Hey Zeus, Cities, Fizzy Blood, Allusondrugs @ Tunbridge Wells Forum – 06/06/14

Written by Carolyn Gray

Billed as a ‘follow up freebie to unfest’ we went along to Tunbridge Wells Forum on Friday night – to see four acts for free. The original ticket price was only about £6, but the free element enticed us along! First on was Hey Zeus, who has recently returned to Tunbridge Wells after busking around the world. He has been playing a lot locally since his return, and is organising weekly Sunday evenings of music in Pitcher and Piano. He received a lot of praise for his act from the bands that followed.

Next on were local band Cities who were a last minute addition after their gig in King’s Lynn didn’t happen. The lead singer worked really hard to motivate the small audience, and I do like Cities– so good to see them again without having to pay! (Epic drumming!)

The third band were the tour support – Fizzy Blood– who displayed their band name on a fetching scarf, hung on the speakers. Their last song, their new single ‘January Sun’ was really good, but unfortunately the rest of the time I felt the only thing missing from their songs was the kitchen sink… an attempt at times to get too many different ideas into one song. Hopefully as a band they will continue to develop their own sound – and the single was played on Radio One BBC Introducing on Sunday 8th June, so worth listening out for them.

I’m still listening to headliners allusondrugs on soundcloud; recorded they are pretty good, but live they were incredible. Maybe aided or hampered by the Red Stripe on their rider, they put in an incredibly energetic (and hot) performance, using both floor and stage space. Within about ten seconds of the end of the set, the lead singer was back in the audience selling CDs and tshirts. If you like Nirvana, and enthusiastic band performances, try and see them next time they venture forth from Castleford.

So, all in all, we had a good night – we probably wouldn’t have paid the small amount to go, so putting on a night for free has some benefits for the audience, although it is more tempting to get up and leave before the end if you haven’t actually paid. A reminder it’s worth checking out on YouTube/soundcloud what new bands sound like when the gig listings go up; or just gamble your £6 entry.