Deaf Havana / Rock City / Nottingham

Another trip to our second home at Rock City for the 2022 Deaf Havana tour. First up tonight we had Jaws the Shark (what a name !) fronted by producer and tour manager Olly Bailey on vocals and guitar. I was really impressed, despite the Montreal Canadiens hockey shirt (hard to take as a long suffering Toronto Maple Leafs fan !) They really set the scene with some great indy rock / punk influenced tracks. I think my favourite track of the set was That Feeling a song about writers block.

Technically very good, they sound great and ‘together’ and have a great stage presence to boot. The crowd really enjoyed it, which is all that matters really eh ?! Great set to start us off and I’m sure this is a band we’ll here much more of…

Set List

Silver Sun

Cold Feet (Another Day in Paradise EP 2022)

That Feeling

Still Young (Another Day in Paradise EP 2022)

Didn’t Even Know

Reno

Destroy the World (Single 2022)

Demon Dream (Single 2021)

The crowd was growing now as 25-year-old singer Khazali joined us on stage. Smartly dressed, draped in a Nottingham Forest scarf he instantly won over the Nottingham crowd. (Apparently having been to his first football match on the Tuesday night, when Forest hosted Spurs in the Cup).

I was a little surprised in a way, the sound and style being very different from the indy rock before and to come. Don’t get me wrong, I mean that in no bad way at all because Khazali was really really good. Hailing from West London Khazali showed off his smooth and stylish moves, almost gliding effortlessly across the stage, and his equally silky vocal skills.

His style is grove-laden and has an upbeat tone, the tracks being bright and colourful. He ended the set with his latest single High Hopes which is full of catchy guitar riffs, and despite the upbeat tone, the lyrics reveal an under current of doubt and reflection – picking up on the notion of letting go of somethings to step into a new space.

Rich, smooth and delightful. I was not expecting this kind of act / sound on an indy-rock tour, but boy is Khazali good. Check him out on your favourite streaming service.

Set List

The Rush

Passion Controller

Dance on the Rain

Comfort

Wait For You (Unreleased)

Better with the Devil

High Hopes

The place was buzzing now in anticipation for Deaf Havana. The lights dipped and the crowd roared as they bounced out onto the stage. The set tonight is heavily influenced by their new album “The Present is a Foreign Land” released earlier this year. Formed back in 2005 in Norfolk by brothers James and Matthew Veck-Gilodi, they have rapidly gaining a strong following of fans who have embraced their alternative/indie style of rock music. Kicking off the set with two new tracks form the latest album in Pocari Sweat and 19Dreams the crowd were instantly into the mood and were going absolutely wild, screaming and cheering with arms raised in the air. The new material was certainly going down a treat. Perhaps my favourite tracks of the set were a couple of older ones in Evil from 2018’s “Rituals” and Mildred from 2013’s “Old Souls”.

The new material works so well alongside the older stuff. Sometimes when a setlist is crammed with new stuff, somehow the performance can feel a ‘let down’ for those looking for a dose of their favourite band / songs. Not here, the new album is perhaps their best work (end to end) to date, and the material adds something new to their style, but is true to their essence as a band. The interaction between band and audience is wonderful too. There’s a real connection between them as James spots fans in the crowd, pointing and smiling at them.

The night ends with a three song encore of absolute bangers in the title track from their latest album The Present is a Foreign Land, Fever from 2017’s excellent album “All These Countless Nights” and finally Remember Me also from the new album, a ballad with a fantastic guitar section that just begs for lighters in the air (or mobile phone torches these days) - a great new closing number that kind of leaves you yearning for more.

Set List

Pocari Sweat (The Present is a Foreign Land 2022)

19Dreams (The Present is a Foreign Land 2022)

Trigger (All These Countless Nights 2017)

Going Clear (The Present is a Foreign Land 2022)

England (All These Countless Nights 2017)

Worship (Rituals 2018)

Evil (Rituals 2018)

I Put You Through Hell (The Present is a Foreign Land 2022)

Someone/Somewhere (The Present is a Foreign Land 2022)

Nevermind (The Present is a Foreign Land 2022)

Happiness (All These Countless Nights 2017)