My first visit to Stockton’s finest music venue, NE Volume, this year was an interesting choice, as tonight’s triple bill turned out to be a pleasing selection. Painted Places were down as headliners, and their finely honed brand of indie drew the crowd in, but they weren’t the only ones to entertain the masses.
Starting things off was Sunderland’s quartet, Black Fern. My ears were immediately pricked when these guys took to the stage, mainly because of their singer’s bright and vibrant vocals. As the set went on, the intricate bass lines and impressive blend of rhythm and lead from the sole guitar player made this new band stand out.
Treating us to a mixture of Chilli Peppers funk on track ‘Honest’, the drummer’s favourite apparently, catchy picked guitar notes on ‘Silver Lining’ and effortless solos on new track ‘Salt’. The tracks were well crafted and although lacked the polished studio effort of debut single ‘Eye For An Eye’ there was some thing special within the musical mix.
The second support slot went to Husk, who brought things back to the 90s with some Alice In Chains-inspired alt-rock. They crafted their brand of chaos on the little stage punctured by long hair, longer drawn-out intros and screaming feedback. They cracked out tracks from their recent EP, including a personal highlight with a doom-laden heavy instrumental monster full of atmospheric riffs and even a Ramones esq 1234!
They threw in some covers for tonight’s set, including a blazing version of Mudhoney’s ‘Touch Me I’m Sick’ and a de-tuned acoustic rag down with Chris Cornell’s ‘Season’s. These guys brought some arena-sized rock to one of Stockton’s smallest stages.
Painted Places finishes things off with their Rickenbacker-led Shimmering indie. They are a band with a gleam of professionalism and a Well-Earned Oasis-style swagger. It’s all big chords, snappy rhythms, and intelligent lyrics. A waft of nostalgia for the early 2000s hangs around them, intoxicating for those of a certain age.
Their brand of clean-cut indie/Britrock ended the night perfectly after the chaos of Husk. A soft cushion of hope and joy as their relatable lyrics tackling social had the audience lapping it up as they danced and sang along. This is the magic of NE Volume bar. You never know who you will see, but you are always guaranteed a good night and the chance to find your next new favourite band.
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