Hull is a city divided by the river from which it takes its name which is how united for Humber Street Sesh; a two day festival celebrating the unique music scene that has been steadily building for many years in relative secret. Hidden away with no one genre or style tied to the location, this often forgotten city in the North East is home to a truly thriving DIY community of incredible musicians, DJs and promoters.
But with the recent exposure from the likes of Steve Lamacq championing such bands as Life and Vulgarians, this high concentration of talent is currently threatening to explode out of its regional confines as they reach audiences around the whole of the UK. This makes 2018’s HSS perhaps the most important yet.
Practically bursting at the seems with so many killer acts, the site has more than doubled in size for the 2018 edition: extending from the titular street on the east side of the River Hull, and now stretches right across the mouth of the Marina to the west. In total it boasts 14 stages and encompasses over 200 of the very best acts from Hull and surrounds. Moreover, the festival's extended its timetable over two days instead of one, and Gigwise is amongst the 32,000 revellers ready to party.
The festival doesn't just represent the Hull's burgeoning music scene, but also reflects the early signs of inner-city rejuvenation. Long-neglected, Humber Street and the surrounding roads had become an urban wasteland of decaying warehouses, fallen into disrepair having not been used for years and a sad reminder of how this former large port had been abandoned and forgotten by the rest of the world after losing its major industries. The past six years has injected a vitally needed sense of pride whilst also galvanising the local economy, transforming the rundown buildings into an art gallery, bars, restaurants and office spaces. The Sesh has played a major role in changing Humber Street from little more than rubble into one of Hull's most desirable areas.
Arriving on the Friday, its impressive to see just how much HSS has grown since previous years and it all kicks off with The Black Delta Movement as they takeover the Spiders From Mars Big Top – a stage named after the Hull heroes who backed Bowie on his seminal album. The band’s bluster of blues rock is married to psych sensibilities and centred around mesmerising basslines, generating a huge, hypnotic sound which when combined with their considerable stage presence builds to a massive psychoactive explosion of sound and energy.
Despite the many headline acts of offer, there can only be one real choice and that is snotty upstarts The Paddingtons, again at the Spiders From Mars Big Top.
Tinged with nostalgia and filled with civic pride, their appearance in their hometown is creating a palpable sense of exhilaration amongst the eagerly awaiting spectators being their first appearance since a short burst of shows last year. And the tension is wracked up even higher with whispers around the festival that this might be the last time we ever see them. Given the rumors of them hanging up their guitars for good, it’s my first intention to find out if there’s any truth to this so head backstage.
“I've got a song, and I just wanted to record it. It's called 'Eyes', we're going to play it tonight actually,” says singer Tom Atkin. Although initially optimistic from the news of new material on the way, I become more worried about the future of our lads when he looks with me with purpose and adds “It might be the first and last time we ever play it.” Guitarist Josh Hubbard leans into the conversation to clarify: “Looking to the future, where you've always go to fucking look, it’s really important to continue to develop that, right? And if playing and making this song… to move forward is what we need to do, it’s what we need to do.” Atkin remains less positive and pessimistically shrugs “Who knows?” when I prompt him for his final thoughts on the matter.
Running on to tremendous applause, The Padds rattle through the material from their two albums with tremendous enthusiasm as the packed tent of fans throw themselves at each other with recklessly, terrifying the security staff who wade in a bit too aggressively. Atkin has managed to shake off any melancholy previously resting on his shoulders, standing defiantly at the mic stand whilst commanding everyone both on and off stage before announcing the new song ‘Eyes’ which feels every bit a classic, building on the rock n’ roll sound from debut LP ‘First Comes First’ yet loaded with obvious personal heartache. Their set ends with a wonderfully shambolic rendition of The Vaseline’s ‘Molly’s Lips’ before the lights go out, the crowd roars in approval and we are ushered out of the festival into the darkness.
Still reeling from last night’s Padds set, I return early the next day to see Matt Edible & The Obtuse Angels first. He’s a cult indie icon known best as the singer in art rockers The Holy Orders plus recently added as a guitarist in Fonda 500 – both acts play later. But his work with his latest project offers something entirely different: it’s indie pop, country and ode’s to getting pissed at dodgy clubs – and even a Christmas single 'Advent Beard'. Perhaps a strange choice, given that it's summer! “You can’t spell festival without festive,” he wryly explains to the audience, "You have to drop an E, which I've heard is okay at a festival". The perfect joke for a set that was definitely not as family friendly as it appears to be at first glance.
Next up, punk metal band Sex Injuries takeover the Rock Stage. Bare chested and wearing leather waistcoats with the band name emblazoned on the back, they look like the North East's answer to cult film The Warriors. The band tear through a set that ranges from razor sharp post-punk riffs to heavier doom rock.
The best set of the day belongs to the savage post punks Cannibal Animal. Having recently recruited extra guitarist Jacob White, frontman Luke Ellerington is now freed to concentrate more on his performance whilst drummer Thomas Joad Gibbins and bassist Jamie Hanson complete the rhythm section. The guttural screaming, and unbridled anger sees an unhinged Ellerington throw himself around the BBC Introducing Humberside stage before leaping off to directly engage the flailing audience, totally enraptured by the sheer rage on display. Ellerington would later join as a guitarist in his other outfit The Vulgarians to play a devastating set in the Spiders From Mars Big Top to a huge number of their rapidly growing fanbase.
Fonda 500 begin a raucous set that combines elements of hip hop, electronica and indie rock so good it inspires a spontaneous conga line which snakes its way around. Wearing a handknitted beanie hat with colossal bear ears pulled low over his face, singer Simon Stone observes the sight of sweaty pogoing punters with dry amusement as he beatboxes from behind his Casio keyboard. If you don't already know the No Nothings, you need to right now. Their eponymously titled EP kicks harder than a mule and somehow two guitarist and a drummer manage to make more noise than a tactical nuclear missile when playing live. I've been desperate to hear when they intend to bring out their debut album which they tell me they're currently working on with Andy Hawkins (The Damned, Blood Red Shoes, The Twang) at The Nave in Leeds and the new material bowls over the rowdy congregation at the Strummerville stage, as their lacerating riffs threaten to tear everyone's faces off.
I end the festival at former warehouse-turned club Früit to see The Holy Orders. Originally first envisioned as the headliners for the Friday night, their combination of lengthy post rock influences applied to snappy riffs and ability to create monolithic walls of sound was deemed too dangerous for the first night, potentially scaring off casual attendees and frying the nerves of any nearby residents. In fact, when the boys known colloquially as 'Hull's best band' did play, the vibrations caused by the incredible volume kept tripping the tills out at the bar forcing absolute attention on them for the duration of their set. Though only five songs long, the unrelenting nature of their noise felt more like a mighty aural experience exploring the darker aspects of the human condition rather than music to simply be heard, especially their relentless finisher ‘Worst Day Since Records Began’. A truly epic end to a festival on the rise which only looks set to become even bigger.
