A intoxicating night of psychedelic desert rock came to The Palais on Thursday as Nashville's All Them Witches came to Notts, with support from Steak...
To start, I’ll say this was the first gig I’ve attended at The Palais, and I’m starting to think it’s my favourite DHP venue. More intimate than Rock City, and more spacious than Rescue Rooms, it’s just the right size, and with a sizeable balcony and the stage extending into the crowd, there’s lots of spots to get a good view.
I went into both sets feeling like a bit of a newbie - a recent convert to All Them Witches, I went on the recommendation of a friend and had got stuck into their back catalogue, but what to expect from a band called Steak? Pre-gig, I mentally filed them with that particular strain of bands - the likes of Guts, Cabbage, Squid and Lambchop - whose nom de guerre is purposefully brash and irreverent. But this is a lesson in not judging a book by its cover - because bands with questionable titles can often be excellent.
This was one of those gigs where the whole room is soaking in the music - the ambiance set with brooding lighting and an endless reel of surreal animations playing
Hailing from London, this psychedelic stoner five-piece was the perfect starter to a night with the Witches, and I’m tempted to say I enjoyed this set a little more than the main act. is definitely worth a listen if you enjoy Nine Inch Nails, Audioslave or Pearl Jam. Formed in 2010 (according to the internet), they’ve released three albums, the last being in 2022. Two recent singles, Cometh and Luxury Junk, may suggest another in the works.
Entering to a stage bathed in red light, for the next fifty minutes the band filled the room with a velvety distortion. This was one of those gigs where the whole room is soaking in the music - the ambiance set with brooding lighting and an endless reel of surreal animations playing within huge letters spelling the word STEAK behind the band.
The sound also appears to be pretty excellent at The Palais, buzzing through the audience yet still being crystal clear. This set was dreamy, but heavy too - war drums, thrusting guitar riffs and frontman’s Chris Haley soulful vocals (matched well by backing vocalist and guitarist Tom Cameron), it’s also clear that Steak are seasoned performers - each drum crash and riff perfectly timed and a sense of craftsmanship and passion.
Since watching I’ve been enjoying listening to them at home, but this show was a spectacular introduction to what they can do live. Perhaps an adverse effect of sharing a name with a popular meat, these guys don’t seem to have the following (online at least) that they certainly deserve, so go give them a listen and check them out next time they hit Nottingham.
After a break to visit the smoking yard (the only downside to this great venue is that this area feels like a bit of a dystopic holding pen), we headed in to find a spot with excellent visibility at the side of the stage. I’m not sure if it’s the layout of The Palais’ or perhaps that the gig hadn’t fully sold out, but it was honestly really refreshing to be able to see the stage and not feel crammed into a venue.
As the lights go down the sound of War Pigs erupted, and like clockwork the audience joined in singing “Generals gathered in their masses. Just like witches at black masses”. Enter the band and the room is transformed into a hazy cosmos of rolling sounds that curl and shift like plumes of incense.
With songs that wander for five or six minutes, time begins to blend and drift. This is the kind of music that incites a hazy hypnosis in the audience. Looking around I saw at least two people with their eyes closed, swaying with a peaceful expression
The first track of the night was the excellently belligerent Don’t Bring Me Coffee which I believe to be a perfect song for revelling in a bad mood. But most of the night was dedicated to their most recent album, House of Mirrors, which seems to have more of a sexy, doleful cowboy tenderness to it than their previous releases, and is extremely listenable. Songs such as Starting Line, an emotive recent single, dip between ferocious and wistful, while the cool Hold Up, Say What and seductive Athernet
With songs that wander for five or six minutes, time begins to blend and drift. This is the kind of music that incites a hazy hypnosis in the audience. Looking around I saw at least two people with their eyes closed, swaying with a peaceful expression. But within the psychedelic miasma, there’s equal measure of dark desert rock, doom and blues to keep the crowd on their toes, with highlights including Alabaster, a chaotic number that sounds like a bad hangover and ends with an apocalypse of drums, and Red Rocking Chair, a dark ballad that swells around a titan of a guitar riff.
The music did not wind down, and we were soon awoken from the hallucinatory stupor at the crashing climax before the lights switched on and the band left the stage. Returning for one last track - 2015's Blood and Sand/Milk and Endless Waters - the crowd were truly satiated, and the band looked pretty thrilled with the night themselves.
An excellent musical trip had, I left with the knowledge I need more Witches, more doom, and more gigs at The Palais in my life.
All Them Witches played at The Palais on Thursday 18 June 2026 with support from Steak.
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