocals) and Josie O’Toole (Drums) provide some fantastic entertainment with their first venture onto a Nozfest stage. With tunes that are equally full of colour and plenty of uplifting moments, the band are truly welcomed by the audience who are full of positivity for all they have to offer. Tunes like opener “Catch Me If You Can” and the crowd chanting “Live Laugh Love” really show what a fantastic amount of talent these four ladies have to offer. They even give some self-promotion with their own merch song with Australian supermodel (Brad from Massive) showing off the band’s eye-catching tie dye t-shirt and bucket hat. They end with their heavily radio played tune the infectious “I Didn’t Like You Anyway” with Brad and Andrew returning to the stage with confetti cannons to end the song in style. In return the band received the biggest cheers of the night from the crowd, who clearly enjoyed their set.
I feel privileged to be working on this stage with these great bands and the vast majority of the band members are all happy to chat before they go on stage. They have all been very approachable and appreciative to be playing in front of a Rock-minded audience such as the Nozfest family. Florence Black who is clearly a band on the way up have recently performed in huge stadiums in Germany supporting Böhse Onkelz, as well as a string of dates with the mighty Steel Panther. That said frontman Tristan is a quietly spoken, humble Welsh chap who seems to remain grounded with all the chaos going on around him. When the three-piece band hit the stage they transform the room with the opening number “Zulu”, a powerful slice of original Rock that dug deep into the very bowels of the band’s creativity. The rhythms of this band shake the very foundations of this old building and when Tristan opens his mouth to sing, the audience hang on his every word. No distraction can drag their fans away from here when this trio are onstage. This band have no airs and graces; they just deliver some really top quality, no-nonsense uplifting Rock. With songs like “Smoke”, “The Ride” and their now customary cover of Budgie’s “Breadfan” they leave the stage after delivering a 45-minute set of a Rock lover’s paradise.
Can the momentum of this evening get any faster, it can if Massive‘s Brad Marr is in the building. After host Si Genaro’s best fake Aussie accent introduction, the band arrive on stage. There is one notable difference with the band tonight as bassist Brenton has damaged his hand and with less than a week to learn the set The Hot Damn’s Laurie Buchanan has bravely stepped in. Kicking off with “Rise” the chaos a Massive set creates kicks off. With such an unpredictable frontman in the band virtually anything can happen. The set is a mix of earlier material including “Big Trend Setter” and the wonderful “Ghost” as well as the Punk-fuelled new single “Reset”. The band down tools for a moment to make us aware of the money that they have been raising for Kayla’s neuroblastoma campaign for a little girl we met at our gig who is fighting cancer. A tin is sent around the audience and the Nozfest family gives generously, while Brad tries his hand at an acoustic version of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and of course the crowd join in for a sing-a-long. What a set, what a band; I can’t speak highly enough of them and off stage they are all totally top blokes who seem to love us “Poms”.
Tonight’s final band are Glasgow rockers Mason Hill who are also returning to this stage after performing here at Nozfest last year. The demand was such that Jodie had to persuade them to return here once again. After a fantastic 2021 with a host of amazing live shows and the release of the album “Against The Wall”, the band are currently riding the crest of a wave with high hopes for their future. The noise from the crowd is huge when the band take to the stage and as they kick off with the opening number “Hold On” after a heartfelt introduction from our host Jodie. The vast majority of the audience have bought their album and clearly know the words as a mass sing-a-long ensues. These guys have infectious positive attitudes and it’s clear they are really relishing the chance to perform in front of Rock-loving audiences. They have just played a huge sold-out gig with Those Damn Crows at the scenic Chepstow Castle, showing that their stagecraft is just getting better and better and that they can match some of the best. The band’s 10-song set is a powerful message to the future that bigger stages and more success is certainly on the way. The final number “Against The Wall” is a euphoric end to a superb day of quality music.
STOP PRESS!!! Over half the bands have been booked for next year’s event and watch out on social media platforms for Jodie’s announcements because we’ll all be back in this room once again next year with I’m sure an equally dazzling line-up.
Videos
Links
http://www.nozfest.org
https://www.facebook.com/nozfest
Words, Pictures, & Videos by David Chinery (Chinners)
Additional Media by Becky Crothall-Brown
