Plenty of Sounds being Gathered in Stockton

Since What’s Happenin’ Digbeth in July, I have become quite partial to an indie day festival, and when I saw The Gathering Sounds being advertised for September, I had to book it. With over fifty bands playing, it was double the size of Digbeth’s event, and I was not prepared for such a crazy day in Stockton.

This was my first time in Stockton- in fact, it was the furthest I have ever travelled for a gig. Although it’s a quieter town, bands are spoilt for choice with venues to choose to play at. I only went to three venues out of the seven on the day, but those that I did go to were amazing spaces.

Running on very little sleep and tired from the five-hour car journey the day before, whilst also wearing brand new heeled cowboy boots (an event like this should NOT be the first time you wear them), we headed into Stockton at around half 1, so we could pick up our wristbands and see the first band on our agenda: The Cases.

I was taken aback by the size of the stage in The Link, and the venue as a whole. There was a long bar, seats at the back, and then this tiny stage- I couldn’t imagine what kind of events they would hold there. However, there was still a certain charm to this venue, with the theatre-esque architecture and the huge image of Beatles fans behind the stage. Despite being diasappointed by the size of the stage, as I do believe The Cases deserve somewhere much bigger, they actually put on the best performance I’ve seen them play yet. This was my third time seeing them, and I was so impressed. Everything sounded so clean. And you could tell that the guys have fun on stage, too. They’re always having a laugh, and are just visibly enjoying themselves, which engages the audience so much more. It makes you realise that they’re not just musicians, but just normal people who clearly get to do what they love. It was so nice to see their fanbase come to support them too: there were plenty of people in the crowd with Cases t-shirts on, and everyone in the room seemed to know all the words to their songs. In fact, we even had two girls in front of us dancing along throughout the set. But when I say dancing, I mean DANCING. They have definitely done this choreography for a while now. It was really sweet to see.

I can assure you that The Cases are only going to get bigger from this point. They’ve already got a solid fanbase, and every time I listen to their music, I see their stream counts and monthly listeners get higher and higher. I’m always so impressed by them, and I genuinely believe that next year is going to be massive for them.

With events like this, it’s inevitable that there will be some bands on the line-up that you don’t know, so you’re sort of in a state of limbo when waiting or a band you really want to see. We were in this situation after The Cases, so we decided to stay at The Link to watch The Slates. And I’m glad we did, because they now have a new listener after their set that they SMASHED. I was told beforehand, “if you don’t know The Slates, get to know,” and now all I can do is say the exact same thing. They have got the early 2000s indie sound spot on, and lead singer Louis’ voice reminds me of Reef’s Gary Stringer, which gives the band a hint of a Britpop nostalgia sound, too. I’m definitely going to keep my eyes on them, I was very impressed.

By six o’clock, it was time to head to KU Bar, which I loved as both a venue and a bar. With neon lyrics on the walls and this red tint throughout the room, it was a bit of me. The North were on, who we haven’t seen play since April, so we were looking forward to seeing them again. At the beginning of the year, we’d gone all over to see them: London, Nottingham, Birmingham, and not once did they disappoint. I am forever blown away by Billy’s energy on stage: how he can perform like that for half an hour and MORE straight without collapsing is beyond me. His passion shines through with every performance we’ve seen him do, and it’s refreshing to see. There’s too many bands nowadays that get on stage, stand stiff and stare into space for thirty minutes, then leave. You’ve been given a stage, so use it! I was at the bar when the band had started, but when I walked into the room they were playing in, I was just in shock. We’ve seen The North play to packed venues time and time again, and, unfortunately KU Bar wasn’t the same. I think that’s part of the issue with multi-venues like this, however: there’s so many bands to choose from that are all playing at the same time, that it’s difficult to choose one. The crowd was just disproportionate to their other performances, which is a shame, especially as they certainly deserve a huge crowd. Don’t get me wrong, the band still played impeccably, but the venue just didn’t give us the same experience that we’ve had in the past.

We stayed in KU Bar, as Keyside were playing straight after The North. We were at the front, and as we waited for them to come on, I turned around, and the venue was heaving. You seriously couldn’t move in there; these people turned up all of a sudden- where they appeared from, I don’t know. But just seeing the volume of people and listening to the excited hubbub before Keyside came on, I knew we were in for a good show. To quote the meme of that boy who comes out of a football match, “the atmosphere in there was ELECTRIC.” Keyside are like no other band I’ve heard. Every song is different, they don’t have a bad guitar riff, and Dan’s accent slipping into his singing gives them that unique sound that you don’t really get from any other indie artists nowadays. The room was so loud, with practically everyone singing to back to the band. You could tell that everyone in that room was in there for them, and it’s made me so excited for their tour in November.

And finally, to end the night on a massive high, we headed to the Georgian Theatre to see headliners Keo. I’m listening to Keo as I write this, and I’m just having flashbacks. It was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. First of all, I fell in love with the venue. When you walk to the bar, it looks like your bog-standard theatre, but once you enter the hall, it was clear it was the perfect venue for Keo. The walls were all painted black, and it reminded me of the go-to bar that everyone goes to in the 90s movies and TV shows: like the Bronze in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. When we walked in, we caught the end of Yaang’s set. I’ve never heard of them or their music before, but they were quite fascinating. The lead singer was staring straight ahead (and he had sunglasses on, so we were thinking, ‘is he looking at us?’), reciting some spoken word. I felt as though I was interrupting a Biblical, Jim Morrison-esque spiritual awakening. They were good though! I haven’t listened to them since, but reflecting on them now has made me realise I should go and check them out.

We were lucky enough to get straight to the front for Keo: we were so close that my neck was hurting from looking up at the band! I saw Keo in the Mascara Bar in Hackney last year, a small pub that probably just about squeezed 100 of us in there. I wasn’t overly familiar with them back then, but walked out that night having fallen in love with their music. Nine months on, it’s incredible to see how much they’ve grown. Their fanbase is so strong; there were people stretched out across the barrier so that they had the space to themselves! ‘Hands’ is my favourite Keo song, and to hear that guitar was just magical. Finn is another passionate performer, and he absolutely owned the stage that Saturday night. I think it’s safe to say that they have set the bar for their tour in October, and I’m filled with anticipation to see them again.

We all know from previous blogs and reviews that I am an avid fan of the current indie scene, and Gathering Sounds really reminded me why. There seems to be this huge friendship group between all of the bands: everyone just seems to know everyone, and it’s such a nice environment to be in. And the fans… none of these bands would be here if it weren’t for the fans, and it’s clear that there is a loyal and supportive army behind this genre of music. I can’t wait to see where these musicians are headed next, but I can assure you that it’s huge things. I just know it.

The Gathering Sounds was an event pulled off so flawlessly, and I have absolutely no complaints. In fact, despite the five-hour drive, I would definitely go back next year if I can. It’s the perfect event to showcase all of the most impressive talent of the industry.