Yes, that's right. A band named Bodega played at Rescue Rooms. Not at The Bodega. Glad we've got that one cleared up...
Brooklyn post-punk outfit Bodega concluded their UK tour with a typically high-energy performance at Rescue Rooms on a damp Sunday night in Notts, the setting for my last gig of the year. The band followed their 2018 debut LP, Endless Scroll, with Broken Equipment, both released by What's Your Rapture?, and Nottingham saw the culmination of two months' worth of gigging and touring.
Rescue Rooms was bubbling with anticipation as I arrived; support act Romero had been and gone, and the final sound checks were being performed on stage. The main room was busy but not packed as I took my place on the balcony overlooking the stage as the band came out to a ripple of applause and a bit of 'whooping'.
The crowd, while engaged, wasn't particularly lively for a punk gig, and the atmosphere wasn't helped too much by lead guitarist and vocalist Ben Hozie asking the crowd if we "know about the North Six," which was met with a cry of "you do know you're in Nottingham?" Vocalist and hi-hat cymbal player Nikki Belfiglio caught on to the fact that no one understood the reference and bailed her bandmate out by responding, "you're not in Nottingham now; you're in Bodega-land."
A bit cheesy, perhaps, but laughter from the previously perplexed crowd helped move the gig on; the back-and-forth between the stage and the floor was witty and pleasant throughout after the initial awkwardness. Belfiglio commanded the stage and switched between lead and support vocals, giving Bodega a bit of a B-52's sound while also channelling the likes of Talking Heads and Devo.
As with many "new album heavy" sets, some of the crowd was into it, while others were clearly less familiar. However, the energy picked up towards the end. Fan favourites such as How Did This Happen? and Jack in Titanic went down a storm, and Doers - the lead single from Broken Equipment - was well received - an excellent example of what Bodega are about, it touches on the nature of over-working, self-help vlogs and YouTube videos. It also reworks Daft Punks' Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger with the more socially resonating "bitter, fatter, harder, stressed out."
For the encore, Romero returned to the stage - after selling Bodega band merch during the gig - to collaborate on a cover of Teenage Kicks. Thankfully, it was not one of those insipid acoustic versions of The Undertones classic, but a raucous, shambly version which was received in kind by the crowd and an ideal send-off before flying back to the US. For me, the evening ended with a stroll down to Market Square, through a practically deserted Notts, with a content "I'm glad I went to that" feeling running through me.
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