The sleet was falling as I made my way to Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar. There was an almost Nordic feeling through town as people threw sleet-balls at each other and joked about ‘having a snow day’ tomorrow. As I neared Sticky’s the sleet turned to rain and everything began to, slowly, feel real again. Sticky’s was busy and full of people looking for some sonic abuse and a good time. Luckily this would be met as Camera, Spectres and Space Cadet were on the bill!

Space Cadet, who got the evening started, were in fine form. Opening their set with ‘Inner Beach Body Pointless’ was a tour de force. This mixture of massive riffs and wailing feedback set the tempo and vibe of the evening. Imagine the Melvins covering Weezer, or vice versa, it laid out their intentions perfectly. They wanted to pummel us with sheer noise and power, but at the same time, give us some melodies to make us sway like we were at the shoegazing gig in ’91. ‘Pointless’ followed on and delivered another visceral dose of slacker grunge, with Thom Yorke-esque vocals. While the set was almost incident free, there were a few premonitions of what was to come.

After a short intermission Spectres took to the stage. This noise-rock quartet from Bristol had their game faces on as they took to the stage. From the opening note of ‘Where Flies Sleep’ Spectres made the crowd stop what they were talking about and take notice. Next to the joyful abandon of Space Cadet, Spectres was a repetitive punch in the face. It was an unrelenting and uncompromising journey to the darker side of life. But that isn’t to say it was all doom and gloom. When Spectres got locked into the groove, there were moments of unabashed jangling delight and crisp rhythms. Halfway through their set technical difficulties began to take hold. During the instrumental section of ‘This Purgatory’ guitarist Adrian Dutt went off stage to change his guitar. After plugging it in, he went off again and returned with another guitar. At first we thought Dutt’s guitars weren’t in tune, but it became apparent that the problem was more serious. After a few minutes of keeping the feedback rolling, frontman Joe Hatt said “Does anyone have a spare amp, as this one’s dead” Then came a quick change of amps, that would have pleased any F1 pit crew, all the while Spectres rhythm section kept the purgatory going. If Hatt hadn’t addressed the crowd, and you were at the back, you could have been forgiven for thinking they’d just extended the song for the sheer love of hearing feedback in a small, enclosed space. When the set finished the crowd erupted. As Hatt left the stage he was heard to exclaim “That was fun. Just like the old days!”

Then there was another break. At about the same time as our collective ears had stopped ringing Camera took to the stage.

Camera flexed their psych krautrock, motorik muscles throughout their forty minute improvised set. Rhythms crossed over each other, melodies mutated and time signatures merged to create something that was hypnotic, fascinating and totally mesmerising. When it came to an end you realised you’d seen something that will never be experienced again.

This is the kind of gig that makes you happy to be a music fan. The music performed was abrasive, mordant and incredibly catchy. It also showed the resilience of one band to battle on against an array of problems. In a weird way this gig is a metaphor for Spectres career. They make music that thrusts a massive middle finger in mainstream music’s face. However, given the strength of this set, and songs from their as yet unreleased second album, they might be rubbing shoulders with the people they torment and despise before they realise it. But as long as they play with the same intensity and vigour as they did tonight, they won’t be fully accepted. And that will suit everyone in the audience fine!
Nick Roseblade