The Sheffield Scenester

There was no doubt this gig was pretty much on everyone’s calendar, however with it being the last weekend before Christmas and threats of more snow...most people had other things to do, including us...so unfortunately we were a little late for the gig and missed most of The Little Secrets set. Initially the main Plug room was quite empty as we caught the latter end of their set, but a small group of girls were happily singing and dancing along to their music.

As the stage changed over for The Monday Club, more people had now arrived and gradually the large area in front of the stage started to fill. The band entered the stage to search lights, loud cheers and whistles as Marc Wragg underlined their arrival by doing a long intro using his cymbals. Not that any introduction was necessary since any self respecting music fan would be a fool to miss this band; if its a dance you want then these guys have the music for you...if its a stomping good tune you want...then they can do that...if its a catchy terrace like chant you require than believe me they really can do that too, in fact they could probably tick a lot more boxes in their sleep than most young bands could at gunpoint! Although they didn’t play my favourite track, ‘Saviour’, they still pumped out a great set which of course included the video backed ‘Lay Down & Die’ and what seems to have become an obligatory Beatles cover ‘Come Together’ slotted in nicely with their funked up indie bounce. With Steve Scott on bass strutting all over the stage with numerous classic seventies guitar poses and singer Darren Ullyett cheekily enjoying a bit of banter with the crowd, more often than not at the expense of fellow band members, this was a set worth waiting for! Of course they couldn’t finish their set without a bit of synchronised guitar jammin’ so when it came to the final song ‘Lately’, Steve, Darren and Paul happily lined up and did their thing. It’s this commitment to the small details that make their sets so entertaining and is also the reason I will happily see them again and again.

As The Gentlemen entered the stage Sean Walsh said to the crowd “Ready to dance..?”And with that an instantaneous dancy beat hit everyone as though the room had been struck with lightning! Their first track ‘Lights of Tokyo’ had lyrics you could easily pick up, so most of the crowd sang along too. I also loved the conclusion of this song because at the end there was a touch of acappella, which really gave the song a unique twist. The last time we saw The Gentlemen was at The Library Theatre gig (with Dead Like Harry), and I remember loving the next track, ‘Strawberry Jam’ and yes it was just as brilliant tonight, with a foot tappingly good tune yet again and another amazing vocal. This track was so enticing; a group of girls came to the front and danced. Their third track ‘She Wants To Dance’ gave quite a funky sound to which the crowd obliged in clapping along too, then as the change in vocal pitch reached the ears of the crowd for ‘Take You’, it was obvious the mish mash of styles being implemented were impressing the crowd so much, after each song they always gave a loud cheer as well as enthusiastic applause. Another favourite of mine tonight was ‘Should Be Dancing’, with a delicate jingly start and solid drum, which definitely underlined their experimental approach to music....so much so it was virtually impossible to dance along to this track as the changes in speeds came around so thick and fast! This was such an enjoyable set, with so much going on. You can obviously tell these guys take their song writing very seriously, and aren’t afraid to add Pop into their music cocktail.

Ruberlaris took to the stage with the biggest crowd of the night and loudest welcome, after all this was their new EP release gig. Their arrival as usual to ‘One Step Beyond’ got their fans dancing juices running as pretty much everyone strutted to the music. Their starter track ‘JSA’ (from their new EP ‘Tough Love’), really had that jaunty start, which mixes a Madness-esque beat with a modern twist of energy that gives you a musically charged onslaught like an unprovoked punch in the face! It has to be said...it’s not just their music which is so listenable, it’s their lyrics too, especially in their next track ‘F*ck The Label’! I loved ‘Monday Morning Blues’ with a softer sax start, this really makes you stop and listen, the skill here is amazing...and yes I recommend if you are suffering with the ‘Monday blues’ then yes have this on as you eat your breakfast, because the delicate start gives you a false sense of relaxation, which gives you a feeling as though you’re on holiday...but as it gradually speeds up...you’ll realise you’ve got to get to work quick and forget about those blues! Obviously another fav of mine is ‘Fun & Games’ especially with Chris’s vocal, this track is immense and seeing it being played live is a real treat as the workmanship between band members is so obvious. During their usual final track of the set ‘Holly’s Song’ (which when it was announced that it would be on sale from the following Monday – was greeted with excited cheers from the crowd.) a fan managed to clamber onto the stage...which the security seemed to be oblivious too. This brought an excellent set to a wonderful finale...and as I say on so many occasions I could have quite easily listened to them all night!

Next was the icing on this very delectable Christmas cake...Jon’s band took to the stage first; then Jon entered the stage to verses of “Windle! Windle! LMT! LMT!” with most of the arms in the room in their air and the odd scream from a few ladies. Well it has to be said...it nearly was a Little Man Tate reunion, what with Maz being on guitar instead of Liam (whose wife had just had a baby!). The crowd started clapping as soon as the first bars of ‘Love her like a Woman’ rang around The Plug walls. Jon was obviously on form yet again tonight as he confidently lapped up the crowd’s enthusiasm and gave friendly eye contact and nods to various people in the crowd. The set did seem to have a lot more LMT tracks this time around, but when they are played together with Jon’s newer material, this obviously gave the set something for everyone to sing and bop along too. As ‘Audrey Hepburn’ was played, Maz was introduced to the crowd, who instantaneously went wild with more chants of “LMT LMT LMT!” I did briefly consider how Ben might be feeling....you know with everyone on stage apart from him...and I think a lot of people expected him to take to stage at some point, because it was well known to Facebook fans that tonight’s set was going to have a surprise... however the surprise wasn’t Ben, but Boothy the legend himself who took to the stage. Another good moment tonight was the ‘lonk’ saga, yet again on Facebook, Jon unfortunately made the fatal error of spelling ‘link’ wrong on one of his postings...so with a ‘Lonk’ T-shirt in his hand and funny banter about his computer failings...everyone had a good laugh about the ‘Lonk’ episode...Jon’s never gonna live that down! Jon and Maz returned to the stage to do ‘You & Me’ as Jon described them both as the new ‘Foster & Allen’ to giggles from the crowd...apparently Jon had lost his guitar so Maz had to play his. Jon then clapped his hands and encouraged the crowd to do the same. Yet again Jon and the band put on another good show, with a slightly more relaxed set than the October gig. Jon seems to be heading in the right direction, and appears to be a lot more confident then when he was in LMT...so I honestly look forward to his next album and more surprises and announcements, which apparently will be coming soon...so keep an eye on his Facebook page (and the lonks!)

Yet again Soundclash put on another amazing Christmas event...and I for one look forward to another year of Soundclash to brighten up my weekends.

Words by Gail Buckthorpe
Photos by Michelmas Youngus