As a Bristolian, routes always seem to lead back to The Fleece, I attended my very first gig there back in 2014 and now in 2024, the same rules still apply. I’ve been lucky enough to attend a few sold-out shows there recently including the likes of Chat Pile and Ugly Kid Joe, yes really, to name a few. It was safe to say that I was very excited for this one!
Up first was the Liverpool based Sludge Metal band, Conan (8). I saw them for the very first time back in August during ArcTanGent Festival. I had heard of them before that experience because I had seen people wearing their T-Shirts everywhere but never listened and that set proved to me that I should check them out as they blew me away, combining a lot of elements of Metal that I loved. From the get-go at The Fleece there was a low and slow head-banging groove going on which was immediately enticing, full of Black Sabbath worship.
To my surprise there were a lot of cymbals used during Conan’s set courtesy of Johnny King’s drumming, which really caught me off guard as you don’t hear much of that in Metal like this. So much so that I had a conversation with a friend about it afterwards out of interest and they said that it keeps the crowd guessing in a sort of what the fuck was that kind of way and it feels out the sound well and makes for creative transitions into other sections of the songs.
I really agreed with that comment, as someone who loves and values the art of the unexpected, it’s a very good view to have. Although I could hear aspects of the bass, with it feeling like it was trying to find me within the floor, it felt very much situated in one place on the stage which was disappointing and unfortunately this was a warning sign for later. As I passed the sound technician booth at the back of the room just after Conan had finished, I noticed a spat going on to the side of me as a punter shouted “That sounded like shit” and the tech retaliated by shouting “Fuck off”, things are slowly adding up.
Finally, as the crowd had their hands together with anticipation, we have the headliner being the legendary British Stoner Rock band Orange Goblin (7). They burst onto the stage with energy and fire in their eyes as they snapped into Cemetery Rats. People were bouncing with pretty much every song played as the mosh pit next to me was non-stop for the entire set. They played songs that I really wanted to hear like Scorpionica from The Big Black and Whiskey Leech from Coup De Grace and despite myself enjoying them it was only in-part as the bass felt next to non-existent for the majority of the performance. You could see Harry Armstrong pounding away to the best of his ability but getting nothing from it, this was not the band's fault at all but in-turn it was a huge let down for me. So much so that another comment was made from the people just in front of me with one guy shaking his head and saying “I can’t hear anything”.
Overall, despite Orange Goblin and Conan performing well and attempting to give it their all, the sound of The Fleece failed them on that night. With bands like these two within the musical spaces that they occupy, the bass is vital to me as it doesn’t only provide those earth-shaking tones but also a huge source of fun, so when taken away a band can only feel at second rate. It’s not the first time that I had seen this happen here with a sell-out before at this venue before as Eyehategod and Church Of Misery fell into a similar boat for me with the sound not hitting as well as what it should. Thekla I think suits metal gigs like this a lot better. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll never stop going to The Fleece for gigs but this has to improve soon, otherwise a good night could go south very quickly.
Finally, as the crowd had their hands together with anticipation, we have the headliner being the legendary British Stoner Rock band Orange Goblin (7). They burst onto the stage with energy and fire in their eyes as they snapped into Cemetery Rats. People were bouncing with pretty much every song played as the mosh pit next to me was non-stop for the entire set. They played songs that I really wanted to hear like Scorpionica from The Big Black and Whiskey Leech from Coup De Grace and despite myself enjoying them it was only in-part as the bass felt next to non-existent for the majority of the performance. You could see Harry Armstrong pounding away to the best of his ability but getting nothing from it, this was not the band's fault at all but in-turn it was a huge let down for me. So much so that another comment was made from the people just in front of me with one guy shaking his head and saying “I can’t hear anything”.
Overall, despite Orange Goblin and Conan performing well and attempting to give it their all, the sound of The Fleece failed them on that night. With bands like these two within the musical spaces that they occupy, the bass is vital to me as it doesn’t only provide those earth-shaking tones but also a huge source of fun, so when taken away a band can only feel at second rate. It’s not the first time that I had seen this happen here with a sell-out before at this venue before as Eyehategod and Church Of Misery fell into a similar boat for me with the sound not hitting as well as what it should. Thekla I think suits metal gigs like this a lot better. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll never stop going to The Fleece for gigs but this has to improve soon, otherwise a good night could go south very quickly.
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