EPISODE 2 – THE PLAN vs REALITY
Looking back at EPISODE 1, I realise that I should have mentioned the history of the festival because, obviously, this is not the first edition. First for ME, yes, but not for everybody. This is, in fact, the fifth MANGATA FEST, having first appeared in 2022 as a two day, three-stage, single venue event in THE OLD COLD STORE in Nottingham. Stylistically, not significantly different to this year’s festivities, with a few big-name headliners – CONAN, PALM READER, LAWNMOWER DETH etc – and a good mix of mid-tier local, national, and international bands. And, of course, a bunch of bands you’ve never heard of, before or since1. It seemed to go down quite well and has been a Nottingham fixture every Autumn since. Moved around a bit, though.
Firstly, a little update on this year’s venue and line-up2. We’ve lost ANTI-CLONE for unspecified reasons, and their place has been taken by CONTINENTS, leaving a space at the bottom to be filled by symphonic-metallers HEMLOCH3. Also, because the double-booking that caused some venue juggling has been resolved, we revert back to the original arrangement of stages. What difference that makes remains to be seen.
Let’s just assume I’ve told you all about my searching for venues, routes to and from my hotel etc – bearing in mind that I’ve never been in Nottingham before – and get to THE PLAN.
Clearly, I’m not going to get to see everything, and choices will have to be made, so here’s what I’m proposing.
FIRMAMENT – BONESTRIDER – GÜRL – SCORDATURA – GURT – TEALDEER – OFNUS – A-TOTA-SO – HUNDRED YEAR OLD MAN – YOU WIN AGAIN GRAVITY – HIDDEN MOTHERS – TAYNE – MAATKARE/SERGEANT THUNDERHOOF – THE GREY – ALPHA MALE TEA PARTY – GIANT WALKER.
That’s just seventeen of the forty-one bands on offer but, y’know, there’s only one of me. I fully expect it to go horribly wrong. . .
Aaaaand immediately we lose HUNDRED YEAR OLD MAN. Guitarist Tom breaks his collarbone doing something daft on a bike and they, quite rightly, pull out. Health first, always. But still, bugger. Turns out that injury and illness will be something of a feature of the day. Anyhow, last-minute replacements AEL-FIEREN step up to the plate, so I’ll be seeing them instead. Whoever they are.
EXECUTION OF THE PLAN.
There’s a wee delay at the gate, and it takes a while to get in, but it’s nothing major. The timetable will not be affected, and THE PLAN can go ahead. And, to be fair, the organisation will prove to be flawless and everything will run like clockwork. That also means, however, that there is NO leeway with timing, and I must skip out of each set early so I can get into whichever room it is for the next one. Capacity is limited, and if you’re late you’re a bit stuffed.
It’s ROCK CITY BETA first, for FIRMAMENT. Singer Adele (No, not THAT Adele) is, apparently, a bit under the weather. Doesn’t seem to affect her performance, though, and she belts it out with style and vigour. They do a progressive and modern version of old-school British rock, all dual guitars, galloping bass, soaring melodies, and that muscular voice. Do you like MAIDEN and LIZZY? Yes? Then you’ll like Firmament. The Mangata crowd certainly seems to.
Photo: Bruce Cowie
It’s a nice room, too. Decent sound, good lighting, good sized stage. I like it. I have no idea what STEALTH UPSTAIRS would have been like, as that was the replacement venue, but I reckon we’ll be better off here.
On my way to STEALTH for BONESTRIDER, I’m told by the nice security man that it’s quicker to go through this door here, and not to go the long way round. He’s right, and that’s Mangata Festival for you – friendly and helpful. It’s a short cut that I’ll be making much use of throughout the day.
Photo: Bruce Cowie
Past the outdoor merch and food stalls – the place is already filled with the tempting aromas of scorched meat and hot nacho cheese – and down the passage to the minimalist, industrial space that is STEALTH. Despite its Spartan appearance, it’s another fine room, solid sound and – early on at least – camera friendly lighting. Very low stage, and not very wide. Even at that, it’s nowhere close to full (The stage, I mean, not the room. There’s a decent crowd in.) with the Sabbath-worshipping doom duo that is BONESTRIDER. I had been expecting a trio, and I’m wondering where the bass player is when they start, with minimum fanfare. Hefty doom riffs, growly doom vocals, they sure know how to doom. He’s still a better singer than Ozzy was, though4. ‘This song’s about Geezer Butler…’ he says. Of course it is. Fine stuff.
I have a few minutes to spare, so I drop in to RESCUE ROOMS’ smoky main room to catch a bonus bit of WOLVES DON’T SLEEP5. It’s a bit busy in here, but I squeeze in down the side just long enough to see what these lads are all about. And they’re all about that emotional metalcore thing, and they do it rather well. They have a HUGE backdrop, just in case we don’t know who they are. But the enthusiastic crowd seems to know perfectly well who they are, and is having a great time. Maybe I’m too old6 but it’s not entirely my cup of tea and I head off to rejoin THE PLAN. Which takes me next door for GÜRL.
GÜRL. Photo: Bruce Cowie
Once again, I may not fit into their target demographic, but Gürl are immense fun. A hot’n’sweaty sexy collision of styles including – but not limited to – nu-metal, rap, whatever it is that Skunk Anansie do, and some kind of infinitely danceable funky thing. They’re fierce, brilliant, exciting and visually arresting, and the first band of the day that I truly regret having to bail out on, but I have places to be and Scottish death-metal to see.
It’s hard to imagine a swifter change of direction than the whiplash-inducing swing from Gürl to SCORDATURA in the big room. Brutality of the highest order, machine-gun drumming, riffs too fast to comprehend, and vocals that sound like a chimpanzee being fed into a garbage-disposal mincer. Song titles like ‘Existential Termination’, ‘Retali(H)ate’ and ‘Self Created Abyss’ give the game away – this is NOT a nice band. Usual singer Daryl is off with his other band, PARTY CANNON, so his place is taken by fellow Scot Tony Mitchell of BLOODTHREAD who does an admirable job. Or a horrible job, depending on how you look at it. Savage.
Photo: Bruce Cowie
I had noticed earlier that there was a balcony in this room, from where I watch Scordatura, and this also turns out to be part of the route to RED ROOM, where I head next for turbosludge quartet GURT. Gurt’s singer has fallen down some stairs and is a bit broken. There is a walking stick lying at the front of the tight stage. None of this appears to hinder him to any great degree. Mic cable wrapped about him like a skinny anaconda, he is unstoppable. The hyperactive bass player frequently strays from the stage, getting in amongst the audience – and one time disappearing off down the corridor towards the bogs. ‘Sludge Puppies’, ‘Knife Fever’, and the magnificently titled ‘Horrendasaurus’ rattle past before we get some choice words about L*ve N*tion and their ticket pricing policy. The crowd in the compact and very warm room heartily approves. So do I.
Photo: Bruce Cowie
And so to Stealth again, for TEALDEER. Having never heard, or even heard OF, Tealdeer, I’m somewhat taken aback by what I see. Their name7 suggests something a bit. . . fluffy. Post-rocky, even. But no. They fall somewhere between metalcore and post-hardcore, and are yet another band at the festival with an injury issue. This time it’s their second guitarist, the enigmatic O.D.M., the Ominous Deer Man, who has broken something. He DOES show up, though, briefly joining the rest of the band on stage, wearing his customary rubber deer mask. Affable frontman Ted spends quite some time in amongst the crowd, and the rest of the band seem resolutely cheerful despite the apparent darkness of their material.
Things get darker still over at Rescue Rooms with Welsh8 post-black metallers OFNUS, who are sporting a brand new singer, Brendan Coles – and ANOTHER stand-in guitarist! They have that knack, common to most of those bands that do this sort of thing, of sounding dark and grim and atmospheric and life enhancingly beautiful all at the same time. It feels like icy wind blowing over bleak moors and straight through my soul. It may not be FUN, as such, but I would stand here for this all day if I could. But I can’t.
It’s fortunate, perhaps, that I get to Stealth for A-TOTA-SO in plenty of time, because the room is rapidly packed out with punters keen to see what the alt/math-rock legends have in store. There’s a new bass player, and Marty is now doing much of the vocal work but, as has become traditional, there are guests aplenty. First up is long-time contributor JETHRO, helping out on ‘Spicy Nights’, followed by guest #101, ARI from HIDDEN MOTHERS ripping through ‘Death Rattle’ from the new album ‘I Told You So’. We get another Hidden Mother, LIAM, duetting with ANDY PRICE of THE GREY, but the rest is all Marty. The sound is veering a bit towards grungy alt-rock, but there’s still plenty of exhilarating mathy widdle and flash.
Photo: Bruce Cowie
Now, we should have been off to see HUNDRED YEAR OLD MAN, one of my absolute favourites, but they’re not here for reasons mentioned earlier. In their place we have AEL-FIERLEN9 who take the atmospheric post/black metal thing in a totally different direction to Ofnus. Theirs is a much folkier, woody sort of thing, a Tolkienesque version of metal, gothic and witchy. Ethereal-voiced singer Stephanie Moffatt apologises at the start for not being ‘a hundred year old man, just a 37 year old lady’ but we let her off with it because they’re really very good. At times, her voice whispers off into inaudibility, but a black metal scream is never far away. Which is nice.
I stop off on the way back to Stealth for a very tasty, and VERY messy, chilli-cheese hotdog. After a thorough wipe-down, I catch YOU WIN AGAIN GRAVITY and their energetic, techy post-hardcore, fresh from their ArcTanGent appearance. In all honesty, in a time slot where I had no obvious preference, I was attracted simply by their amusing name. And, yeah, they were fine. Youthful and passionate and clearly talented, they go down a storm with an audience which surely knows them better than I do. Very possibly the ‘next big thing’, if all goes their way. And why not?
Photo: Bruce Cowie
So, from a band in the ‘never heard of them before’ category to one in the ‘seen before and happy to see again’ set. This would be HIDDEN MOTHERS, half of whom we have already met today as guests of a-tota-so. They’re a bit post-metal, a bit screamo, a bit post-hardcore. Sometimes subtle and delicate, sometimes crushingly hefty. They have some tech issues at first, their in-ear monitors not behaving as they should, and eventually revert to the old-school wedges-on-the-floor way of doing things. Does it trouble them? I don’t really know. They sound fine to me, and they’ve never been the smiliest of bands anyway. Guitar Luke, standing quietly over on the left, sings sweetly; guitar Ari, to the right, flails around and yells at us; burly bass-man Liam does the screamo stuff, and makes his instrument clang like a hammered anvil. He won’t be doing that for much longer, though, as this is his third-last gig with Hidden Mothers before moving on to other things10. Oh, just in case he’s feeling left out, drummer Adam sits at the back hitting things hard. Hidden Mothers are exceptional tonight, but where they go from here remains to be seen.
I, on the other hand, go back to Stealth for the mighty TAYNE. As I understand it, this is a very unusual gig for Tayne, as they normally play under hard red lights amid thick smoke – like they did at StrangeForms where I saw them before – but tonight there is no fog, and I can actually see what they look like. They still sound the same, though, that blend of industrial crunch, sweet, sweet singing, and harsh screaming. Yes, they sound like HEALTH, the comparison is unavoidable, but that’s not a bad thing. Tayne are very, very good. The room maybe isn’t as full as it could be, because thrash comedians RAISED BY OWLS are playing next door and they are quite popular, but there’s a decent and appreciative crowd in.
Photo: Bruce Cowie
Bit of a dilemma next, as I could cheerfully go see all three of the bands in this slot. Reluctantly, I decide to pass on Irish post-rockers OVERHEAD, THE ALBATROSS, simply because I’ve already seen them several times recently, and, with a bit of nifty footwork, I can see both of the others. Starting with Anglo-Dutch death-metal quartet MAATKARE in the tiny gig space of the TAP’N’TUMBLER11. It’s another one of those times when getting there early is essential because the venue is laid out in such a way that if you’re not at the front, you will see bugger all. I’m at the front.
This is death-metal of a flavour quite unlike that of Scordatura. It’s still blurringly fast, it’s still extreme. The vocals are still throat rippingly harsh. But these four ladies don’t do songs about gore and entrails. They sing of female strength and empowerment, and there’s more than a hint of Egypt about them. They are, as they say, ‘pharaocious’.
Photo: Bruce Cowie
And as quickly as my old bones will allow, it’s over to the Red Room again for SERGEANT THUNDERHOOF, a band I’ve been aware of for a long time but know nothing about. I just like their name. I am expecting something stoner-y and, to be sure, there’s a bit of that. But it’s more, I feel, like old-school psychedelic British prog rock. A bit Uriah Heep-ish, if you like. Long, meandering guitar jams, powerful soaring vocals. Hypnotic, head-nodding grooves. I only wish I could enjoy it more but, because of my late arrival, I’m jammed into a tight corner, it’s boiling hot and I can’t see very much. Yes, they’re very good, but I’m still glad when I can get out of there. I’ll be back later, though.
But for now, it’s Stealth again, and post-metal trio THE GREY, featuring serial crowd-botherer Andy Price. One of the ‘must see’ bands on my Plan, they are staggeringly good. Atmospheric ambient passages build into furiously heavy post-metal rage. Andy, as is his wont, avoids the stage almost entirely, hurling his bass around like a weapon of mass destruction and occasionally bellowing at the crowd. Fortunately, I’m familiar with his antics and maintain a safe distance. Clearly, The Grey is not just a bass-playing lunatic, and they would be nothing without the beef of drummer Steve Moore and the colossal riffing of guitarist Charlie Gration, but Price is the obvious focal point. Every eye is on him, if only so people know when to duck. There is a fourth body lurking on stage, but I think he’s just a mate of the band invited to watch from the wings as a birthday treat. Certainly, he never contributes to the show while I’m there.
Still with me? Nearly there, now.
Back to the furnace that is Red Room for math-rock veterans ALPHA MALE TEA PARTY, who have been doing this sort of thing forever. They, like Hidden Mothers before them, are plagued with technical issues and lose all of their in-ear stuff. Out come the wedges, and off we go. Drummer Greg complains about not having a click track to follow, with scant sympathy from the others. ‘You’re the drummer’, he is told, ‘You ARE the fucking click track!’ All in good fun, obviously. Math-rock can be a tad dry, perhaps, concentrating on technique over content, but AMPT are a delight. They’re as tight as a very tight thing, despite the monitor issues, but they are also a great deal of fun. They’ve either been best pals forever, or they’re really good at faking it. Tom is wearing that terrible shirt again, though.
Photo: Bruce Cowie
Aaannd finally, another band fresh from an appearance at ArcTanGent, GIANT WALKER from various parts of the UK, north and south. I’m very nearly dead now, so I’m not paying as much attention to them as they probably deserve, but they’ve pulled a hefty and enthusiastic crowd into Stealth. They play a bluesy, progged-up 21st century version of old-school rock. A bit grungey. A bit gothy. Geordie singer Stef’s voice is impressively muscular and the band is clearly talented. But, like I said, I’m knackered and I have to go lie down, so I leave them to it. I’m done.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Photo: Bruce Cowie
So, what about the Festival itself? Well, I can’t fault the organisation. Keeping control of forty-one bands over five venues in one day MUST be a difficult job, but the MANGATA team have managed to pull it off, and everything has gone according to plan. Don’t know what it was like behind the scenes, but the visible bit went smoothly12. Every crew member I encountered – including the security staff – was friendly and helpful. People were taken care of.
As mentioned above, I fully expected my plan to go awry pretty quickly, but I was wrong. Nothing went wrong; nothing was significantly delayed. There were no tantrums. Technical issues were dealt with promptly and efficiently. I even found time to sneak in an extra band. Eighteen out of seventeen can’t be bad.
On the other hand, that means that I missed another 23 bands, although that seems like a slightly peevish complaint, bearing in mind how extremely cheap the tickets were13 – and continue to be14. Still, when there’s so much to see in just one day there WILL be clashes, and that can be frustrating.
What else can I bitch about? There’s not much, to be fair. I wasn’t keen on Red Room – it’s a bit too tight, the stage is too small, and it gets VERY hot’n’sweaty. Decent sound, though. Tap’n’Tumbler, too. Weird shape, impossible to see anything unless you’re right at the front. But, y’know, it’s a pub, not really a gig venue, and still manages to sound great.
Oh, and it’s too far away. It’s a 300 mile drive to Nottingham. Needs to be closer to me. Newcastle, perhaps. I’m sure that can be easily arranged.
Will I be there next year? I don’t know. I’d LIKE to be, but I need to check with the wife.
FOOTNOTES:
-
- No offence intended. Everybody’s got to start somewhere, and I’ve seen many damned fine bands who fit into that last category.
- Didn’t take long for reality to meet the plan.
- NOT HEMLOCK, who are a doom/desert rock duo from Glasgow.
- Oooh, controversial!
- The only deviation from THE PLAN of the day.
- For MANY things.
- Allegedly, it’s a play on tl:dr, as in ‘too long, didn’t read’. Allegedly.
- For some reason, I could’ve sworn they were Irish. With no evidence whatsoever.
- Anglo-Saxon, apparently. Means ‘All is far away’, coincidentally the title of their album.
- You can catch his SECOND last gig at Ripcord Festival in Glasgow in a few weeks. I know I will.
- Apparently this is kind of a ‘thing’ – you go to the Tap’n’Tumbler to HEAR a band play…
- Maybe it’s like a swimming swan, serene and elegant above the surface, frantic activity below.
- And I DID pay for mine. I didn’t have a press pass. Maybe next year. . .
- Tickets already on sale for next year, when Hundred Year Old Man will have another go.
