UoN BandSoc Battle of the Bands @ Mist Rolling Inn

The University of Nottingham’s BandSoc has always provided a fantastic platform for new and existing student bands to come together, practice, and jam, whether that be at Mooch, open mics, or a number of acoustic opportunities. The society’s latest venture, though – another Battle of the Bands competition in collaboration with NTU’s SEMP (Sound Engineering and Music Production) and Event societies – might be one of the most exciting moments in the society’s recent history. I headed down to the Mist Rolling Inn on Wednesday, February 18th to catch the semi-final round, where four of the six performing UoN bands from tonight would make it through to the series’ final against their NTU counterparts. 

Getting to the event for the soundcheck, it’s so lovely to see the camaraderie between all the bands. Though they might technically be competing, bands are laughing and chatting away together, with not a hint of iciness to be found. It really helps emphasise how important BandSoc is in bringing student acts together, and establishes the vibe for the evening well. 

As the event properly begins, people begin to crowd down towards the Mist Rolling Inn’s tight, low basement. This very small venue is being pushed to its absolute limit tonight, often reaching capacity and leaving spectators and other bands alike vying to get a spot in the crowd. Although the cramped nature of the event can bring some problems, it also makes the whole night feel energetic and that much more special, highlighting the community aspect of the societies excellently. 

Each band is given precisely 15 minutes to perform, and those who go over that slot are penalised with almost no leeway. The first to take to the stage is Work In Progress, an alternative/indie rock five-piece who impress with covers of Smashing Pumpkins’ “Today” and Radiohead’s “Jigsaw Falling into Place”, amongst others. As the audience poll is opened on the BandSoc instagram, Work In Progress quickly gather a decent lead, although as this only counts for 30% of the vote, they’ll need the NTU judges on their side as well if they fancy a shot at the final.

Work In Progress

With rapid, 10-15 minute turnaround times between acts, the energy in the room hardly has a chance to dissipate as a flurry of people come back from the bar following the first set. Indie rock inspired 10 Foot Drop (@10footdropband) are the next act of the night, kicking off in style with a strong cover of Big Thief’s technical “Simulation Swarm”. After a moment to retune (during which the band’s vocalist laments the nightmare of getting their guitars out of the dreaded ‘Adrianne Lenker tuning’), the band launch into the night’s first original, the driving “Type Cast”.

10 Foot Drop

As 10 Foot Drop conclude their set, the basement suddenly becomes very busy. Negative Space (@negativespace.mp3) might well have brought the biggest existing following with them to this event so far, as their name garners a huge cheer from the audience. Their set really gets the crowd going, firing on all cylinders through nu-metal and alt rock numbers like a cover of Deftones’ hit “Be Quiet and Drive”, or Three Days Grace’s “Animal I Have Become”. Rowan, one of NTU’s judges, tells me after their set that Negative Space are the first so far to reach max points in the ‘crowd hype’ category.

Negative Space

This chat with Rowan was very insightful in understanding how the winners would be decided, and the motivations behind the event. There are numerous categories on her score sheet, from ‘tone’ to ‘uniqueness’ and the aforementioned ‘crowd vibe’ and ‘punctuality’. She talks of a passion for promoting student music in the face of influxes of AI-generated tracks, with a desire to show how cool live music from small acts like these can be. With how the evening is going so far, it’s not hard to see that the event is succeeding to this end. I hear about ambitious plans for future collaborations with universities in Sheffield for a multi-city Battle of the Bands event. Though this BOTB series is already the biggest student event of its kind in Nottingham’s history, there’s no stopping the aspirations of BandSoc and NTU SEMP. 

My chat is cut short by the fourth band to come to the stage, 3 Legged Furniture. An eclectic blend of art rock, blues rock, and everything in between, there’s really no telling what this band will pull out next. They kick off with a cover of current indie darlings Geese and their track “Cowboy Nudes”, with vocalist Adam doing a sublime replication of Cameron Winter’s signature style. A more muted take on Radiohead’s “Just” and The Beatles’ “Don’t Let Me Down” follows, until the band throw the audience for a loop by introducing a song by an ‘underground artist’, which reveals itself as a spirited rock cover of ABBA’s “Mamma Mia”. A closing blitz through Simple Plan’s theme for the show ‘What’s New, Scooby Doo?’ earns 3LF high points for uniqueness. 

3 Legged Furniture

It’s time for the fifth band, and Full Bloom (@fullbloom_band) start out strong with a cover of Paramore’s “Misery Business”. There’s another original and a well executed style switch up, with “Wanna Be” taking cues from goth rock and post punk alongside some squealing, borderline dream pop guitars. The trend of eclecticism has clearly carried through, as the set finishes with a lively and triumphant rendition of Scorpions’ classic arena anthem “Rock You Like a Hurricane”. 

Full Bloom

Finally, the evening is closed by shoegaze & noise rock band Heather (@heathersoldout). Kicking off with original “Mindfreak”, a snarling and aggressive cut that brilliantly evokes the likes of Julie, the band’s interludes (consisting of ethereal reverse reverb swells and droning guitar feedback) between their tracks helps them stand out massively. It’s an element of cohesion that the judges seem to love, as Heather launch into similarly dynamic covers of Placebo’s “36 Degrees” and My Bloody Valentine’s “You Made Me Realise”, the noise segment of the latter leaving the audience both slightly deaf and notably awestruck. It helps that the band’s stage presence is punchy and aggressive, whilst maintaining the detachment from the audience that other shoegaze acts are known for. 

Heather

With all the bands having played their sets and the Instagram poll closing, the atmosphere is so tense as everyone heads back upstairs to the Mist’s bar. There’s hardly any room to move as people await the NTU judges’ results. After about five minutes that feel like fifty, a BandSoc committee member climbs up as she announces that the results are in. A hush falls over the busy bar as the four bands progressing to the final are revealed, in no particular order.

10 Foot Drop, Full Bloom and Negative Space are the first three confirmed to be through, revealed in one go to massive cheers from the audience, particularly their respective fanbases. It’s nail-biting for the last three bands, though, as a moment is taken to thank all of the bands that have played and congratulate them for the evening. Finally, the suspense is cleared, as the final band going to the Battle of the Bands final is revealed to be…

…Heather! There’s a huge cheer from the band and those around them, as people congratulate one another and begin to flood out of the jam-packed pub. What’s best about the atmosphere at the end though is exactly the same as I noted at the start, that being that there’s no sense of hostility between any of the bands. Quite the opposite: people are drinking, celebrating one another, and having a great time even if they weren’t ones to make it to the final. 

The entire evening was a rousing success, and it demonstrated not just the importance of societies like UoN BandSoc and NTU SEMP in fostering live music, but the importance of student acts in general. Seeing such a promising set of artists vying for a ticket to the final brought out what surely must be one of the most memorable student music events in recent memory. 

You’ll be able to see 10 Foot Drop, Full Bloom, Negative Space and Heather performing in the Battle of the Bands final on March 15th. You can follow @uonbandsoc and @ntu_semp on Instagram for more details on location and capacity as and when they’re available. 

Josh Holmes

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Edited by Isabelle Tu

Photos courtesy of Josh Holmes