The Sheffield Scenester

It’s been a while since I’ve been down to The Leadmill...and this was the first time since The Fratellis played here that I’m actually in the main room to see a show. The doors had only been open for about fifteen minutes but quite a crowd had gathered already, I have to admit I wasn’t surprised because the last time I saw Ruberlaris at The O2 Academy...they packed the place out!

Opening to quite a full floor...Peppermint Charlie took to the stage with an entourage consisting of bass player, drummer, two guitarists and a trio of brass players. I did wonder where the vocals were going to come from...but then the trumpet player Alex Carrie popped his instrument on the stage and started singing the opening track TVGT. This was a full on ska band, a fairly young one...but they still had traces of indie popping in and out of their set which gave the whole proceedings an interesting slant. With the crowd well behind them, they gave a truly energetic performance with each tune practically bouncing off the stage and down your throat. One of the most entertaining aspects for me was watching various members of the band take on the vocals as it jumped between guitarists and the brass section almost as if they were playing ‘pass the parcel’. When the brass section was not in use, they were more than content to dance about happily in the background with an air of infectious enthusiasm. Even though the crowd didn’t exactly join in with the dancing they offered plenty of support in the cheering and applause department, we were even treated to the odd scream! On the final track ‘Nostalgia’, they took their sound in a slightly heavier direction with more of a grinding effect on guitars. Even with this approach they still couldn’t put a cork on their energy level as they happily bounced around stage. The only downer for me was not in the performance but in sound quality as at times both the horns and the vocals – whichever mic they used - were barely audible... but with the relentless energy on stage it was hard not to like what they did!

Following that was the three piece group Goldsoul, who visually will no doubt be remembered for a lead singer donning a pair of shades – an indoor accessory I’ll never understand...it’s not a gripe it’s just my opinion! The crowd had swelled to near capacity by now and they all waited enthusiastically for the energy level to continue, this set however was more of a sprawling grind and not the bouncy ska rhythms they were hoping for. The crowd stuck around the stage anyway...mainly because they didn’t want to lose their spot when Ruberlaris came on, which after conducting a quick survey along the front barrier was the main reason people were there! Getting back to Goldsoul, they began their set with the track ‘Ones And Zeros’, a grinding bass laden anthem of a track – incidentally by now the sound problems of the previous band were now fixed and we could hear vocals a lot clearer now. On introducing the track ‘South Sun City Blues’ lead singer Dave turned to the crowd to tell them it was “About Southern bast*rds”, a sentiment guaranteed to raise a smile in this part of the country. By now, under the heat of the lights Dave had quite a sweat on, so he grabbed a stripy towel to dry off a bit only to say to the audience “This ain’t a Wednesday shirt by the way” – now this raised a few laughs from the crowd, or at least the non-wednesdayite section. They slightly overran their set so had to drop one of their tracks but it still gave them time to play a new one, ‘R.E.V.O.L.U.tion’ – that’s the way it’s written on the set list so I might have to ask them about that one later! By now the ska expectant crowd had acclimatised to this sound and began to enjoy it for what it was, not a moment too soon either as this, the final track, was the best of their show. In an almost eerie way this has echo’s of Hawkwind’s ‘Silver Machine’...which has always been one of my favourite tracks, whether the crowd latched onto that or not was hard to tell, but they had definitely warmed to the band by now and gave them a deserved round of applause as they finished.

Next on the list was The Marauders, another guitar driven band, but this time with an ear for the indie scene, with punchy riffs on guitar and sporadic bursts of high energy drumming...you could almost be forgiven for thinking it was Arctic Monkeys Jr. Lead singer Jack Batteson took to the stage nervously at first but once he got over the initial shock of a full auditorium he seemed to find his rhythm and just got on with it. The opening track ‘Blush For The Crooks’, had a classically short and catchy tune which grabbed the crowds attention straight away, it also had the dual effect of relaxing Jack and giving us an insight to guitarist’s Sam Whitaker and Josh Kimmins talent for showmanship and stage presence. The pair of them really relished the front stage and have the skill to back it up, playing off each other for various set pieces during their show. They had obviously brought a crowd with them because from my vantage point in front of the barrier...I had music in one ear and screaming girls in the other. Also as if that wasn’t enough the crowd were now jumping along with arms in the air...for the first time tonight, which is always a good sign for any young band. With a cover of Joy Division’s ‘She’s Lost Control’ thrown into the mix, I realised that the majority of their fans probably haven’t heard the original before, so from that point of view it worked well...they just treated it as another song. Their most memorable track of the night was towards the end of the set with the hard-hitting ‘Her Diamond Head’, which in all earnest flew by. You could tell Sam and Josh were enjoying this particular track as they assaulted the breakneck paced rhythm with a vengeance...much to the crowds delight.

We had finally reached the headline act – Ruberlaris – but even before the stage was set up for them the crowd had started chanting “Dah, dah, dah…….dah…….Ruberlaris!” to the tune of ‘Pigbag’, no doubt about it...this was going to be a good night! Rather amusingly The Leadmill had only one bouncer on as far as I could tell, so as soon as that started, he looked like he’d wanted to be somewhere else! Also setting themselves up were three cameramen who were filming tonight’s proceedings for a video to their new single ‘Fun And Games’. Using the Madness track ‘One Step Beyond’ as walk on music the crowd went wild at the first sight of them, in fact it didn’t take long before various articles such as beer glasses – at least I hope it was beer – and various bits of clothing made their way onto the stage. Opening with ‘Zipped Up Dynamite’ which just exemplified their indie fused ska, simply ignited the crowd into a near manic state, and as the set continued each track ‘out did’ its predecessor. Between every track the crowd were still doing the ‘Pigbag’ chant, it was the first time, this evening that the crowd demonstrated more energy than the performers. On stage lead singer Chris Alsop was sweating bucketfuls as he got into the full swing of things, while Adam Davidson on guitar and saxophonist Andy Copeland didn’t fare much better. When it came to doing the single ‘Fun And Games’ their fans really hit the chaos button with everyone trying to get on camera at once, while crowd surfers started to join in the fracas. I was beginning to feel sorry for the cameramen as at times they didn’t know whether to film the crowd or the band but they persevered regardless. Judging by this reaction alone the single itself should (and deservedly so I might add) do well. Now that the crowd had reached a near euphoric state they followed this with a new song called ‘Tough Love’, and one of my favourites...‘F**k The label’, always guaranteed to get the crowd going...as if they needed any encouragement! The inevitable encore (let’s face it there would of been a riot had they not done one!) finished with another of my favourites ‘Holly’s Song’ during which a couple of people managed to clamber on stage during the chaos down on the floor. This pretty much was the perfect gig for me, fantastically catchy music and a riotous but friendly crowd to bring it alive!

What more can I say about the night than it started on a high and ended somewhere out in the stratosphere, I’ve only seen Ruberlaris twice but I can safely say without contradiction that they do make the night unforgettable – I can barely wait till their next trip to Sheffield!

Words and Photos by Geoff Buckthorpe