The Spotlight Venue is a new live music provider in Hartlepool that is champion the metal and hard rock scene. The venue welcomed London four-piece alternative rock band Grace Solero for tonight’s entertainment along with support from Northumberland’s Not Now Norman and Hartlepool’s very own Odins Revenge.
Odins Revenge
Local band Odins Revenge kicked things off featuring a new bassist and singer with tonight being the singer’s first gig with the band. From the off, she delivered clean strong vocals that only got better as they progressed through their set. The whole band really settled down by the third track and the quality of the tracks started to shone through. The musicianship on show, particularly from the lead guitarist, had this band standing out. This looks to be a well chosen line up and standing as a five piece they filled the stage while laying down some genuinely well crafted songs that were an absolute joy to witness.
Not Now Norman
Normally taking stage as a four piece tonight Not Now Norman were minus a drummer, not that you could tell. Fortunately, the bands drummer had recorded all his drums just prior to the gig and nothing felt missing. Dominated by an energetic gothic princess Taylor Grace, who is a whirlwind of emotion compared to the calm stillness of guitar player Zander Brown who only seemed to show emotion via his finger tips. As Brown deftly weaved many a melodic run with a barrage of chords, all without breaking a sweat, he kept the tracks rampaging along whilst Grace danced and whipped up the lyrics in captivating style.
Grace Solero
All the way from London Grace Solero and her band graced the North with striking operatic soaring vocals and grinding raw rock. There was a relaxed chat in between the songs as the band slowly melted on stage due to the heat. Her band had a solid foundation with a towering bass player laying down the backbone with a unique finger picking style and a proper solid rock drummer thrashing the cymbals behind. Completing the lineup was a laid back smooth guitar player and Grace herself joined in on guitar duties on a couple of the tracks.
The tracks came across as a striped back almost symphonic nature such was the breadth of songwriting on display. Solero adapts throughout wether she is straight up singing or screaming or letting the notes fly high the emotion runs freely backed by her impressive band. They sounded great played tonight and the four piece do themselves justice with the noise they make. Combining a hard rock style with the powerful female vocals has been a treat tonight for those that enjoy that combination.
The bands complemented each other on tonight’s hard rock bill. Featuring all female fronted bands it was a pleasure to have some harder rock on Teeside and The Spotlight Venue is a perfect place to enjoy.
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