The Sheffield Scenester

This was the second night in a row Soundclash took over the upstairs of the 02 Academy, it was quite a buzzin’ atmosphere too as the friends, family and fans of the bands started to arrive. I was looking forward to seeing Lord Jester again; after all they are such a good warm up act and you can’t help but smile at their humorous offerings. Unfortunately Nathan Flaherty (Drummer/Trumponiumibobithing player) couldn’t make it; I think someone said he was at a wedding...in his place was Skinny....and so we didn’t miss Nathan too much, Skinny put on a Nathan mask as he took to the drums. I suppose it could have given the set a whole new ‘Being John Malkovich’ (or in this case ‘Being Nathan Flaherty’) kind of slant to the whole set, but I think everyone in the room would have needed to wear a Nathan mask....now there’s an idea for the next gig! Instead it was a ‘Being Glenn (from Coach Trip)’ kind of set, the whole band wore berets and kept encouraging the crowd to shout “Viva la Glenn!!!!” in homage to the very man who has become quite an icon in recent months...apparently. Anyway the set was full of their usual descriptive musings...you know like being sick on the log flume....Branflakes....having a catheter up your willy....Pikachu....It’s safe to say the lads put a smile on everyone’s faces yet again, and it seems the band have their own budding Bez too, especially after one of the Branettes just kept dancing in the middle of the stage all the way through the set, someone give him a maraca! When Lord Jester opens a night’s entertainment, they always manage to endear themselves to the crowd, and it always promotes a good atmosphere.

Next up was Decode; with a much more serious proposition...and more importantly a louder one! Their opening song, ‘Enemies’ began simply enough with a ear shattering slash and thrash intro before singer Daniel screams down the mic to let the crowd know that Decode are most definitely in the building! Encouraged by this, the young crowd start to push and shove each other across the floor as the moshing begins...admittedly not many people were up for it, so it soon ground to a halt leaving a tell tale gap in the middle of the crowd. Their track ‘Finger Tips’, which we heard at The Boardwalk seemed quite different this time round, almost as if they had given it a heavier and a more solid drum beat going on all the way through, this did in fact help this track to blend seamlessly into their set. Their new single ‘Our Black Star’ really impressed the crowd because yet again the crowd went mad for about a minute or so...as the guitar rings through everyone’s ears a number of people bang their head to the sound and you can tell they are imagining they are on the stage alongside Daniel Jeffery strutting their stuff. Next came a love song and Daniel suggested everyone should find someone to dance with and say “AHHHH...aren’t Decode nice...?!” So that made a few people snigger and grab their special someone and sort of do a smoochy moshing dance; a double negative if ever I heard one?! We were also privileged to hear a new song, ‘Survivor’, which in true Decode tradition, was classic thrash/scream/hammer/growl grinding modern metal, if such a genre exists! Finishing with the outstanding track, ‘13’, they played out what can only be described as a truly entertaining, and partially deafening set, but in their defence I’m more than happy to see them again and again!

To follow this was the group Monday Club, whom we’d seen perform one of their typically immaculate sets about six weeks ago at The Boardwalk. Now, as then, they shone with a set full of the catchiest indie tunes around. With the second song of the set, ‘Saviour’ belting out and possessing the most sing-able chorus around town that night, they really could do no wrong. Shortly following this with their now famous video backed song ‘Lay Down And Die’, only added to the appreciative crowd’s enthusiasm, a crowd which had swelled quite dramatically upon their arrival. As a tribute to the late, great John Lennon, they sang one of the Beatles classics, ‘Come Together’, and honestly did a pretty good job of it. Finishing with the track ‘Lately’ they yet again demonstrated how easy it is to perform a near perfect show, with an on-stage presence that just oozed genuine ‘born to perform’ ease. This final track also received some of the loudest cheers of the night, as well as some of the most excitable dancing from the crowd, okay so it wasn’t as in your face as Decodes fans but what it lost in mayhem, it more than made up for in unbridled enthusiasm. As with Decode we are more than happy to say, this is most definitely a band we are happy to see over and over again!

The Little Million were the final act of the evening, and before they had played a single note it was apparent they had a loyal fan base for along the front barrier a few fans had even brought banners, albeit home made painted ones. The attraction was obvious from the start, as both the singer, Jimmy and the bass player, Ross Bannister seemed to be having the time of their lives, throughout the set they just seemed to concentrate on bouncing about the stage. As part of their set they covered the Britney Spears manufactured pop tune, ‘Womanizer’, well you could hardly call it a classic, but with a bit of guitar, some decent drums and a raw edge....it wasn’t half bad. Imagine for a moment that you take a rough dose of rockabilly and splice it with slightly edgy indie sound, then you might just be in the ballpark that these guys are hitting. When it came to the final track however things seemed to get a lot heavier as they ventured into a near metal zone, for some reason, since Jimmy was wearing a flat cap, the phrase ‘Yorkshire Metal’ sprang to mind! Remembering their debut single, ‘You And Me Against The Universe’, what struck me most of all about this group was that their live show still retains the humour of that particular track, which makes them stand out from the crowd.

A truly entertaining evening making a great double header for Soundclash over this weekend....so if for some strange reason you are at a loss one weekend for entertainment (after all the holiday season will soon be upon us) and face it, who wants to sit in a darkened cinema watching some sickly sweet film about an American Christmas when they could see a real show with good music and home grown talent – I know where I’ll be!!!!!

Words & Photos by Gail & Geoff Buckthorpe