Palm reader
Palm Reader announced earlier this year they’d be disbanding after 13 years and therefore embarking on a final last tour of the UK. I knew I didn’t want to miss this one. Any band that gives a solid farewell and not a single insta post means we can be there to witness the funeral. In Nottingham. At rescue rooms.
Blight Town were the opener for tonight. I’ve seen this band once before during the start of my gig photo and ahem journalism journey. The Midlands band have a steady fan base within the area and a good portion of the audience today were definitely vibing with the gritty vocals and melodic drums. I could see almost everyone in the room bobbing their heads and a group of people in particular were moshing between themselves, throwing their heads back and forth, aggressively.
For a 5-piece band, the stage at this venue can be quite limiting in space. Also limited by the sheer amounts of LED light already set up, meant that the band members pretty much just stood in place for the majority of the set. Though not really a band that has heavy songs that engage a circle pit or have you jumping around, it’s always great when an opener can come on immediately and blow you away with their energy. It’s a shame, you couldn’t really jump WITH the band in that sense.
The vocalist and guitarist in the middle of the stage were the most active. Constantly interacting with each other, whether it was the vocalist leaning into him or them both facing each other during a riff. The vocals were stable and the harsh vocal support by the guitarist in the far left only further brought the synergy together. As mentioned, the lighting was quite a step up from what you’d expect of an opener, which shows some thought into stage presence and design whether by band or venue. Always a tick in my book.
Love is Noise is a band I’ve seen before…but I cannot tell you where. I’ve seen them. Just don’t ask me anything about that day because I seem to have erased it and only retained the basic sentence of “Love is Noise was there”. So, consider me surprised when they made their entrance and I was so blown away I didn’t understand how I can’t remember where I first saw them. The energy the band brought to the stage was everything I felt was missing thus far. As soon as the band came on and the classic love song that was playing as the entrance was cut- the band didn’t waste any time.
The band were jumping in unison and that only encouraged the crowd to get involved. The vocalist was constantly on the move, throwing kicks and jumps and still hitting some stable vocals and harsh to match. The guitarists were constantly thrashing and moshing in their spots that I could see the audience struggling to decide who to look at. At one point, the vocalist grabs some spare drum sticks and starts absolutely hammering down on the cymbals. A bit that got the crowd screaming from excitement.
I don’t know how many people were here for Love is Noise, but the crowd had doubled since the opener. The vocalist had a very casual, mumbling and monotone tone with the crowd. It didn’t elicit many “woos”, as is usual, mainly because I don’t think people could tell what he was saying. But they were vibing anyway. I don’t think one single head was staticin the pit and the vocalist did manage to encourage a “happy birthday” sing along dedicated to their sound guy. The set almost felt like it ended abruptly, but maybe I just didn’t hear the announcement that they were on the last song.
On came Palm Reader to an upbeat little jingle. I could see people looking at each other as if to say “wait what?”. The band took their places and got into their set with IInternal Winter“. The band absolutely owned the stage and gave it their all. To say there were 7 members on stage, the platform didn’t feel as small as it did earlier. Each member was making the most of the space and owning their territory.
The vocals were great. The harsh would hit so well I’d sometimes be checking to see if there was support from one of the guitarists (sometimes). The vocalist would confidently be passing the mic to the audience with them being more than happy to oblige. At one point, the vocalist spoke of how it’s hard not to stand up on that stage and cry, which was met with a resounding “aw” from the audience. Despite how well they perform, there’s obviously the looming reason we’re all gathered here in the back of our minds.
The first circle pit formed and earned praise by the band. The pit remained active throughout the set with circles and moshing interchangeably happening. Potentially being the most active during “Stay Down”. The absolute brutal beat downs towards the end of the song made people get whiplash, with those drums. It was a great little wake for a much loved band and seeing people get together to celebrate their existence in the first place.
Palm Reader had a steady but strong run. Hopefully it isn’t the end of their musical journeys but life does happen. It had been a good run, for the band I’m sure. Though not without its stress. Their music is still available though to listen to and will always be. Blight Town have a couple local shows to catch and Love is Noise will be performing with Sick Joy later this year. All bands have great music to check out on all the streaming platforms.
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