Threadfest 2014, Bradford - Day Two

Saturday in Bradford initially promised a break in the weather but by Noon my pre-gig wander found me taking shelter and lunch in The Fighting Cock (a fortuitous discovery if ever there was one). Two hours and a couple of pints later it was still cats & dogs outside so the trusty taxi was resorted to once more for the trip to Al's Dime Bar.

Once seated in Al's it became clear that timings were again pretty fluid as initial act Rory Holl was yet to take to the stage despite it being nearer 3pm. Whether this was due to an act dropping out I've no idea. Had he though not been on the event programme you could have been forgiven for thinking Holl'd been drafted in at the last minute given his professed lack of a set-list. Maybe that's just how he rolls. His own songs 'Wires' and 'Bless This House' were good and displayed a wry wit along with his clear tones but he relied rather too much on cover versions, even if it's not often that you hear 'Rocky Raccoon' getting an airing.

From Al's it was a hike back to the Delius Art and Cultural Centre, with a pit-stop for dinner,to catch Canadian duo Nadja in action. The centre, having been a church in a previous life, has fantastic acoustics so the pair's massive, doom-heavy sound benefited greatly from that as they pounded away on the guitar & bass and twiddled the odd switch or two on their electronics package. Bringing to mind the likes of Godflesh this wasn't quite what you'd call industrial but certainly something closely associated with it. A towering performance that you felt had the audience holding its breath for the duration.

Now came the most frustrating period of the weekend in terms of that flexible attitude to stage times, although in fairness I should have opted to turn up at The Tavern In The Town late and gone to check out left-field jazz pianist Matthew Bourne at Glyde House on the way. As it was, a desire for something more rock-oriented took me back across the city centre to try to see local act Iron Rat. Astheir gear was still mostly on the hall floor when I arrived, however, it became clear no one on the bill here would be hitting their advertised start time. To cut a long story short I finally saw them play (in front of an unexpectedly small though loyal crowd) on my third return to the venue. Heavy, stoner riffs were unleashed as expected but whilst they had their moments, especially on 'Monument', there was an underlying pedestrianism about the performance. Whether they were just off their game, set back by tech issues or have played at home once too often wasn't clear but on the night they didn't bring their A game. I saw some of the Dawn Of Elysium set here too but can't I feel do them any justice other than to say they went down well with the crowd and looked to be having fun (other than their keyboardist during the soundcheck, who more than one punter noted looked glum).

From The Tavern In The Town it was time for a return to the Playhouse, but not before the strains of music in the night air detoured me to the City Vaults pub where local rock trio Francis were making quite a racket & going down well. Whether this was part of the official programme of events was unclear but the BTF14 poster was in the window. 'Living Stone' was a particularly enjoyable instrumental and I'd wager the group like to listen to a bit of Rush in their spare time. Once at the Playhouse there was time to take in the final couple of songs by London trio Snack Family, who on the strength of that were worth buying a t-shirt and EP by. Basically if you liked Morphine then these guys are right up your street. Finally tonight came the motorik Japanese trio Nisennenmondai, with their practically hypnotic, driving sound. Imagine Shonen Knife suddenly deciding to start covering Neu and you'll be in the right sort of area. Excellent stuff although to one Yorkshireman heard upon leaving the venue they were "just girls playing Tangerine Dream". That's as may be but they did it extremely well.