At the bottom of Richmond hill, tightly packed between the shops and underneath the local church, The Basement Door does not sound like the most ideal venue for a concert, but that could not be further from the truth.

Almost two hundred people made their way to the Basement Door on Friday evening to support ‘The Motive’ at their second show at Richmond’s hidden live music location. The modestly sized venue created an electric atmosphere on the night. The audience, packed tightly together with little room to manoeuvre, the band -without a stage- positioned almost among the audience, and the speakers blasting the sounds of the lead guitars right at your ears generated an immense energy that flowed through the audience throughout the night.

Ben Stonley, a school friend of ‘The Motive’ guitarist Max Elliot, shared with me his thoughts on the night. ’It was lively and for such a small place the atmosphere was mad! I didn’t really know many of their songs but to be honest it didn’t really matter, everyone was having a crazy time and the covers they did, when everyone was dancing and singing along were the highlight definitely.’ 

The band was supported by ‘Eddie and the Midnight Jesters’ before their 9:30pm set began, and their brash, high energy covers helped to get the audience in the mood before the main attraction. Pavit Kullar told me how they started the night off. ’They got everyone up at the front and jumping around which was insane! I had to go outside cool down when their set finished it was that intense, but yeah it was so sick and I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t expecting it!

The night was one to remember, and the little unsuspecting Basement Door has to be one of the best venues for young bands in the Richmond area, with its incredible and vibrant atmosphere, accompanied by some extremely talented, unique and fresh bands.