The Sheffield Scenester

It was quite unusual to see such a large queue waiting outside The Plug; we arrived in plenty of time for the gig and my daughter had been looking forward to it for months. I must admit it’s been months since I had to queue for anything in Sheffield...especially gigs!

The first act up was Tenny Ten (aka 10shott). His first song ‘Oh My Dayz’ had repetitive catchy lyrics that instantly got the audience going. The crowd (made up mainly of teenagers) were singing, bouncing and waving their hands up in the air to the music. Tenny Ten was accompanied by two other vocalists, one brilliantly playing the synthesizer and the other was dancing alongside Tenny Ten adding well timed vocals into the mix. Tenny Ten slowed things down slightly with his next track, ‘Jump’. This had a slow rap tune with chorus lyrics giving me a vivid reminder of House Of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’. He asked the audience to sing with him...and most of the crowd obliged...as well as swinging their arms in the air! Tenny also trained his audience well...“When I say ‘Tenny’, you say ‘Ten’”. The audience did just that. This obviously proved the audience were really ‘lapping up’ the whole experience as they showed their appreciation enthusiastically from beginning to end. The next song had a slight change in rhythm to a grimy tune, which continued to whizz the crowd into a bouncing frenzy, and what was making this gig so much fun was their willingness to participate....this gig was turning out to be one energetic night’s entertainment. During the last song which was called ‘Swagnificent’, everyone had to put two fingers up...the sign of victory (not the rude one!)....and swagger towards the camera as the song was being recorded live....yet again everyone became quite excited about the whole thing and played well up to the camera as it past them. This was one excellent warm up act...and I must admit...I thought this evening wouldn’t really be ‘my cup of tea’...but I found myself increasingly enjoying the atmosphere and the tunes that were being enthusiastically played out in front of me.

The next act was Tinie Tempah....whose set included an electric guitar and drums....so as soon as I saw these items being placed on the stage, I started paying even more interest. This set had an excellent opening, an electronic voice mixed with ‘Resurrection’ which instantly captured the crowd’s attention. Tinie Tempah finally came on to the stage and rapped to a pumping beat. The second song was his new single ‘Frisky’....which had an interesting concoction of different tempos all the way through...and it has to be said the chorus was very catchy and singable. Another song which caught my attention was ‘Invincible’...this track was slightly quicker than the previous one, with an intricate strumming of the guitar and a gentler beat which made this track very listenable. The next track...which I think was a big surprise for everyone...was a cover of Lady GaGa’s ‘Bad Romance’....this instantly encouraged the crowd to sing and dance along...I even found myself bopping away to this one! Obviously this wasn’t a straight cover version...this one had some extra rapping included in it, which made the crowd sing along and bounce along even more. Song No.5 was quite an incredible blend of styles...I suppose you could describe it as a rap tune with a powerful backing sound many rock bands would be proud of, especially with the use of the electric guitar skill. Finally, Tinie Tempah ended the set with his chart topping single ‘Pass Out’....now this one seriously got the crowd cheering, bouncing and waving their hands in the air...‘the sea of hands’ was so far the most impressive of the night. There was some fantastic drumming going on during this track, which I never really noticed before. Tempah threw water over the crowd during the performance....I assume to cool everyone down...just a little! This was another great set...and the crowd was definitely ready for the main event.

Finally, it was time for Mr Hudson, who came on stage to loud cheers and hands in the air from the overly eager crowd. His opening song was ‘Straight No Chaser’ (the title track to his album). This song had a strong beat with some atmospheric sounds in the chorus. In the second song ‘Knew We Were Trouble’ he played a guitar...which I must admit was a bit of a surprise! So it was a lot rockier, which gave his music another dimension. The excellent backing vocals were provided by the percussionist, who encouraged energetic singing from the crowd. The third track, ‘Everything Is Broken’ is a song that originally features Kid Cudi and I would describe it as R&B mixed with a hint of rock and synth-pop. Kid Cudi obviously couldn’t make the gig so his lines were then excellently provided by the other backing singers and the percussion. The next song up was a song called ‘White Lies’. That was a slow song with a fairly gentle beat. ‘Anyone But Him’ had an interesting guitar strumming start, which then turned into a R&B-ish sound; originally this is another song that would feature Kanye West, except he also couldn’t be at the gig so Tinie Tempah provided the vocal to great applause. Song No. 6 was ‘Stiff Upper Lip’ where Mr Hudson played a tambourine....so I was quite impressed with his diverse musical talent! This song contained a bit of a reggae influence too.....which also impressed me...especially with all the different musical styles being played tonight. It was quite a sight to see Mr Hudson waving his tambourine in the air and the crowd following suit by waving their hands. Next up was ‘Central Park’...where Mr Hudson went back to playing the guitar; this beautiful up-tempo beat also contained a hint of a country-style tune which again came across as an unusual concoction of musical styles. The percussion this time moving into a steel drum sound, which again emphasised that all the genres of musical tastes being expertly covered. I was blown away by the emotionally penned lyrics too. On the eighth song, Hudson went on to playing the keyboard in a song called ‘There Will Be Tears’...Which instantly got the crowd singing along. The song started off really delicately, but later on the beat soon built up and suddenly became a faster tempo....giving the percussion another energetic clapping frenzy to undertake! Then it was time for three new songs.... ‘Upon The Heath’, ‘Caesar’ and ‘Watch Your Move’. In ‘Upon The Heath’, Hudson was still on the keyboard while the percussion joined the song for a wonderful duet. The interesting thing about this performance was that Mr Hudson was actually playing two instruments in one song. He was playing a guitar for the second half of the song.....as well as the keyboard...which again encouraged the crowd into another spate of energetic cheering. ‘Caesar’ had a female chorus in it....so yet again the percussion lady stepped in and wowed the audience with more of her ever expanding talent. Hudson was on the guitar and the song had a gentle beat, but later on it burst into a fast rocky song. Overall, it had a great melody and a dancy beat. ‘Watch Your Move’ began with an electro-pop sound and later on there was a rocky section plus some other interesting additional sounds too. Next, was my daughter’s all-time favourite (as well as the rest of the crowd’s!)....‘Supernova’, which instantly encouraged the audience to sing out loud and bounce along happily to the music. As well as singing his own lines, Hudson also sung Kanye West’s lines too. Towards the end, the percussion lady also helped with the vocals too, and sung the “you’ve got it wrong if you say our love is gone” line continuously in the background and during the song, which really gave this song an extra depth. During this song, I saw a guitarist with a double necked guitar too....which again I wouldn’t have expected that at all! The encore began with an acoustic number which was about bread and roses which it had an amazing Jamaican influence. The percussion lady did exactly what she was good at...and that’s providing the consistently excellent percussion, this time in the guise of a maraca type instrument. Next up was another song from the SNC album called ‘Time’. Mr Hudson was on the keyboard yet again and the percussion provided yet more interesting beats. The final song of the night was ‘Forever Young’ which was obviously waited for with great anticipation...as the crowd put their hands in the air and waved to the beat, Hudson sang all the way through...and interestingly...there was no rapping....which for me actually made the song more listenable and more enjoyable. The crowd also sang along too, as Mr Hudson orchestrated their vocals. It was a great night, and I must admit I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. The crowd as they left were really buzzing with excitement, and obviously enjoyed every minute.

Words & Photos by Gail & Chrissie Buckthorpe