The back room of Guildford’s Star Inn is starting to buzz. Tonight, The Nightmare After Christmas tour is bringing local heroes Orestea back to the arms of their loyal fans.
Geek rockers Critical Hit warm things up with a dose of pop-culture covers, from Pokemon to Team America, which has the room singing along (though some maybe only in their heads).
Next up is Bristol goth-punks Ashestoangels. Tearing through their set, vocalist Crilly decides there’s not enough room on the stage (he’s already crashed into two of his bandmates) and promptly jumps straight into the crowd. As he screams into the faces of the girls in the front row, it’s hard to tell if they’re terrified or enthral led, or both.
After a brief pause, Orestea take the stage. For reasons that go unexplained, four of the five band members have decided to paint their faces, Kiss-style. (I hear they tried the look out the night before and were escorted out of a local park).
New song ‘Miss Catastrophe’ goes down well in the suddenly-packed room, particularly with the girls in front, who seem to be emulating frontwoman Lisa’s striking turquoise locks.
Her perfectly clear voice soars through, not faltering even when she joins the crowd to lead the jumping along. (It works well).
Expect some good things from their second album, coming later this year.
RC xx