The Sheffield Scenester

The Grapes opened the upstairs to a fairly small gathering to see Jubby Taylor kick off the night’s entertainment. Jubby was joined on stage with an electronic violinist and Mark White on keyboards. I found the best way to enjoy this unusual acoustic set was sat down with a nice drink just taking in the relaxing atmosphere. I loved Jubby’s vocals from the off...the clarity of each word and tone was an absolute pleasure to listen too. My favourites from the set were ‘Picture House’, ‘306’ and ‘I Think Tonight I’m Gonna Call it A Day’. I found the wonderful melodic tunes blended excellently well as Jubby utilised an American Heartland/Blue Collar Rock vocal style...the harmonies which gave the songs depth (which some acoustic sets totally miss) were exceptional...and even made some of the crowd sing-a-long (albeit quietly to themselves). By now it has to be said...more and more people were joining the crowd as the intimate room became quite packed.

Next band up was Strange And Partners a band who I’ve never had the pleasure of before...and to say I was impressed...would be an understatement! They kicked off with ‘I’m Walking My Line’ a fascinating dancy tune which caught the crowd’s attention straight way. Another favourite of mine was ‘Magpies and Clowns’, which had a wonderful melodic start to the track...it was also very learnable too - I was singing away within seconds!..and I have to say...the lyrics on ‘Beautiful Woman Beautiful Trouble’ are magnificent too, the words seemed to compliment the mish-mash of musical styles which this song seemed to express within the few minutes it was played. The energy of the set continued right up to their last song ‘Right End Wrong Hand’ which, showcased the diversity of talent vocalist Richy Westley has...because he swapped his guitar for a tambourine and the keyboard! This is one amazing band, who instantly grabs your fondness for music and turns it into undying love...quite honestly I could have listened to them all night.

The anticipation for The Hosts was obvious...the applause and cheers underlined the crowds excitement which would have been intensified by the long wait they’ve had since their last local performance....in fact (as far as I know)the last time they performed in Sheffield was at the Yellow Arch studios back in November 2009...as part of the Re-mixed in Sheffield night. Also another reason I think the audience were so keen was because of the recent change in line-up...we were all introduced to Adam on drums, and Laurie on bass. To me the sound was as dramatic as ever...in fact it seemed to have a louder and harder edge to it...which really intensified the resonance. The set list couldn’t be faulted really (‘Wake Up’ wasn’t played – which did disappoint some of the crowd)...although to me it was still a great mix of favourites, older and newer songs....I have to say...my personal favourites were included in the set list i.e.: ‘September Song’, ‘Gunners Daughter’ and ‘Cold Wind Blows’. I have probably seen The Hosts about 3 or 4 times now...and I’m still mesmerised by the engaging sound of Tom’s voice...and as you watch him sing, (and I don’t mean this to sound funny) but he’s not embarrassed about the faces he might pull to get the right level of sound and he carefully listens to the music being played around him. Previously (years ago)when I had singing lessons...we were taught to sing through a full open mouth....use the shape of the mouth to get the right sound...sing from the diaphragm...enunciate appropriately...and Toms a living example of all that...which probably wasn’t even taught, his natural ability shines through. The talent of this band still very firmly places them as one of Sheffield top bands...and yes it is about time they were signed and making a fortune...as long as they don’t stop doing these memorable intimate gigs though!

A fabulous night for music.

Words/Photos By Gail & Geoff Buckthorpe