Dream Nails - Live Review

DREAM NAILS / BODEGA ~ 03/09/2021

Five hundred and fifty-five days ago, HUSH walked out of Rock City in Nottingham having just watched Beartooth rip through a headline set. Little did we know of what was to come… and that it wouldn’t be until September 2021 (!!!) that we would be in a venue to see a band play live again.

It’s been a long old time, but finally HUSH is back in the room, ready to allow all women, trans and non-binary people to the front of the room as Dream Nails take to the stage and bring the fight. 

Entering the venue, Nottinghamshire’s own Alice’s Ants are already on the stage bringing a youthful energy to the stage with a Nirvana cover. The locals bring everything you want in a support act, taking their chance to introduce themselves to a new audience and get the crowd warmed and ready. 

  As they state in their opening reworking of the Powerpuff Girls theme tune “This is the Dream Nails punk band” and it is clear the band are here to use their space as a place to spread their message. 

This definitely doesn’t sound like the punk that your Dad listened to, but punk isn’t about the music, it’s about the passion, about embracing the DIY ethos and Dream Nails embody this ethos completely. With a new (very talented and energetic!) lead singer, Dream Nails seem invigorated and clearly excited to be out on tour. Ploughing though tracks such as DIY, This Is The Summer, Vagina Police and Kiss My Fist they have the crowd jumping, dancing and excited to be back listening to live music again. 

Seeing Dream Nails live feels like a protest, a protest where you come away wanting to smash the patriarchy and change the system, a protest where you leave all your baggage at the door and just have a right good time. You can’t help but think this is just the beginning for Dream Nails and that it won’t be long till they are on a bigger stage, spreading a bigger message, but for now let’s all just ‘Take Up Space’.