Walt Disco steal the show at Belgrave’s Dark Arts Festival
October is upon us, and that means a number of things: the queue outside Smiffys in Headingley is unbelievably long, the sweet aisles in every supermarket has grown demonstrably, and Dark Arts Festival is coming back to Belgrave! This year’s line-up boasted the likes of Opus Kink, Fat Dog, English Teacher, and many more, with the headline slot going to Scottish sextet Walt Disco. What better way to spend Halloween than at Belgrave surrounded by good friends, good beer and great music?
Although the line-up was perhaps a little disappointing given the stellar offerings in 2021 – which featured Do Nothing, Sink Ya Teeth, Yard Act, Pozi, PVA, Panic Shack and many other groups that have since risen to prominence – there was no shortage of excellent live music at Dark Arts. Kicking the day off with a well-received early set by Splint, many bands took to the stage, each offering their own unique sound and performance to the, admittedly, sparce crowd at Belgrave. One of the first stand-out sets came in the form of the divisive Fat Dog, whose unique blend of driving electronic dance beats with a punk attitude and somewhat nonsensical lyrics injected energy into the audience – though, mainly to the younger members of the crowd, with one audience member telling this reporter “It’s an age thing – they were just headache-inducing to those of us above the age of 23”. Although the momentum built up within the crowd by Fat Dog was subsequently quashed by a, nevertheless, excellent set by Deep Tan, Brighton’s premier jazz punk offering Opus Kink reinstated that energy, and then some!
Opus Kink have been making big waves in the punk and alternative music scenes over the past year, receiving praise from the likes of Steve Lamacq, the NME, Radio 1, to name just a few. Their set at Dark Arts was preceded by a set at Brudenell Social Club earlier in the month as part of Live at Leeds: In the City 2022 – theirs arguably being one of the best performances of the day! Although their Live at Leeds set had perhaps set the bar a little too high, their performance at Dark Arts was fantastic, nonetheless. It seemed to take a few songs to get the crowd on side, but their unique blending of jazz-influenced horns, punk energy and joyous performance were undeniable. Resistance was futile.
After an incredibly dull, vapid and downright bland performance by local band English Teacher – who gave the impression of a secondary school music project that has become successful beyond its means – the headliners, Walt Disco, took to the stage. Before the group had even played a chord, you were struck by the fabulously stunning appearance of the group – with lead singer James Potter donning a black dress coupled with hair and makeup which looked as though it had been taken from a soft-focus romance film of the 1940s. Their appearance predicted their performance: a brilliantly flamboyant, energetic and infectiously danceable set consisting of disco-influenced, new romantic, post-punk goodness. The track ‘Cut Your Hair’ from the 2022 album Unlearning, was the stand-out track of the set, the danceable synthpop energy coupling up with the phenomenal basslines of Charlie Lock to create a truly excellent tune. Not forgetting the vocals of James, whose voice seems to exist in the middle section of the three-way venn diagram of Bryan Ferry, Peter Murphy, and Russell Mael.
Walt Disco’s performance truly stole the show at Dark Arts, providing a great end to a fantastic day of live music in Leeds. It is easy to see why the group has toured with the likes of Duran Duran and Primal Scream. Hopefully it will not be long before they return to Leeds for another show!
Dark Arts have already announced the line-up for next year’s festival, which will take place on the 25th February 2023. The line-up features the likes of Acid Klaus, Regressive Left and The Lounge Society, among others so it is sure to be yet another special day of live music at Belgrave! Tickets are available here.
