BRU-C ROCK CITY
BEFORE I even got to the venue for Bru-c’s first-ever Rock City show, a friend asked me when I had last been to a gig.
It then hit me just how long it had been – more than 18 months since I had last seen live music.
And two years since I was at Rock City.
But this was an epic way to get back into it all.
Long Eaton rapper Bru-c performed at Rock City in front of a sold-out crowd to deliver an electric show.
On what was one of the hottest days the UK has seen for a while, it was still 25 degrees when Bru-c took to the stage.
As I stood in the midst of a largely young and amped-up crowd, I realised those sweaty gig nights were well and truly back.
And I couldn’t be happier about it. The mosh pits were back, and so was that stifling atmosphere that is almost suffocating at times, but also helps you realise that you are in a place where people are truly enjoying themselves.
The show appeared to be a meeting ground for some hardcore young ravers who also appeared glad to be back at a live show.
As I entered the venue past security, one lady in the crowd exclaimed: “We’re back, baby!”. A quote that I think largely sums up how the whole crowd was feeling.
It was an experience that I had almost forgot about given how much time had passed since I was last at this kind of event.
But it didn’t take me long to get back into my element as soon as I was in front of the main stage.
While there are rightly some concerns about returning to these kinds of shows in the middle of a pandemic, it’s hard to look past the reality that this virus isn’t going away anytime soon and – to a degree that people are comfortable with – life must go on.
As an outgoing person, the itch to get back to these kinds of venues for live music has been uncontrollable at times. It was so good to be back.
Lockdown has been tough on so many people in so many different ways.
Even Bru-c himself spoke about how he reached a low point during lockdown in 2019 and managed to pull himself back up.
Returning to events like this means so much more than the music or the artists.
It’s a sense of community that was lost over the pandemic and sorely missed.
Some of us missed live sport, others missed going out for meals, but in a city like Nottingham with great venues, so many also missed putting their hands in the air while the bass is pumping.