Live Review: Something On The Side

This Wednesday saw a sink of energy form at the Rosemount Hotel as 11 bands took up the main stage and small bar Four5Nine for double-stage extravaganza dubbed Something On The Side. Starting 7pm with squealing punks King Crime and Robbie Rumble, punters who made it out early to these new acts were rewarded with intimate, relaxed performances leading up to the blooming psychedelica of Hunting Huxley and Dream Rimmy as audiences crossed between stages to glimpse the best of each set.

The smaller Four5Nine Bar was host primarily to aggressive, sonically violent punk bands, which made the most of the tight space by getting in the faces of their devoted audience with savage and brutal high distortion and fast, intense sets chewing through the high density line-up. Kitchen People’s loose punk stagger was quickly tightened by Skullcave before Black Stone From The Sun took the stage, a duo grinding through their songs only to stop at the nine-minute mark. “We don’t have a set. We just play it as it comes. Fuck it, we’ll do one more,” Sean Mackay, guitarist, grumbled, coaxed into a slaughterhouse of noise. Aborted Tortoise, popular as ever, were playing next on their home ground, perfectly suited to the close quarters venue and spitting right into their audience.

On the main stage Chief Richards, a sole figure with a loop board, gorilla mask and polka dot trousers, wound digital prog nonsense around a throbbing reverb to a bewildered audience. Mumbling through the mask to hecklers, he coaxed Catbrush drummer Anetta Nevin on stage to accompany a shrieking electrical storm with her thundering percussion, bringing the set to an explosive conclusion. Hideous Sun Demon, the last formal band of the night, then took the stage to a full bar with a stripped-down set as frontman Vin fought for the spotlight against the alarming cling of his trouser crotch. The crowd surged in a throng of violent energy in response to their breakneck rock, somehow equally aggressive and benevolent as thrashers gave way to their friends for a good time.

At last Electric Toad filled the stage. With 16 musicians crammed on stage and clambering over their instruments, Stephen Bellair, Anetta Nevin and Blake Hate howled random vocals as remaining revellers struggled to coordinate dance moves to jam songs. A standout jam with King Crime’s Samuel Joseph Evers screaming a refrain of ‘It’s okay, it’s all right!’ lasted a marathon ten minutes, until finally the event collapsed into chaos and creative exhaustion.