The Empress Hotel’s Wakefield Mini Festival was a collision of musical worlds which brought dramatically different genres like nu metal and alt-country together in a somewhat bizarre arrangement. Entertainment ensued.
Stone Temple Pilots then Hole then a non-descript nu metal band are played over the PA in between bands. Baggy jeans, dyed black hair and people who look like Al Jorgensen from Ministry are milling about. What year is it? I’m wondering if it’s 1999 and I have somehow fallen through a tear in the space-time continuum. The deep red light emanating from the stage lights is unnerving. Am I in the twilight zone?
In reassuringly modern fashion, Jeremy James kicks things off with his upbeat acoustic pop and is followed by the Folky Alexandra Pye who’s inimitable voice sounds distinctively warbled like a cassette that’s been left in a hot car. I mean that in the most endearing way. Intriguingly named Roots duo ‘Turtle And the Fox’ deliver a solid performance complete with a Didgeridoo, lyrics about whales roaming free in the ocean and stage attire that could not have been sourced outside of Byron Bay. They are future contenders for headlining the Blues and Roots festival and reaching a state of Nirvana.
Two members of the ‘headlining’ nu/pop-metal band Bellusira take the stage and the baggy Jean parade move to the front in anticipation. These guys obviously have a following. Songs like Culprit satiate their fan’s desire for a time when bands like Coal Chamber and Korn were popular. Bellusira provided us with not just the highlight of the day but quite possibly the year when singer Crystal Ignite (I have a feeling that’s not her real name) noticed she didn’t have the entire crowd’s attention and asked that people turn around and face her so she could ‘connect’ with them. Very David Brent. Following on from Bellusira are another female fronted metal band Heaven The Axe, whose Mariah Carey-esque rendition of Nirvana’s Heart Shaped Box made me question the nature of reality. That ever-present red light might have had something to do with it as well.
The Musical highlight of the festival came from alt-country band Millar Jukes And The Bandits, whose billing make as much sense as trying to eat soup with a fork. Sounding like Wilco with Caleb Followill of Kings of Leon singing, they instantly and dramatically stand out from the other bands. They also happen to be the only band who brought a drummer but that could just be a coincidence. Upbeat and jangly songs like the harmonica driven upcoming single Love Me All Night have people dancing and the whole vibe in the room is different. They are definitely a band to watch around town if you get the chance.
‘Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows’ wrote Shakespeare. The Wakefield Mini Festival made bedfellows out of nu metal and alt-country – I’m not sure if that has ever been done before. Way to make history Empress Hotel! Despite the distinct ideological differences in the genres involved, it was still a fun way to spend a day. Bring on the next one.
BY JAMES BARLOW
