Swound! + Botnik @ Uni. Of Nottingham Union

Getting drunk at gigs, mistake or all good fun? Usually i'd say its a good thing, it makes the crowd more open and creates a friendlier atmosphere (until someone takes it too far, of course) but when you're going to be reviewing the concert in question, having a few drinks causes problems i.e. hazy details of the bands and spending most of the time chatting to people instead of listening. So a gig at my student union means one thing, a very badly written and vague review, at least i have an excuse this time.

That's not to say the music was badly written and vague, in fact, it was the polar opposite. By the time Botnik took the stage, i was at the drunken point where blowing whistles and raving with glo-sticks is a very good idea, which was pretty perfect. Botnik used to be a Sonic-The-Hedgehog cover band and you can still hear the influence in their sounds, especially when the first noises you hear are the sounds of the bassist play an old-skool gameboy, but their music goes further than that. Its electro-ravey-rock with an energy so captivating that you can't help to throw your hands in the air and dance your bad-ass off. It also helps that their frontman is so natural onstage, entertaining the crowd through a few technical hip-cups and getting everyone involved. The set ended with him curled up on the floor, in the middle of the crowd, sorta screaming and making sounds, while we all waved our glo-sticks around and pulled shapes, and then a few blasts of game-boy sounds and that was Botnik. Game Over

There was a lengthy gap between Botnik and Swound! so i had a few more cheap 'n' cheeky pints, which might have tipped me over that wasted edge, which we all try and stay away from. I recall Swound! being entertaining, bouncy and fun, that one of the guitarist got on top of the grating thing and was threatened with expulsion, that a pit started around me, that i got a bit bruised but thats about it i think. I've posted on them before so for more info check here, definately do coz they're really good.
It was a very enjoyable night, Nottingham Union really isn't the best place to see live music (they didn't even turn the lights off), which was probably one of the only downside to the event. I'm definately gonna try and catch both acts in more appropriate venues next time round

Here's a track from each:
Botnik - Your Shoes Are On Fire
Swound! - Whats Your Poison?

(cheers marky mark for the oh-so professional photography)