February 18, 2006
We have been moaning for a while now at the lack of venues in Nottingham, Junktion 7 and The Old Angel are two of our favourites and then there is the obvious Rock City Empire including Rescue Rooms and The Social, but still the oppitunities for new up-and-coming local acts to play has been limited for many years now. It is, therefore, great to see that The Maze has re-opened and is putting on a more varied showcase of genres and styles. Tonight we have a very special act, who have been on the local scene for a while but have been getting attention and acclaim from far and near. it is a night with The Hellset Orchestra.
The first set starts quite late at about 11 o’clock, and so we have had plenty of time to get in the mood with a few pints of real ale and as the 7 piece take to the stage it is obvious from the start that this is going to be different. The frontman plays keyboards for this first set, whilst still managing to move around and keep himself very animated, is accompanied by a celloist, two violins, a saxophonist, a bassist and the drummer, all in all, giving the band a varied and interesting sound. This first half of the night is made up mostly, we are told, of new songs and most are based around huge piano arrangments, which are given power and emotion by the awesome string section.
Most the songs in the first set seemed to be ballads but with some random injections of jazz and soul from the bass and sax and some interesting and clever time changes, it was very impressive stuff. The whole band seem so tight and the frontman has a very 80’s style, both to his voice and the way he seems to write his music, in a sort of odd mix between Queen and Genesis but with the intense and emotional soundscapes being added to by the array of other instruments.
After half an hour or so of this new material we are given a short break before the band launch into their back catalogue and this second set seems to have a whole different edge to it. The keyboard is replaced by a Hammond organ and the songs seem to be based less around the keys and more round the bass. In fact the bass is the only real stable instrument in Hellset’s sound. The drummer plays his kit in a quite original and also melodic style mixing imaginative beats and crazy fills with fast tempo and time changes. The strings burst in and out to give the sound huge handfuls of power and with the frontman now roaming the stage and only stopping at his organ for brief moments of clarity, the sound is much more random and driving than the earlier set.
The violins and cello mix so well with the hammond organ and with his quirky lyrics and powerful voice it is clear why the room has slowly become packed, as this is simply amazing music. The bassist uses some great moving lines and really keeps the band tight, giving the drummer the space to experiment. It is like Jools Holland playing Mr Bungle songs! The Hellset Orchestra seem to race through the second set and after rampent applause they perform a great encore, laughing and chatting to the crowd before leaving the stage and leaving us breathless. We hadn’t seen this band before but had heard plenty about them, before the show a regular gig-goer told me that in his opinion they were the best band in Nottingham, I can see why and I would recommend you to go see why too.
Review by Gaz
