So Supernormal 2011 managed to go ahead after all the troubles and early financial worries and thank fuck it did, as once again it was a fantastic weekend.
We were privileged to of been asked to help curate some of the line up for this years event and here are a few words about these performances (we will continue to update this review with images as we receive them):
The only Rocket curated band actually to play on Friday was the amazing and rarely seen live Black Tempest, who headlined the second stage. Adorned in a white lab coat, BT subjected the audience to some stunning psychedelic analogue soundscapes from his vintage sonic weaponry, that even got some of the crowd writhing around in the grass...stunning!!
Saturday started with a downpour which luckily decided to stop before Bad Guys entered onto the stage for turned out to be quite a shambolic performance, however they did manage to set a good 'fun' vibe through the festival that lasted the whole weekend.
Next band to stake the stage was the wonderful Thought Forms who greeted us with shimmering droning guitars, eastern pipes and psych feedback, filling the stage with beautiful ethereal guitar riffs that enveloped into a wall of hazy noise.
Next up on the second stage was the band who we knew nothing about called Drunk in Hell. We booked them solely on Paddy from Gnod's recommendation and my gnod, are we glad we got them on as they were amazing!!!! Repetition is the key to their confrontational hardcore. Imagine Circle as a hardcore band, or early Cosmic Psycho's, amazing band...thanks Paddy, you gave us this years Rex Nemo!!!
By the time Primordial Underground came on, all heads were mangled,but unfortunately PU's fairly boring and run-of-the-mill psych rock didn't tick any boxes.
Luckily though it was then time for our very own Gnod...after the recent changes in ranks we weren't sure what we were gonna get, but we definitely weren't left disappointed as Gnod played another storming set!!! Within seconds of starting, the main stage was turned into a rave and Gnod's fuzzed out psychedelic dance grooves blew everyone away. The new tracks sounded immense particularly our current fave, Visions of Load...and finishing with their live fave Tony's, they reasserted that Gnod are one of the best live bands in the UK
So, after a short breather, the UK's other best live band Teeth Of The Sea took to the stage. Due to the earlier rain the stage was running late and TOTS were asked to cut their set short before they played which obviously pissed them off and they came out baying for blood, and my god they fucking got it!!!! They stormed through the set they been slaying people with of late and you could tell from the faces of the TOTS virgins in the crowd, they were blown away by the sound and spectacle, they truly came and delivered a jaw dropping set.
We took our fried minds up to the bar tent where Bad Guys played an impromptu set, and they managed to redeem themselves with a great set of their totally mashed up psych metal.
Sunday's started for us with the great noise by the mighty Bong. They played an amazing collage of droned out psych doom, perfect for the state of mind we were all in.
Straight after Bong was Big Naturals, they get better and better every time I see them and their in-your-face kraut noise created from just bass and drums is mesmerizing.
Following them was another two piece, this time the great Gum Takes Tooth who subjected us to their fantastic mix of noise, psych and fucked up electronica.
Skullflower came on and did a 20-30 min noise set like they did at St Giles church a couple of years back, it was good but a bit underwhelming when you compare it to their great recorded work.
So finally, to wrap things up, maybe the band of the weekend Drunk in Hell set up in the bar for an unannounced set which transformed the tent into a full on mosh pit, what a way to finish an amazing festival. Lets hope it happens again next year as Supernormal truly is a rare event amongst an over cluttered and very samey festival circuit...long live Supernormal!!
(If you have any photos of any of the bands mentioned above, please send them to
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