Marika Hackman + Do Nothing
Marika Hackman, now on album three, all received well by the press, headlined Norwich Arts Centre last night. While it didn’t sellout beforehand, by the time Marika had hit the stage it certainly felt like it did.
Suprisingly Hackman was supported by recent Lamacq favourites Do Nothing. Definitely not two groups you’d put together and see many similarities, but it still worked well. Nottingham locals Do Nothing have seemingly had a surge. Chris Bailey, microphone in hand enunciated, like a preacher, every word, albeit with his own wonderful wail. The nihilism shone through as he prowled about the stage, dramatically flaring his arm as he made eye contact with various members of the crowd. They’re certainly interesting, the stand-out tracks are the ones with the most defined angular, tight new-wave rhythms. At one point the guitarist snapped his string, leaving Bailey to ask, ‘anyone know any jokes?’ after being met with no response and a shrug from their bassist he said, ‘This must be what it feels like to do stand-up. It’s fucking awful.’ Gangs, Lebron James and Fits are all top-notch, and they certainly flexed their song writing prowess. Hopefully we’ll see more of them.
Marika Hackman entered the stage to applause and all the woohoo’s you could imagine. Hackman exceeded when left to her own devices, her cover of Between the Bars by Elliott Smith was completely captivating. Entrancing the audience, and surprisingly the only thing you could hear was the twinkle and hum of her guitar. Equally the rendition of Claude’s Girl was all consuming, with dead silence you could hear every rattle of the guitar. Time’s Been Reckless was very impressive, it was tight, and had more crunch, and bite than the record. The bass however didn’t have as much punch or presence to really make it into something properly grungey. Hackman really showed her diversity as an artist, a set of slow acoustic tracks can always be a bit tiring, and back-to-back bangers can feel all too much like a whirlwind of ninety minutes – the line was tread well to create a set that was really satisfying.
Despite being an artist with a back catalogue stretching across six years, the set worked seamlessly together. Whether it be the tight, upbeat, poppy Conventional Ride, or Boyfriend with it’s dirgey 90s guitars which wander around the sound space.
The crowd remained relatively still, although the amount of chaos expected at a Marika Hackman gig is probably on the lower end of the spectrum anyway. It still didn’t mean that they weren’t appreciated, the wails and screams threatened to knock the rafters of the Arts Centre straight off. Unfortunately, the screams weren’t met with an encore, the band leaving promptly after a brief thank-you.
