Words and Pictures: Dave Martin / (C) Faversham Photography
On a cold Monday night in Kent, four local bands descended on the Ship Inn in Gillingham and delivered a sizzling evening of live music to those assembled in the 150-capacity venue.
It was my first visit to this venue, and I was really impressed with the setting that has been created by Ben Schultze and his team. In a world where many local venues are closing down it is refreshing to see a packed audience coming to see live original music, particularly early in the week.
First to the stage were Maidstone based quintet Floor 14. The band has become popular on the local scene and were clearly well supported with many in the crowd adorning their merch. Having such a highly backed group open proceedings meant that the evening started with a bang. The band commenced their set with fan favourite “Waste of Space” before progressing to “Shell Shock” both songs were greeted with loud applause. The crowd was clearly warming up as during the groups third offering “Blank Canvas” they could be heard singing loudly along with the chorus of the song. The band clearly has a mixture of influences that help deliver their sound which was particularly noticeable ranging from Indie to funk to metal. This range was most noticeable in final track Woozy that had very clear funk undertones. The metal element being particularly evident during an interlude where lead guitarist, Ethan Wright demonstrated his heavier roots by shredding. The audience participation was elevated when singer Calum Peen entered the crowd during penultimate song “Delerium“. Overall, the group delivered an entertaining performance. It’s clear to see why their reputation has grown significantly in the region.
Set list: 1. Waste of Space, 2. Shellshock, 3. Blank Canvas, 4. Delerium, 5. Woozy
Band: Vocals – Calum Peen, Drums – Josh Hutchinson, Bass – Dylan Bowden, Rhythm Guitar – Ned Woodman, Lead Guitar – Ethan Wright
Socials: Instagram: floor_14_official
Next up were indy rock band The Spaces. The three-piece were no strangers to the venue having played it several years ago and clearly felt at home. This was evident when singer Evan told the crowd “It’s good to be back”. The audience enjoying what they heard, could be seen bopping along. The venue was heating up and the band on stage were clearly feeling it too as they moved into one of their favourite tracks “Square Up“. The song featured heavy riffs and bass solo in addition the bands other regular features. As with the first band Floor 14 there are clearly a range of different inspirations that have gone into the melting pot of song creation and influences could clearly be seen through with one such example being the Rage Against the Machine style intro to final song “Painting Smiles” which was met with a huge cheer from the crowd. With this being a battle of the bands style event it was clear that making a decision on who progressed was not going to be an easy one.
Setlist: 1. Ellipsis, 2. Stay With Me, 3. Wasting Time, 4. Square Up, 5. End of The World, 6. Disguise, 7. Painting Smiles
Band: Vocal/Guitar – Evan, Bass – Rhys, Drums – K
Socials: Instagram: thespaces_
The third group up were late replacements Nightwave Nexus, a reasonably new band that was formed only last year. This event was only their fifth performance live, but you would never have known it. The Ashford based group describe themselves as a progressive metal band and they were the most interesting group of the evening. The most intriguing facet of their work being the operation of 3 different microphones by singer Ken Graham. Each of the microphones delivering a different effect at various points of the songs. The group were met with a massive cheer following the completion of opener “Outlier” and again when they thanked “Ben and the crew for having them”. Despite being a new formation, it was clear that these musicians were old hands to the music scene with their musicianship and working of the crowd. The audience had interacted with the bands up to this point, but that interaction was dwarfed by the moshing that commenced in the later part of the set. I hadn’t seen this level of energy in a small venue for a long time. The other charming aspect to the band was the use of scientific terminology as the titles of each of their songs.
Setlist: 1. Outlier, 2. Set Theory, 3. Planck’s Constant, 4. Exponential Growth, 5. Hyperbolic Tangent
Band: Drums – Martin Cheeseman, Guitar – Paul Smith, Bass – Sam Alflatt, Vocals – Ken Graham
Socials: Instagram: nightwave_nexus
Last and by no means least on this highly entertaining and energetic evening were Tunbridge Well stalwarts All the Above. I have been watching this band ever since their first EP release show at the Tunbridge Wells Forum over a decade ago. The band has been through a couple of member changes in that time but are still going strong. I have seen this group play more times than any other in 25 years of gigging, but it was only my second time seeing the group with new vocalist Tim Hubbard.
The group have their own unique style that is heavily influenced by the 90s music scene including bands such as Rage Against the Machine. The energy that had been building all evening continued as Tim jumped around the stage nearly hitting his head on the ceiling on a number of occasion and James moving around vigorously. Playing a variety of track from their two EPs as well as a new unreleased track the band well received despite there being few of their usual following being in attendance. The mosh pits continued through the set and ultimately the decision was going to be a difficult one.
Setlist: 1. Enemies Closer, 2. 93, 3. Discounted, 4. Triggers, 5. Better Days, 6. Waffle
Band: Vocals – Tim Hubbard, Bass – James Lant, Guitar – Simon Fills, Drums – Paul Russell
Socials: Instagram: all_the_above_live
My last thought on this event was how great it was to see original local live music thriving. The Ship Inn (Gillingham) has original live music multiple times a week on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and has become a hotbed for those wanting to see such live music. These venues are an absolute must if the industry we love is to continue and Ben and his team are doing a fantastic job. If you are local to Kent and haven’t been, go and visit. In the last decade we have lost The Ivy, Beacon Court, The Beercart Arms, Platform 5, The Attic and many more venues from the local scene and it is so great to see this venue push back. Well done to all involved.
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