Canadian rock band Seaway returned to Nottingham supported by the singer/ song-writer Lizzy Farrall and Edinburgh pop-punk band Woes. Touring their latest album Vacation and playing some fan favourites, Seaway brought an amazing stage presence and energy to Bodega and all of the acts did not disappoint.
“Making her set the cleanest sounding performance of the night”
Lizzy Farrall played all five tracks from her first EP ‘All I Said Was Never Heard’, opening the night with the slowest song ‘Hollow Friends’. Despite some awkwardness which is to be expected on her second day on tour, Farrall did a good job of entertaining the crowd by apologising for writing sad songs which drastically contrast the tone of Woes and Seaway. There was no need for apologies because the simple accompaniment of two guitars really allowed her vocals stand out, making her set the cleanest sounding performance of the night. Farrall’s slower and simpler performance was effective at gradually building excitement and good vibes whilst easing the crowd into the heavier sounds to come later that evening.
Things felt slightly confused at the start of Woes’ set, as the audience adjusted to the band’s loud pop-punk, which seemed to be a world away from Lizzy Farrall’s angelic tones. The atmosphere improved after they played their cover of Papa Roach’s ‘Last Resort’. The band’s tradition of covering one song every gig is definitely effective at winning over an audience who may be unfamiliar with their music, and improved the atmosphere of this performance whilst allowing the bassist to live out his “dream of being in a new metal band”.
At times the energy was a bit excessive, and spending a lot of time jumping around the stage left the quality of the vocals sounding slightly disappointing at times. This didn’t seem to bother the crowd at all, and added to the excitement over Seaway’s upcoming performance. Playing a mix of songs from their 2016 self-titled EP and the new song ‘Real World’ which was released only the day before the gig made for a well balanced and high energy set, marking this band out as one to watch on the scene.
“The gig escalated into a rowdy mess of shoving”
Seaway opened their set with the fan favourite ‘Best mistake’ from their previous record Colour Blind before moving onto the new tracks ‘Something wonderful’, ‘London’ and ‘Apartment’ from the band’s latest album Vacation. Seaway clearly know how to please a crowd, and had a perfect mix of classics and new songs to cater for fans both old and new. The audience was wild from the very start, so it was unsurprising when the gig escalated into a rowdy mess of shoving, throwing drinks, stage diving and crowd surfing.
Things were taken a bit too far by excited fans during ‘Lula on the Beach’, when guitarist and co-vocalist Patrick Carleton‘s mic was nearly pushed over by a fan climbing onto the stage. Despite their tendency to lose control, Seaway clearly loves and appreciates their fans’ enthusiasm, instantly forgiving the people they had called out for taking things too far. The band’s impressive one-hour long set was filled with an impressive range form their music catalogue, reflecting how much this band has grown since their first releases in 2013.
“The lighting throughout the whole concert was also very basic”
One issue that I had throughout the sets of Woes and Seaway was the sound quality. The vocalists in both acts were drowned out by other instruments, making it hard for new fans to figure out which songs were being played; everything blended together into a loud cacophony of punk energy. The lighting throughout the whole concert was also very basic, which may just have been a limitation of playing in quite a small venue.
Overall, it made all of the performances seem visually underwhelming, but it allowed the crowd to focus on the most important aspect: the music. All of the artists more than proved that they deserve to be up on that stage, and the energy alone that Seaway managed to conjure up in a crowd is something that you won’t want to miss out on.
6.5/10
Celeste Adams
Images Courtesy of Celeste Adams
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