An Energy-Packed Performance
Bury St Edmunds three-piece Ten City Nation are certainly a force to be reckoned with, they play a frenetic and energetic set that confidently fills the lengthy stage time allocated to them and keeps the audience thoroughly entertained. Their enthusiastic, overwrought and above all, loud, sound may not be to everyone’s taste but their key selling point is real enthusiasm, which is pretty infectious. Sparring vocals between singer and guitarist Seymour Patrick and bassist Mike Smith make for an interesting and engaging touch, adding a hint of dynamic harmony to the short punchy tunes.
Thrashing guitars and lithe, chugging riffs characterise the band’s sound with plenty of forceful percussion provided by drummer Neil Baldwin. The set is a pretty ramshackle affair with guitars balanced on stairs, drinks begged from the audience and a few technical errors thrown in but Ten City Nation seem to thrive on that and it gives their DIY sound a real basis which would be lost at the more generic venue with more of a barrier between audience and band. Singer Seymour Patrick begins an anti BNP rant centred around reclaiming a British flag that he’s pinned to the wall; it’s more rousing than eloquent but seems to hit the spot and again emphasises that this band have real values in an age of indie by numbers. The tunes aren’t highly memorable as individual songs but their overall impact is a good one and enough to make an impression.