2015

by Dave Goodwin

published: 25 / 9 / 2015

Evans the Death - Chameleon, Nottingham, 23/7/2015

intro

Dave Goodwin attends a busy and frantic but curious night at The Chameleon in Nottinghm that concludes with fuzzy London-based indie rockers Evans the Death playing a storming but awkward set

It was a strange sort of night at The Chameleon in Nottingham. The Chameleon itself is undergoing a huge transformation and one that will see it becoming one of the best little venues in town. That's if the developers that want the surrounding buildings for residential flats don't get their way. I mean, what's more important in life? Good honest live music or some horrid poky flats down an alleyway full of rubbish? We had come to see four acts headlining with Evans the Death, but we quickly realised that, as a result of a late addition to the bill, there were five other acts playing and it was going to be a late night. The acts on before were all of a decent standard, with the first act Fever Dream, who played a stonking set, getting my vote for the best act amonst the support acts. I think everyone there was waiting for the headliners to be honest, but it was late and a school night and so by the time they graced the stage the crowd had thinned somewhat. Evans the Death put out a couple of singles before releasing their debut self-titled full-length album in 2012 on Fortuna Pop!, which was produced by ex-Test Icicles guitarist Rory Atwell. They've toured with bands including the Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, the Wave Pictures, Let's Wrestle and Trailer Trash Tracys, and apparently they take their name from the undertaker in Dylan Thomas's 'Under Milk Wood'. Since then then have gone through a number of line-up changes, culminating with their current line-up of Dan, Olly, Katherine, James and latest addition Daniel Raphael recording and releasing their second album, 'Expect Delays', in March. They are a tight knit indie outfit with plenty of fuzz and jangle and some pretty nifty melodic vocals from Katherine at the front. They have been applauded for their live performances of late, but this was what seemed a troubled set though with the Katherine commenting halfway through, "This is why I drink on stage." There were some murmured comments between her and the other band members and I got the impression the sound wasn't quite right, but it sounded okay to me and, whilst the rest of the band blistered through a healthy set, Katherine at the front seemed to be more agitated the longer it went on. It was a shame because it was a really good set. The crowd that had stayed were in full appreciation and getting stuck into the distorted fuzz in front of them. Photos by Dave Goodwin http://www.davegoodwinimages.com