I’ve been back at Uni for a month now, but this weekend was the first where I stayed in Nottingham, and boy was it a goodun’. I had three gigs lined up, all bands who I hadn’t seen before so to say I was excited was an understatement!

The first on my musical list were the mighty Black Keys at Rock City. I managed to get to the barrier, where I witnessed a rock n roll spectacle. It should be illegal for two guys to make so much noise, and also to be so handsome. This is how music should be; bluesy, raw and loud. Dan danced with the guitar as if it was a woman, and the riffs just kept on coming as they stormed through both old and new stuff. Patrick drummed as if his life depended on it, even using a maraca as a drumstick for a bit, and might as well not have worn a pink shirt because it was soaked through with sweat by the end of the first song. ‘Tighten Up’, ‘Next Girl’, ‘10am Automatic’ and ‘Howlin for you’ were my favourites, big thanks to the Black Keys for one of the best gigs I’ve seen.

Friday night saw Magnetic Man at Trent’s student union. For a ‘sold out’ gig, it was incredibly empty. Not that I minded, it meant I could run around and dance like there was no tomorrow. The sound was terrible, so bad that Magnetic Man stopped the gig to say sorry but thanks for turning up. Katy B looked as if she forgot she had a gig, and come on stage with her hair tied back and in a tracksuit- always nice. My favourite song on their debut album, ‘Getting Nowhere’ featuring John Legend, wasn’t played for long enough but the classics ‘I Need Air’ and ‘Perfect Stranger’ got the crowd going. It sounds like this was the worst gig ever, and it really wasn’t but I just had such high expectations and none of them were met. Maybe another time, Magnetic Man.

I was dubious for Saturday night’s gig because it was at the same venue as the night before, and I had everything crossed for the sound to be better. It was, thankfully, and Mystery Jets played a blinding set. I had a smile on my face throughout it all, and so did they as they played every song I wanted them to play. New album ‘Serotonin’ sounded bloody brilliant, as did the recent hit ‘After Dark’- they just got everyone dancing. ‘Behind the Bunhouse’ and ‘Hideaway’ were my favourites; I just didn’t want it to stop. And nor did they, coming on for an encore with Kai putting Will on his shoulders and dancing around and pouring beer into Blaine’s’ hair from above. ‘Give him a shandy and look what happens’ Blaine retaliated with, before playing their last songs of the evening to a raucous reaction. Chants of ‘Zoo Time’ from the people I went with between every song were hilarious, was a shame the band didn’t take notice and play it! I guess they could have thought we were being rude and shouting ‘ZUTONS!’…definitely the wrong band! I think it’s safe to say that I’ll always place my bets on the Mystery Jets.

Jaye xx