Ride that hobby horse
The organisers of Bloodstock offered the two opening slots in the Darwin Suite to the unsigned public. A raffle was held, the winners would appear pre lunchtime on the Saturday. After witnessing the second raffle winner, 'Hostile', I can think of no better reason to NOT hold the same competition next year.
To be fair Hostile were fighting a losing battle from the start. The main stage kicked off at 11:30am, Hostile were scheduled to perform at 11:40 in the Darwin Suite, and as you can imagine the hall was two thirds empty. It's a little pointless if you're going to offer a slot to an unsigned band and then scupper their chances to increase their fanbase by clashing their timeslot with a more established act at a time when most people haven't even arrived at the venue.
As their set rolled on I felt less sorry for Hostile as they showed their lack of experience and crass attempts at humour. The band were nothing more than a thrashing row with two singers who shout and scream thus complementing each other very little (ala Raging Speedhorn). I suspect Hostile have played many pubs since their inception because the members all crowded around the drummer not allowing themselves the joy of space the stage provided. They ended up getting in each others way a lot of time and as a consequence looked very amateurish.
Their main singer, who would do nicely singing for the band Soil, was an asset to the band as was some of the slick guitar work. But the use of a hobby horse, an inflatable guitar, songs about killing chavs and a track title of 'Urine Love' meant that any credibility Hostile earned they quickly lost. I'd like to see the band take themselves a little more seriously, drop the superfluous keyboards and stick to one singer. There's a core of something there I just hope the band know how to get to it.