The date: 27th July 2007
The venue: The Princeton Club
Uh, are any of the band members of Nightmare Abbey or their fans going to kill me if I say that I wasnt too impressed with their performance?
Let me be very honest here - coming down from sector-V after work to Princeton just to catch a new band isnt something I do everyday. I think you'd agree with me that its waaaay too energy sapping to do that on a regular basis.
But I did that for Nightmare Abbey - and all on the assumption that they would be what they said they would be - A.K.A. - a gothic rock band. Gothic... that is the key word here.
So to sum up everything in one sentence - Nightmare Abbey were "NOT" gothic rock by a long shot. And although musically the band were really nice to listen to, well I kinda felt cheated. Becoz this wasnt the music I had expected them to play.
Yes yes yes, I know the usual arguments - NA are a young band, they were playing maybe their 1st gig in front of a big crowd at a spacious venue (unlike the Planet M shows which must have been cramped, especially the one @ City Centre). And yes, when you are a young band starting off initially you want to win the crowd over and play them stuff that they know and can sing along to. Its very natural for a band to play its "safe" when they are new.
And I am sure there are a 100 other reasons that the band were "anything" but "GOTHIC" - well I've heard them all... been there done that.
Actually it wasnt just me NOT BEING IMPRESSED - i was very very sad as well. Here is a band that is obviously very talented. And who looked like rockers to the core... and what do they do? Play us stuff which any other band in this city plays - so where is the difference between Nightmare Abbey, and say a Hip Pocket or any of the host of other "classic rock" bands that play @ Princeton? Or the college/school bands that play a similar type of set-list @ the fests? Ya, some band play the Doors better than other bands and some play Floyd and so on and so forth - but at the end of the day, they are all bands catering to the same genre of music.
I mean what makes Nightmare Abbey different from all these other bands? Apart from hair length that is...
Nothing much is my final assumption. And that is very very sad.
I know most of the crowd their Rolling Stones and Joan Baez and Janis Joplin covers etc etc etc, but what I liked the most was their original - the "Eclipse" (umm forgot the name) - ya I was the guy who yelled out asking what the song name was... and I will also say that the Nightwish cover was done excellently. Evanescence sounded good too.
When these guys actually played the gothic stuff they did sound pretty good.
In my final analysis I will say this - all the band members - drums, bass, keyboards, guitar and vocals - all of them are super talented. And while they lacked a bit of togetherness when playing (and didnt seem to gel in bits and pieces during some of the songs performed), yet as a whole I would say that Nightmare Abbey have the makings of a decent band.
BUT IT WOULD DEFINITELY HELP IF:
1. NA tries to find a formula that makes them stand out amongst the crowd. Enhance their uniqueness or else there are good chances of them drowning in the sea of bands that seem to crop up on a daily basis.
2. Stick to being more of a gothic rock band and less of a classic rock band - becoz from whatever little "goth" they played yday, the band sounded good. But if they arent going to go the goth rock way, then maybe a change in their line of PR would be required - and that would also require a change in their band name too. I mean, with a name like Nightmare Abbey its very obvious that most people would think the genre of music being played was on the heavier side - and not Janis Joplinesque!
3. Add in more originals if possible. It is a MYTH that the crowd nowadays only like listening to covers and not originals. They definitely shouldn't be afraid to belt the crowd with their own "sound".
Anyway, this HUGE write-up of mine isnt by any means an attempt to offend Nightmare Abbey.
Far from it.
I had heard good stuff about these guys and that is why I came down to check them out. I'm just a lover of good music and I was hoping that Nightmare Abbey would provide me with the same.
YES, the music was fairly decent - no doubt about that, but NO it wasnt what I had come to Princeton for.
So overall, a pleasant evening spent listening to a talented young band - but, unfortunately I went home with not a single stand-out moment etched in my memory.
I do look forward to something more special at their next gig and I do hope to see more of their GOTH element - all the best to Nightmare Abbey for the future.
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