The Intake Club Mansfield Live Music Venue

We just wanted to thank you all for your generosity last night, we really appreciate it!
It's a great venue for bands, good stage, pa etc. We really enjoyed ourselves.

Thank you again for your kindness - the lads were chuffed to say the least!.....

Thanks to all at The Intake for making this a fantastic night. Was great to see all the old faces from the past. Brilliant Venue. Can't wait for the next one ..... Rock City Veteran

We loved doing our show at your venue and were pleased to receive the encouraging feedback from you and your team. Many thanks to your sound-engineer, Mark for his hard work.....Steve for Born To be Jovi

Just a quick note to say how much we enjoyed having our annual "doo" at the Intake Club.

Its a great venue, great beer and great staff and you made us feel so welcome
cant wait for the next one in January .

thanks and see ya soon ....Gary - Skegby Scooter club

"... a very entertaining gig given that a lot were wondering what to expect. The Bad Shepherds don't come across as overly serious despite the wealth of experience in the line-up. The comedy aspect had to be in there. If Edmondson hadn't bantered with the crowd then many would have thought something was wrong and have been disappointed. An excellent show from an excellent set of musicians at an excellent venue." ... The Hipster, Mansfield Chad

FIGHTSTAR + BRIGADE+ WE ARE THE OCEAN - 20TH MAY 2008

Published Date:
27 May 2008
By The Hipster
Three bands, one venue and what seemed like the entire country's Emo population descending on Mansfield for this event.
It looked like Bridgend was having a well earned night off and given time to breathe (well someone down there has to) from all those who claim to be misunderstood and twisted by life's hatred. You get the picture.

Unfortunately I missed the first band who were called We Are The Ocean. I could make something up about them being washed out or a bit fishy, but I won't. From what was being said around the venue they were a decent opening act. Looking at their site they're that Nu Punk/Thrash crossover ala Trivium. Not a bad sound really.

Brigade were the band stuck in the middle and did a decent job of getting the crowd whipped up for the main act. On first impressions think early Muse but a little more melodic, a heavy Placebo in places and, at times, the Foo Fighters - but still in keeping with all that is synonymous with the current Emo scene.

Sounds weird I know, but an enjoyable band who set up camp on the heavy/pop border with Emoland and settled in nicely. At one point a few of the kiddies even tried to start a mosh pit. They had the concept down, but I couldn't help but think of those started at Donington year after year. I've a feeling they'd be a little concerned had they been in a 'proper' pit. Bless 'em for trying though.

And so to the main event. If you were to tell people you were going to see the lead singer from Busted live you'd get more than a raised eyebrow and funny look. Well you would in the musical circles I mix.
What people don't understand is that Fightstar aren't Busted re-invented. If anything they're the grown up, rebellious alter ego of that nice little lad who always remembered his manners.

Starting with the opening bars of Diamondheads Am I Evil (yes the one Metallica did) got them off to a good start, despite me thinking that only a handful of the crowd would realise it wasn't a Fightstar original. A mix of Nu Metal meets Trivium meets Foo Fighters meets Funeral For a Friend meets Biffy Clyro to a degree. Again, you get the picture.

With Charlie and his eyebrows now entertaining a darker approach than his previous musical outbursts and most certainly a heavier edge to 'emo-core', this band are tight and know how to make the right noises. Maybe it's what the emos have been waiting for. Something heavier than the likes of My Chemical Romance which they can further get their teeth into and chew out all the hate in their lives.

Sounding alot like Ray Wilson from Stiltskin, it would seem that Mr Simpson's roots lie in material alot heavier than his Busted days would have you think. Record company intervention perhaps? It matters not, because chances are Fightstar wouldn't be as popular as they are if it wasn't for his past and that has to be a good thing.

As has been said this band are tight. They range from the melodic to the downright noisy and the crowd were lapping it up.

So basically if it's Busted you were expecting then unlucky. If it's a polished and heavy sound in the Emo vein, then just maybe this is your bag.

Three bands with simliar styles playing this kind of music was always going to be a sellout and that's exactly what happened.

Finally, it looks like the Intake Club have cured their electrical gremlins.

It would seem that kicking out that amount of power through single phase wasn't healthy, hence it tripping out a lot. It didn't happen once during the gig and believe me there was some power being shipped through that place that night...............

NOW then rock fans. Cast your collective fuddled minds back. Dig deep to the time when every week was Rock City and the highlight of your social calendar. You dressed to impress and although it didn't always do so, you were still in character.

This gig took me back. It took me back a long time. To a time and place I miss. I really thought such nostalgic entities would be resigned to the fondest, if a little misted, corners of my memory. Oh how wrong I was.

It all came flooding back. The venue was different, but you could still be forgiven for thinking the Intake Club was The Rig underneath Rock City. The attire for most was long gone, but hey we all grow up sometime. Don't we?

Well for this night we didn't. If the resurgence of glam and the sleaze rock scene was your particular bag and you weren't at this gig, then you missed out. Big time!

Three bands up close and personal, all with their own place within this genre. First up were Spit Like This. "Like what?" I thought. Well I soon found out. Attitude was the ruling line. Oozing confidence and, as with most of the glam/sleaze offerings of old, the mandatory flip of the finger to anything authoritarian.

The band arrived with a massive dose of alter ego mixed with more than sprinkling of the Rocky Horror Show. Their website clarifies this without a shadow of any doubt. In fact anything with a shadow probably wouldn't have been given the time of day. I mean were they really christened Lord Zion, Vikki Spit, Cyndi Rott and Vile GileZ? I fear not but then if they were christened at all it would be an eyebrow raiser.

Spit Like This are musically raw which suits their needs. They're not the most polished band out there but then I've plenty in my record collection who sound the same and were played to death so such things can be a bonus.

Next up were Crazy Lixx from Sweden. A more polished affair and certainly more melodic. Considerably less sleazy than SLT with a bit of glam, but more 80s hard rock than anything. A typical European offering where the lyrics are a little bit too cheesy at times, but the melody more than makes up for it. A band where you come away singing the chorus or at least humming it.

If pushed to compare then think early Skid Row, Danger Danger with a harder voice than Ted Poley. Maybe the latter mixed with Ratt wouldn't be a bad comparison, but there's also hints of Rockhead and the simply brilliant Black N Blue.

Where SLT hit you with attitude, Crazy Lixx have the melody. Sometimes it's hard to hear a band for the first time and have to judge them on a live performance. If this set was typical then they've no problems as I can see it. A polished set of excellent hard melodic rock.

And finally the headline act. The one the majority of people were there to see. Hardcore Superstar. Well the name says it all. You've got the hard edge melody of Skid Row and to a degree the vocals of Sebastian Bach, but with more Stephen Pearcy grind. They're tight throughout akin to the most hardened live act and with an excellent set to boot it's all good.

With six full CDs under their belt they're obviously doing something right. Ok so until now they've been left to play to a small corner of the rock scene which on their live presence really cannot be a good thing. It looks like that will hopefully change with HCSS venturing out of Sweden and into the rest of Europe more.

Such bands seemed to be long gone, but Scandinavia looks to be having a revival and if this is the quality of what's being produced then I, for one, will be a happy little headbanger.

Overall an excellent night of a genre blast from the past. Three bands who brought their own style to a welcoming audience....................Mansfield Chad (The Hipster)

What is it about Mansfield? There was a time when the Town Mill was a hive of rockness. The Charters, albeit small, used to kick out some excellent tunes if the heavier side of music was your preference.

Then it all kind of faded. Sutton still had bands at the New Cross and The Golden Diamond is still holding out so I'm told.

So where's the revival come from? We've the Town Mill which is pumping out some decent bands again and now the Intake Club is doing the same. A niche in the market? Quite possibly given the amount of people who frequent such places which can only be a good thing.

Concentrating on the Intake Club off I trotted on Friday to see one of the original NWOBHM bands. That's New Wave Of British Heavy Metal to the uninitiated. In the 80s a number of bands emerged and shook British Rock by it's dangly bits. A new era in music was upon us and nearly ruined by those just in it for the money, apparently.

But firstly the support acts.

Starting the evening were Throttle. A four piece from Lancashire way given the accents. We're talking Metallica meets Megadeth with a little Pantera and DamagePlan thrown in for good measure. Tight and strong throughout they gave a good performance. The sound was distinctive but maybe the material could have been stronger. With some work they'll go from a decent band to a damn good one.

Next up were Blood Orange. Strange name for a band really but these days it must be hard for musicians to settle on something unique. A more melodic Muse in a way both vocally and musically. As the set went on they drifted to a more melodic style from the initial Museness (is that a word?) Overall tight and good at what they do. If Muse is your thing then you might just like these.

Now back to the NWOBHM types.

Many of these bands were signed at the time. Some good, some bad. Rumours were that a silly number of bands put pen to contract and were held to it never to be able to do anything while the money men pushed the best of the bunch. Def Leppard? Probably the biggest of them all.

But then there were those who did make it for a while then declined for whatever reason. Diamond Head are one of those bands. They were up there with Def Leppard and touted to go onto greater things and to a degree did just that. But something didn't quite click for them. The Leps kept going and eventually conquered America. The Heads, on the other hand, had a few line-up changes and a break but have since got back together. Obviously so really as who else did I watch Friday night?

So the gig. A decent set of classics and new material. Anyone expecting Harris on vocals will be surprised, possibly disappointed, as he's not there and Nick Tart isn't a like-for-like replacement. Similar vocal style in places but to some Harris is the voice of Diamond Head just as Dickinson is the voice of Iron Maiden.

They were tight throughout as to be expected from a set of musicians who've been around for a decade or two. The new material sounded decent if a little mellow at times in an Asia stylee with Tarts voice coming across well. But then they'd throw some thing heavier out just to confuse things and keep the crowd interested.

The old classics though were what made the crowd sit up and listen. For any rock fan 'Am I Evil' and 'Helpless' are on the list. Not only because of their fame through Metallica, but simply because they're classic Diamond Head.

As is the norm the best was saved until last and the above two greats were belted out to a crowd of expectant onlookers who weren't to be disappointed.

So overall a decent set from the old NWOBHM'ers. I guess I was expecting a little more bite from them, but nevertheless they did their old and new material alot of justice. Who can argue when one of the biggest bands on the heavy metal scene take two of your songs and belt them out in their own style?

Certainly not me.
The Hipster (Mansfield Chad)

FERAL CIRCUS....THANX for having us, awesome venue you got there, really enjoyed it and you treat us like royalty THANKS AGAIN!!!

HIGHWAY CHILD.....We all had a fantastic time and agreed that the Intake is the best place we have played and by far the most fun we have had. Can't wait to come back again.

JEF LEPPARD......On behalf of the rest of Jef Leppard, we all had a fantastic night last night at The Intake. The whole set up is awesome and we all think that it is without a doubt one of the best venues we've played. Thanks for the food you provided, thanks to John for the excellent sound and we all really look forward to see you all again in the future. Thanks for keeping music live!

DEATHSTARS@INTAKE, MANSFIELD..."Last night in Mansfield was awesome... they were on fire."

"Me an Amber were at Birmingham, london, notts, mansfield and Mans was most definatly the best"

"You guys absolutely f*****g ruled the other night at Intake seriously the best gig i have ever been to, i cannot wait to see you guys live again soon!"

"I had my first Deathstars experience at Mansfield and I must agree with Sixbitch, the guys were on fire, I have seen alot of really famous bands at really big venues and I must say that the Deathstars show was by far my favourite gig to date, can't wait to see them again. Hope that all of you that are seeing the guys soon have as good a time as I did.

I gotta take my hat off to everyone at the Intake for getting these bands to play a pretty new venue.

Having seen Deathstars several times before, I enjoyed this one the most and Mortiis was excellent too. Saw them in the basement at Rock City both this tour and the last time and also at the Corporation, but preferred the Intake as a venue out of all of them - and as a brucy bonus its on the doorstep for once.
Thought the staff did a good job and wasn't too touchy either which is good, because as long as it don't get stupid theres nothin wrong with a bit of rough at these gigs

Being right on the front row, smack in the center, was perfect for me and my mates. Totally enjoyed the night from chattin with the band members before in the bar, through to chillin out after.
Good to see Mansfield attracting some bigger acts, and with KATAKLYSM later in the year looks like it will continue

Good work guys.

Also having not seen Pro-jekt before I was impressed with them, think I'll look out for them again.

TRAITORS GATE.......We absolutely loved playing your venue, sound guy was brill and staff friendly, what a professionally run and pleasant venue to visit...its a mini arena in Mansfield!!

DIP......."We four gentlemen had a splendid time treading the boards at your prestigious Rock Venue! We hope to return for much more Fat Boy Rock n Roll in the future!"

Psychedellic Scream.. We'd just thought we'd say thanks for all the support and allowance to gig at your brill venue.. we hope to be playing there many times..

LYCAN....yet another kick ass weekend at the intake!! cant wait for the next one!!

ALISON@DIAMOND PROMOTIONS.....Just to say a huge thank you to Simon, Joy, John and all the staff at The Intake for making Rock For Rainbows a truly great event. You guys rock and I love you all thanks alison xx

FOUR ACES RECORDS.....just dropping in to say hi to a great venue with amazing sound keep it up guy's..

VICE SQUAD....Just like to thank all of you there at The Intake for looking after us.
Great club great staff, hope you go from strength to strength.

EXORSISTERS.......Really enjoyed playing The Intake on sat night, fantastic venue can't wait till we come down again

DR GREEN THUMB......hey people hows it goin pretty good venue you people have goin down at the intake better than the mill in my eyes cheaper beer as well

ORCHID PROMOTIONS......FANTASTIC! the video is amazing...It's hard to believe it's all produced in-house! Well done guys! xxx

SACK SABBATH......We love your venue, had a great 1st gig last time and can't wait to rock the Intake Club again.