This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard
With the exception of a one-off event featuring Brunt last autumn it’s been a long a time since the downstairs bar at The Golden Lion has welcomed any of Guernsey’s original hard rock acts.
So, when they announced a weekend of the heavier stuff, there was some sense of anticipation and not a small amount of curiosity as to how well the comparatively recently renovated space would work for such.
While the sound check seemed to raise questions of volume levels (something that has often plagued the venue in the past) as Track Not Found took to the stage such thoughts were eliminated as the band launched into their set in just the way we’ve become accustomed.
Across the performance the young trio showed a more playful side within their songs, showing how they are growing as performers – though there were moments where singer Grace Tayler strayed too far from the mic so her vocals got somewhat lost, something I think even more obvious given the smaller venue and audio set up.
Despite that they kept the audience interested even further back in the bar, though the arrangement of the narrow space remains a challenging one for the audience as much as the band.
Having played the Lion in its previous incarnation (albeit in different bands) all four members of Dolmens were accustomed to its ‘intimate charms’ that included having to have lead guitarist Dan Haggarty stood in front of the stage.
None the less they delivered a fine set of slow and sludgy, doom-y rock in the suitably hot, stuffy and sweaty atmosphere.
Strangely the setting allowed some of the more intricate parts of their songs to come to the fore while also highlighting their, for want of a better word, ‘grungier’ spirit.
Black Plastic looked set to end the performance on a high but a new track followed to close with some unashamed Black Sabbath referencing before a huge noise filled climax showed that The Golden Lion is still more than capable of housing such heaviness – though the decor these days makes it all seem a little incongruous.
