The Sheffield Scenester

West Street Live is one of those venues that I’ve been to a couple of times....but my visits are always few and far between....pity really since it is a great venue with the walls decked out in memorabilia and it plays host to many unsigned acts throughout the week before the weekend is given over to mostly tribute acts...which easily keeps the late night revellers happy. I decided to venture down on a Sunday to catch Left Ajar, a band I’d tried to see at The Plug recently but unfortunately missed, as well as Some Kinda Mushroom of whom I’d heard positive murmurs in various circles!

Before they were due on stage though we were to be entertained by the young act Sir Jam, a band consisting of four students who had got together as part of their respective college courses, as an added incentive they were expecting a lecturer from Worksop College to grade their performance. Opening with an extended drum intro, courtesy of the skilled and flailing arms of Byron, they flew into a funk based rock sound with the song ‘Get Away’, with quality guitar work, just a shame the vocals sounded a bit weak. Singer Elliot showed a slightly nervous side in his initial performance by occasionally whipping the microphone away from his mouth to early...which gave the effect of clipping words off at the end, though as the set progressed he settled in and became comfortable with the audience. The third track was a cover of The Monkees classic ’I’m A Believer’, if any track is guaranteed to relax both band and audience this is the one and with everyone including the musicians and bar staff singing along, Sir Jam’s confidence was boosted tenfold. We were treated to a instrumental number which in retrospect may have been for the lecturers benefit more than ours....but it didn’t really matter as it was still entertaining as they went straight into a new track of theirs ‘Soberland’, a solid drum backed number with a lyrical style that suited Elliot’s voice a lot better. Guitarist Walker was beginning to relish his place in the spotlight as each solo became more and more intricate. Like the rest of the band once pried out of their shells the obvious skills they each possessed gradually took over until they became oblivious of the audience before them, lecturers or no lecturers! Finishing with the Arctic Monkeys track ‘You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ got the whole crowd singing again, this only served to boost their performance helping them to finish on a high note.

Next up was Left Ajar, a band with so much promise...having been voted top unsigned band on both channel4.com and on Nicholas Deakin’s ‘Last Band Standing’. As soon as they were set up on stage it was obvious they couldn’t wait to get started, guitarist Andy and singer Wayne faced off against each other and started bouncing. This seemed to be some kind of countdown to Andy’s screaming guitar intro for the song ‘Somedays’ which set the tone for the rest of their set. Watching Andy alone is entertainment in itself as he contorts his body in every direction – I’m sure at times he comes close to dislocating something – still all the while wrestling every plausible chord out of his guitar. I’d forgotten how Jamie on bass complements the hell out of all this with his antics at the other end of the stage. Gleefully throwing himself about with boundless energy...while stuck between this near manic display Wayne skilfully delivers song after song. After a synchronised bouncing session from all three they had the slight misfortune of a loose cable to play with but once sorted it was back to full steam ahead as they carried on with their hard edge funked up rock express. They took a bit of a breather as they covered the Billy Idol classic ‘Rebel Yell’, but it was business as usual, with acrobatic guitar work, flamboyant bass and an accomplished vocal, as they continued with their own material. One of my favourites ‘Heatwave’ was played at breakneck speed with a metal based backing rhythm laced with a subtle funk beat over the top. Reaching the final track, a cover of Foo Fighters ‘All My Life’, I was beginning to wonder if Andy would do his customary stage jump having recently damaging his ankle, but by this time he was so pumped up he went for it – plus the WSL stage is only about a foot high – so to great applause he jumped, played, landed and wrestled with his guitar all in the blink of an eye. As ever a band I will happily see again and again, not only for their excellent music but their stage performance as well, as an added bonus they were giving out copies of their album as well.

So there I was thinking how could the evening get any better when I was confronted with SKM – Some Kinda Mushroom – a fairly motley looking crew, in fact they looked almost despondent....but I settled down ready and willing to listen. Opening their set with an alarmingly accomplished musical intro it became blatantly obvious these guys knew their way round a chord or two....come to think of it probably about a dozen or so! This led directly into the song ‘Cut The Mullet’, from this tune alone their musical direction could easily be defined as classic rock as in the sense of 70’s classic rock, I was reminded of AC-DC, Nazareth and even Deep Purple. On lead guitar was Matt...who I have to say... gave a virtuoso performance throughout the set, if I wasn’t watching I would of guessed that the band consisted of three guitarists instead of the one. Watching him was fascinating in itself as he played with an air of virtual indifference, now I’ve only seen Deep Purple once at Giants Stadium, but watching Ritchie Blackmore back then, I remember he did the same thing. It’s almost as if they lose themselves in the music they’re playing, but it’s beautiful to watch and beautiful to hear as the solos become the focal point of the records as opposed to a filler that some bands feel obliged to put in. Built around this is singer and bass player Dom who is definitely in his element sharing good humoured banter with the crowd, while at the back is drummer Oli, who seems happy to sit their beating the hell out of his kit while wearing one of the cheekiest grins I’ve ever seen on a drummer. Throughout the set Matt and Dom would take the odd break to indulge in a bit of coordinated fret swinging centre stage which is always a crowd pleaser. The third track was quite a revelation being a cover of S Club 7’s ‘Don’t Stop Movin’, but it sounded brilliant for several reasons, mainly everyone knew it off by heart whether they were prepared to admit that or not and secondly it sounded nothing like S Club 7. When It came to the song ‘Layby Lovin’ we were told by Dom that it was a song about ‘dogging’ much to the amusement of the crowd...still it whipped along with a catchy chorus. They played a more faithful cover of the Journey power ballad ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ before moving on to a new song which was getting it’s first airing in public, it was so new that I think Dom had the lyrics taped to part of the speaker stand. When it came to the final song they asked for various requests to which they received several answers of “w*nkers”, but having negotiated a track they finished the set off in style with another blistering solo from Matt, some cheeky drumming from Oli and a steady bass from Dom.

Definitely a bit of a throw back with classic and funk based rock but well worth an evening out, and as always a good atmosphere in West Street Live to enjoy it in, I will be back and soon!

Words/Photos Geoff & Gail Buckthorpe