The Sheffield Scenester

It’s a cold Sunday lunch time in the heart of S10, parking is the usual nightmare…but the area is bustling with a diverse bunch of people heading towards the museum. As you approach the late 1800’s building you can hear loud music as Pistola Kicks do a sound check…making its foundations literally vibrate!

As we introduced ourselves to the band, Joe Moran (Guitar/vocals) said “we were struggling with the sound earlier…what with all the marble…but it should sound better with bodies…?!” that initially made me think…I suppose if they have a low turnout we could always wheel in some of the Egyptian Mummies…?!

As the time approached 2.00pm - students, old couples, families gathered in the foyer for the promise of Indie sensation Pistola kicks…so yes there were plenty of bodies, no need for any mummies. It was interesting to see the band in this context - because every time I’ve seen them live, it was at night with only adults watching…today they had small children at the front of the crowd. Rich Martin (Vocals/Guitar) expressed a little concern at the small ears in front of him and said something like “if it gets too loud…you can put your hands over your ears or stand further back”.

The Lads kicked off with the very loud ‘Broken Bones’, to me they sounded excellent…in fact you couldn’t fault the acoustics at all, and I’d go as far as to say they were the best I’d ever heard them (but then I like it loud!). Some families with young children scurried away or moved further back with their hands over their ears…everyone else just stood and listened with great interest. Their first track finished to the sound of enthusiastic applause, which delighted the lads immensely as they went straight into their next track ‘Shoes’, which has more of a dancy feel to it. The crowd loved this one, and you could see people nodding in time to the beat and some young children dancing. I was quite familiar with this track and quietly joined in with the catchy lyrics. I have to say the vocals today were absolutely brilliant and with so much clarity too, you could hear every word being sang.

This track finished with even more enthusiastic applause…and cheers! Pistola Kicks were really injecting life into the museum, and the atmosphere was just electric. The Pistola Kicks also had a special guest today, Big Ben Eck from The legend Of The 7 Black Tentacles came to play his cello during three of the tracks, ‘Intellectual’ being one of them…and my what a groovy looking cello! I must admit I haven’t had the pleasure of ‘The Tentacle band’(sorry for using an abbreviated name)….but I’m really looking forward to seeing them at the next X-ray Horse gig (The Harley, 20th Feb). His cello playing gave the Pistola Kicks sound a new depth to their music, and during ‘Grange Over Sands’ when Jamie Hopkins joined in with an electric double bass too…well the sound of that was just amazing. In fact you could see the impressed look on everyone’s faces as the band played their music with such confidence and multi talents. Talking of multi talents…Rich even learnt how to play the keyboard especially for today’s event. The keyboard being an 80’s style, complete with elephant noises (we were all reliably told by Joe Moran) is played in their new track ‘A Button Like No Other’, a varied song which starts with an excellent soft vocal by Joe Moran accompanied by gentle sounds…which then suddenly gets heavier and louder. The percussion on this track and many others has an interesting sound, thanks to the fairly new but amazing drummer Ed Evans. I have to say, his drum kit has some unusual equipment attached…which must be the secret behind his unique sounds. The bands finale is always an event, the merging of ‘Boquerones’ and ‘Friday Nights’ you’d think was the end, because it seems the set couldn’t get much better than that…but no…‘Worse Things Happen’ is their usual last song, and today was no different…their driving duelling guitars really make this finale a memorable one and yet again the lads really ‘give it some welly’ as the crowd applause and cheer at the showmanship of Rich and Joe in particular. It’s been an amazing afternoon at the Weston Park Museum, and with the set being over 45 minutes long, most of the people who arrived to watch the band from the beginning stayed for all the set….which proved that they are an incredible band to see live. The museum shop also did a booming trade with the EP’s, because I noticed most of the crowd bought them and took them to the band to get them signed.

Lets hope Weston Park Museum does another Sunday afternoon like this, because its good to see local music being played and received by such a diverse crowd. A great afternoon, and Pistola Kicks are now firmly on my ‘most admired list’.

Words by Gail Buckthorpe
Live Photos by Geoff Buckthorpe