The Sheffield Scenester

This was for me the launch night of The Old Whores Of San Pedro’s EP, but as per usual I arrived in time to see the opening act as every now and then they turn out to be quite a find. Tonight I had the pleasure of viewing Man Bites Fridge, a group I’d never heard of and of whom I had no idea of their musical direction, they have no MySpace or Facebook....which in itself is very unusual.

As soon as they arrived on stage I was instantly put in mind of The Blues Brothers, mainly due to not only their attire but also the generation gap on show. I’m not going to hazard a guess at ages as there are females in the band but suffice to say it begins in the low twenties (or there abouts) and stretches into top end of forty/fifty-something (another guess-timate), courtesy of a mature male on guitar. As far as their attire was concerned they were all pretty much decked out in various military outfits from what seemed like World War 2 with various GI hats, a beret, RAF jackets, the older male guitarist had donned a rather fetching period suit and hat, whilst the female vocalist Polly Perkins seemed at ease in a cut off pin stripe suit, all in all a rather amusing menagerie. With the bass player welcoming us one and all they began with ‘Head Above The Pulpit’, which only served to reinforce my conviction that this was a blues based outfit. The floor itself had quite a crowd before they started but as their sound spread out amongst the gathered throng it didn’t take long for a bit of dancing to begin and more people wandered over from the bar to see what the fuss was about. As each song came and went it soon became apparent to me that this was one of those rare finds – a quality act with no airs and graces, they just wanted to play! I could easily have listened to them all day, with it’s funked up blues rhythm and multi-layered sound making it was a pleasure just to be there, unfortunately though they could only bless us with a half hour set.

Following this was The Old Whores Of San Pedro with their rendition of indie folk rock, having seen them before I was well aware of the intelligent musicianship behind them. As soon as they opened with ‘Locate The Pin’ you knew straight away that this was a class act, beginning as it does with a beckoning guitar lick – for some reason I was reminded of a classic Eagles opening chord – before the rest of the band joined in with the proceedings. Guitarist Stephen Pedro Riley seems to be a favourite with the crowd every time they appear and tonight was no exception as the crowd cheered on every solo he pulled off or come to think of it anything that looked technically challenging, basking in the spotlight it was plain to see he was having fun with the crowd. My personnel favourite track of theirs, ‘Beating Like A Drum’, is always a guaranteed crowd pleaser with its tribal tub thumping infecting the room. It wasn’t long before the crowd were singing or dancing along to this, or in some cases both, but then I defy anyone to resist with this number. This was followed by the gentler jazz infused charms of ‘Wild Rose’ courtesy of female vocalist Laura McQuillan, unfortunately the sound system seemed to mute her efforts, shame really since she came across well when we saw them at the O2. The tempo was then boosted for the edgier ‘Gotta Be There’, which drummer Greg McPedro jokingly announced with the phrase “a bit of skin” – loaded with bass while Stephen really pulled out the stops on guitar, the crowd were really up for this one! On the final track of the night, ‘Matadors’, the entire room was up and dancing, with its upbeat and catchy rhythm they really had no choice, a great finish to an intelligent set.

Finally we came to the headline act, The Dead Delta, renowned for their exuberant stage persona and heavily addictive blues laden onslaught. With a huge nod to the likes of The Rolling Stones and The Doors they began their set in earnest with the blues fuelled ‘Be Mine’. Danny Monfredi on guitar was his classically animated self and between him and lead singer Joe Hudson there was barely any room for the rest of the band to get a look in as they both threw themselves about on stage like their lives depended on it. Love them or hate them you’ll never find reason to doubt their enthusiasm, Joe did everything short of falling into the audience, who by this point had began a mini moshing session of their own. With a back catalogue of blues inspired mayhem to work through including crowd favourites such as ‘Walk On Water’ and ‘Light The Flame In me’, Danny brought out my favourite weapon of choice – a guitar slide – to enhance that Ry Cooder Louisiana swamp sound on the track ‘Trouble, Why You Come Around?’. Finishing the set off with ‘Gaslight’ never fails to disappoint as its overpowering chord driven juggernaut of a tune pummels you into submission. Rising and rising into a frenzied crescendo, stopping only to trick you with a false ending before re-engaging, whilst the tempo and volume are pushed to the max, for the ultimate finale of the evening. This is by far my favourite track of theirs and worth the entry fee alone as even with the prolonged musical ending Joe still manages to entertain with his customary verve.

A great night down at The Plug, despite my lifelong dedication to rock I’ve found that a good night of blues focused tracks never fails to disappoint, which was enhanced even more by making a bee-line straight afterwards to see the backwater blues of the Wet Nuns, followed by the sinister tones of La Folie at The Tent. As a post note to the evening Sheffield Scenester found out a few days later that The Dead Delta drummer Bobby Stevo has now left the band for personnel reasons so they will be looking for a replacement at some point.

Words/Photos Geoff Buckthorpe

Photos below by Paul Handley