Representative of many a music festival put on at a local level Baldock Rocks benefits from a clearly knowledgeable promoter and a town that truly supports its music scene. Importantly Baldock itself feels like a safe place to visit even after dark, it’s welcoming. We caught up with the action on the Friday night taking in four bands playing in the lea of a canopy at the back of The Victoria Inn. Not the biggest stage at the event by some distance, even though the acts on offer were to prove to be giants in their own way.
Kicking proceedings off and pulling a sizable crowd are punk mental noisemongers Lady Rage. The four piece are very much in the mood with raw aggression tempered with melody bringing a balance to the music. We get some silky guitar licks and solid rhythm work as a foundation to all the carnage. Siren Sycho’s vocals have never sounded better, they cut through perfectly. We get audience participation with ‘Slut Gun’ in the form of water pistols loaded with, well those drinking it liked it! Lady Rage nail it tonight, a bigger stage must surely be on the cards next time around.
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It’s a decent evening, dry and not too chilly so as darkness descends it’s the perfect time for Buried On Sunday to bring some hard rock to the nearly full courtyard. The music is punchy and well thought out. There’s no pretence here just four guys loving doing what they’re doing. What do pop are the vocals which are of the highest quality. Rock music is a tough place to ply your trade at the moment. It’s full of acts that do just enough but no more. Buried On Sunday are a cut above and a pleasant surprise discovery.
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Mixing the music spectrum on offer still further it’s time for Erronaut to heavy things up again, this time bringing a very large slab of sludge metal to the table. The now even larger crowd lap up every moment, with freely flowing beer helping with some enthusiastic cheering. Once again we see and hear a relatively unknown band play out of their skin. Maybe it’s something in the Baldock water? Again the vocals are well on point. There are other stages dotted around town but why move when the Victoria is serving up such a feast?
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Electric Black take on the mantle of headliners with aplomb. They have an easy vibe about them as their classic rock fills the air. Twin guitars give the music a full sound with the lead guitar notably excellent right throughout. These guys sound like they play a lot of gigs. They have that tightness and everything they do is well honed. The vocals have just the right amount of fry, the rhythm section plays as a single unit and everything is right with the world. This is just the opening salvo for Baldock Rocks and it’s been a blast thanks to four fine bands and a magnificent turnout.
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We need to also mention the amazing work done by the sound engineer for tonight too. Outdoors with a back line that arrived just minutes before showtime the sound was spot on throughout.
Review and photos by Gary Trueman