In an evening full of indie rock, Olivia Hannant pens her thoughts about Carlisle rockers Hardwicke Circus as they play at Nottingham's 'DIY' venue, The Chameleon Arts Café.
Fresh off the stages of Glastonbury, the up-and-coming, Carlisle-bred, five-piece indie rock band Hardwicke Circus make their Nottingham debut at the Chameleon Arts Cafe, accompanied by two of the freshest bands to emerge from the local indie scene, Citrus and Car Crash Compilation.
Citrus kicked off the evening with their spirited offering of captivating melody accompanied by intricate guitar patterns. Leading lady Jess delivered a notable cover of Radiohead’s Creep sandwiched between pop-rock single Tragedy which got feet tapping and held listeners to witness some intense shredding from lead guitarist George. The group presented the audience with an upbeat and vibrant set that charmed those watching before their upcoming supporting gig at The Bodega on the 18th of October.
Nottingham Trent University’s Car Crash Compilation followed up, blending catchy guitar riffs with striking vocals. Nottingham’s self-proclaimed ‘Indie Darlings’ presented the crowd with a lively set propelled by a selection of their material, a cover of Blondie’s Call Me and Stanton by Sports Team. The original song Lucy, written by lead guitarist Dan Quinney, was an audience favourite and an excellent closing track. With a surprise appearance from honorary band member Louis, energetic stage presence and audience interaction is never a problem for this lot.
Off the bat of their debut album The Borderland, titled after their home town, Hardwicke Circus put out a certainly memorable offering of what can only be described as an 80s pop-rock resurgence. Fully equipped with sing-along worthy tracks inspired by the likes of The Doors and The Rolling Stones, self-assured lead man Jonny Foster successfully commanded the room with the support of bassist Joe Hurst throughout the set, which was opened by their lead single Walking on Broken Glass with incisive saxophone melody and infectious chorus the band began as they meant to go on. The rightful addition of the saxophone gives these guys a delightfully retro feel, full of spirit and songs that easily can be belted out by audiences - with the likes of Nowhere Left to Run and Ballard of the Gypsy King the crowd did just that. With a strong sense of enjoyment among the crowd, the audience danced to the band’s increasingly relevant single Reason to Believe after frontman Jonny sent out a strong political statement encased in his introduction to the song, about the current economic state of the UK.
"The rightful addition of the saxophone gives these guys a delightfully retro feel, full of spirit and songs that easily can be belted out by audiences"
Overall, delivering a hugely engaging and high-spirited set that left the audience’s feet hurting from dancing was an excellent introduction to the East Midlands. It was well received by attendees of Nottingham’s own ‘DIY’ venue The Chameleon; with some attendees having previously seen the band play The Rabbit Hole at Glastonbury earlier this year at the recommendation of Sir Paul McCartney. Perhaps not quite the crowds they were used to in their hometown; but their influence is surely spreading further South, and they are ones to watch in the future.
Olivia Hannant
Edited by: Jodie Averis
Cover image courtesy of Ents 24.
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