The Sheffield Scenester

The third day of Tramlines seemed to kick off as a quieter affair than the mayhem of the last couple of days. However as the afternoon turned into evening the main stage and various venues around Sheffield started to burst at the seams yet again....but nothing would beat the sight of the previous day, when we bumped into The Unfortunate Incident just before their Grapes gig....they were stood outside puzzling over how to literally get in the place with their instruments, because it was so packed solid with people!

Anyway as we set off to see Sarah Mac at the Grapes on the Sunday...to our relief, it wasn’t as packed as the previous day...in fact while we waited to go upstairs (which was packed) down stairs we could find a seat and have a comfortable drink without feeling like a sardine! As the previous band finished their set it was a good opportunity to find a good spot upstairs and wait for Sarah Mac....however another band was setting up...The Volcanoes. I did wonder if I’d missed Sarah Mac yet again...but no...The Volcanoes were a last minute addition to the bill.

Their opening track ‘Fret In The Half Moon’ started off with an energetic solid drum beat with a wonderful melodic guitar overtone...it was a brilliant track to get everyone’s dancing juices running....with maybe a hint of some 60’s guitar work, it was a brilliant start to our early evening’s entertainment. Their songs were full of personality too...and their on stage banter really made people enjoy their set. The greatest surprise of the set was their cover of ‘Walk like an Egyptian’ (yep the bangles one!)...as well as using maracas to accentuate the percussion this was pure indulgence...as pretty much everyone sang along and enjoyed every minute, I must admit so far this was one of my highlights during this year’s Tramlines! With another song dedicated “To all the fools that hang around Bungalows and Bears and the Bowery...” this band proved to be a great surprise and I’m definitely looking forward to their Soundclash gig on the 24th September.

Next up was Sarah Mac...at last we actually managed to experience her music live (here at Scenester we’ve wanted to see/hear her live for quite a while now)! Her opening track ‘One More Kiss’ had quite a dramatic opening which instantly grabbed everyone’s attention. Her heartfelt and descriptive lyrics in pretty much every song she sang really encouraged your imagination to take you away on a journey...I suppose it was like reading a book you never want to put down. Even though I pretty much loved the whole set...my favourite song of the set was ‘Sessions’. It has to be said, Sarah comes across as a really sweet and genuine....‘what you see is what you get’ down to earth kind of person, which is very appealing to everyone. I look forward to her next gig at the Weston Party on the 30th August.

Next we decided to head down to Alibi, this venue seemed to have a brilliant line up for the evening. Alibi is a fairly new Lounge Bar in Sheffield...we’d been there the day before and was quite impressed with the ambience....although the sound wasn’t particularly good and at times did not show the bands to best of their ability. Hopefully today it would be better....

The band we saw first was Plug Factory...who we’ve had the pleasure of before! Last time we loved their Zouk drum beats...this time, unfortunately their brilliant and unique drumming didn’t seem to come through like it did last time...however they had one dedicated fan; a little boy who was dancing a way at the front, he seemed to steal the show quite instantly! The bands enthusiasm and obvious effort into putting on a good show couldn’t be faulted...however yet again...I don’t think the sound system did the band justice in most of their tracks...however, my favourite track ‘El Nombre’ still seemed to come across as catchy as ever. This track was also appreciated by the crowd and received well deserved cheers. If you did miss them at Tramlines, then you can always catch them at their headlining show at the 02 Academy on the 4th Sept!

Next up was another band I’ve been wanting to see for a while now....Retro Soup. Their music is so unique with blends of Indie, Electro and Alternative Rock. The strong guitar start was a real attention grabber...even my friend commented on Joel Simpson’s guitar skill (“best I’ve seen so far!”) Their most accomplished song of the set was a ‘Supermassive Black Hole’ cover...the sound wasn’t totally brilliant because of the sound system issues that seemed to be ‘dogging’ each set...but it did come across with enough clarity to encourage the crowd to sing along...and they received cheers and enthusiastic applause for their determined effort.

It was now time for Kartica, who had quite a bumpy start...yet again due to the sound issues. In fact the band wasn’t happy at all with the sound, so Mathew Hook stopped the set until the sound issues were dealt with. After some tweaking, they started their set again. It has to be said, they did sound a lot better the second time around, but it was obvious the band wasn’t impressed with the issues they had to insist on being sorted out so they could play a good set. By now the Alibi room was a lot fuller, and people were obviously looking for some good music. But unfortunately, yet again more sound issues ‘dogged’ the set, so Kartica suddenly stopped the set for more sound issues to be sorted (The issue seemed to be people on stage not being able to hear themselves...) so after more tweaks the set resumed.....But the set still impressed the crowd and Kartica left the stage to cheers and applause.

It was now time for one of my most favourite bands...Risky Heroes. But obviously due to some sound issues the night was presenting...I was quietly concerned about their impending performance...However, I did see more sound tweaking going on with the engineer....so hopefully that will ‘put to bed’ anymore sound issues. As Aiden encouraged everyone around the small stage, their set started well with ‘David & Goliath’. It was great to see people in the crowd instantly clapping to their contagious beat. Eventually came the time the crowd could have a go at the percussion and be encouraged to participate in the gig....my favourite bit! And yet again I was summoned to the stage and handed a tambourine to play alongside their best tracks....thing is I beat the tambourine so hard I ended up breaking it...oops! It was a good job I brought my own tambourine and continued to partake in the ensemble musical experience. Obviously as I was stood stage side happily banging my tambourine I could see the crowd’s reaction to the band and their music....it was very impressive...everyone was obviously having a great time and joined in with generating the brilliant atmosphere the Risky Heroes gigs are fast becoming famous for.

It has to be said this band are quickly going places...this week they’ve been on Raw Talent....they will be playing in London on the 14th August and soon they’ll be releasing a single and info about a tour...so keep your ears and eyes peeled!

Over all...this year’s Tramlines was pretty good. Whether it was better than last year...well I’m not sure, and to be honest they shouldn’t be compared...with a festival on this kind of scale, really it’s what you make it, I managed to see most of the stuff I wanted to see. Yet again I preferred the smaller venues rather than the big stage...but that’s just my preference...obviously I’m looking forward to next year’s already!

Words by Gail Buckthorpe