By Jenny Dean
I don’t often find myself on the other side of the water for gigs these days, but on June 20th I made my way to the Newgate Social in Newcastle to catch the first semi final of the Road to Hardwick Battle of the Bands, where six North-East acts were competing to go through to the final round of the competition and win a main stage slot at Hardwick Festival.
Having competed in the competition myself last year, there were a lot of familiar faces in the room, including one of last years winners Swindled, who took to the stage at the end of the night for a guest performance.
Also in attendance were Neave and Caitlin from The Support Act podcast, who returned this year to join the judging panel alongside, Rich Steadman from HMV Newcastle, Maria and Sam of Marisam Events, and Emma and Jonathan from the Hardwick Festival team.
To kick off the night, we had competitors Fleeting Faces, who’s performance was, sadly, fleeting. I’m not sure if it was a confidence thing or a part of the act but not one word was uttered from any band member for the entire set. The music was decent, and seemed to take inspiration from The Stone Roses, but unfortunately the performance itself wasn’t too memorable. In the bands defence though, they are fairly new and still finding their feet. I’d like to see them again when they have established themselves a bit more.
Next up was Joe Treacy who, spoiler, was one of the acts that made it through to the final. With only three members in the band, I was surprised to see Joe take to the stage with an acoustic guitar. Joe, along with a drummer and bassist, played a set filled with indie tunes that wouldn’t be out of place in a playlist alongside George Ezra and Vance Joy, very reminiscent of summer in the 2010’s. At one point I thought they were playing Budapest until the lyrics kicked in and I realised it was an original tune. I can definitely see why this band made it through.
Provenance were up next, taking seven members onto the stage, including a tambourinist. This was definitely the most musically diverse band so far, and had a synth player, making it more sonically different than the previous bands; hence why they also made it to the final. Halfway through the set was when we got our first song of the night in a minor key which was nice, and there was considerably more talking and interaction than the first two acts. The band clearly has a lot of early 2000’s indie influences with upbeat melodies and what would have been prominent guitar parts, had the guitar been as loud as it should have been (this was mostly due to the fact that only the right side speakers were actually working in the venue).
Leazes, the band 90% of attendees had come to see, who’s viral moment has come at the perfect time for this competition, were up next. Frontman Joe King was carrying the energy for the band and spent the set jumping around, interacting with the crowd which was full of people wearing Leazes merch, and even dancing with a towel over his head at one point. They were definitely the tightest band of the night and had people up on the tables dancing to their song of the summer, Sun’s Out. It came as no surprise to anyone that this band made it through, and I personally wouldn’t be surprised if they won the whole thing.
I don’t know if its a good or bad thing to have to go on straight after Leazes, but Sunderland band Critch took it all in their stride, keeping the energy up and the crowd engaged. This band was my standout of the night and was by far the most different in style, contrasting to the other acts, declaring ‘we are not an indie band’ to the audience. The set was full of punky fierceness and every member carried their weight well. This is a distinctly original band who, it turns out, had an unfair disadvantage since the judges were deliberately looking to put indie bands through, however, I think they are destined to do well, as they are full of charisma, style, and a unique attitude.
I ended up missing a chunk of the last band Callows’ set as I went outside for some fresh air after Critch, so I can’t say much about the band except it was nice background music when I came back and went to the toilet, (that’s not an insult by the way, I just needed the toilet). I did go to Spotify and listen to their latest single Baby Blue afterwards, and if it was out in 2004 it would definitely have been on The Inbetweeners soundtrack. If I saw them again I’d wait until the end of the set to go for a wee.
The voting system for the competition is based on the judges vote and an audience vote, which ended up being a bit of a problem. I also had an issue with it last year, as the public QR vote is extremely easy to rig, and vote for yourself endlessly, and this year it was just the same. The public poll amassed over 700 votes, when there could have been no more than 150 people in the venue, and I believe this vote ended up being voided, since it showed Fleeting Faces with the highest percentage of votes and they didn’t make it through. If the competition runs again next year, a cheatproof system needs to be put in place here, but battle of the bands competitions are usually controversial anyway.
Overall, it’s a good way to introduce yourself to local bands, which The Newgate Social is passionate about, and tickets are free, so if you’re about in Newcastle get yourself to the Newgate Social on July 18th for the grand final.
