Back down the front in 2008!
The Beaus
Venue: The Priory, Doncaster. This is the ‘hot’ venue, which has attracted some of the most happening scenes bands from around the country during the last twelve months. Bit strange then that this is our first visit. A lot of time and cash has been thrown at this place, as it looks the picture, cool bar upstairs then the venue / club downstairs with another glam bar. It’s a free gig with plenty of local bands on the menu so the fact it isn’t packed is a bit of a disappointment. Support: Due to a farce with buses we miss The Thieves, which is also a disappointment! We caught a bit of their Doncaster Music Live set a few weeks since and they were pretty good. Reminded us of Sheffield’s The Chartists; got that retro rock sound going down. The Band: First things first, The Beaus look the part, brought together by a obvious love of Fred Perry they look like a band that could easily grace the covers of the music press. Musically we have then currently as the second best band from Doncaster, trailing the marvellous Ayschamps but they have age on their sides as the youngest is a mere 16 and the oldest 18 so plenty of time for an overtaking manoeuvre. They have quite an ear for music as they seem to be able to blend a bit of clash, bloc party, libertines, arctic monkeys but without ever sounding like a pastiche of any one band. One thing that does make them sound different is Dougy’s vocal style, at times it almost comes across as spoken word. However, there is a fairly big criticism of Dougy’s vocals, firstly at times they get a bit swamped by the music and also they aren’t always crystal clear but these can easily ironed out with a few tweaks here and there. It has to be said that for a three piece they make quite a racket and it looks pretty effortless, the drummer is a star in the making and he makes it look really, really easy and the bassist has quite the swagger about him. Verdict: Not quite the finished article but one of the best bands to come out of Doncaster for the last five or so years. So if they just do a few tweaks around the live vocals and keep progressing as they have the future sure is bright for The Beaus.
Shadders scorelines
Atmosphere - 7
Ability - 8
Effort - 8
The Beaus value for money – 8 (the only money changing hands is over the bar!)
Indie Tracks
Venue – Midland Railway Centre
Now this has to be the strangest festival in the calendar as it’s home is a steam / heritage railway. Yes that’s right a railway, in fact the main stage is actually in the engine shed! In fact it’s not as weird as it sounds, in fact it actually works really well which is why they are back for their second year. Along with the engine shed stage there’s an outdoor stage (basically the back of a lorry – which we believe is common place and how the Truck Festival got it’s name) on a large, neat grassed area and then there’s a further stage in a church. The church stage looks really cool in fact, it’s a tin church, which looks, like it would be well at home in the badlands of America.
We arrive at Butterley in deepest Derbyshire to find we have just missed one of the many train shuttles to the site at Swanwick, we ask the ‘station staff’ when the next one will be and there’s a shrug of the shoulders and an answer of ‘whenever’! Well it’s a nice day so we walk, it only takes about ten minutes and we beat the train by a country mile, bit laid back these preserved railways. We are greeted by a pleasant young lady who give us our wristbands and we spend a few minutes chatting to the promoter, a nice chap by the name of Stuart, which kind of sets the tone for the day. It’s just so damn friendly, a real breathe of fresh air. If you’ve been to big mega festivals like V, Leeds or T in the Park there is always a bit of an edge, an element of the attendees that aren’t there for the music but just to get hammered, like a provincial town’s Saturday night only in a field!
We amble over to the main stage inside the engine shed, which actually is pretty new and looks a bit like a mini B&Q but that said the sound is pretty good so no problems there. We walk into the final song by (we think) Pocketbooks and there seems to be as many people on stage as in the crowd, turns out they’ve been invited onto the stage for a good old fashioned dance and as they rejoin the crowd there’s smiles aplenty. As we walk out into the bright summer sun I find a quid on the floor; things just keep getting better, well for me anyway.
We take a pleasant stroll around the site, we take a look at the church stage which is rammed and looks really cool, however, as it’s bloody hot outside and it’s a tin church you can feel the heat as you stand next to the door. We give it a miss and wander over to the outdoor stage, an all girl band are on, seem pleasant enough and again we have no idea who they are! There’s plenty sat around enjoying the set and they seemed to be enjoying it too. We continue onto the railway buffet so a member of the shadders team can get some snap, he elects to have an ice cream sundae and we have a chat to a couple he knows, again how very civilised.
We decide once ice cream has been scoffed to make our way back over to the main stage to see Airport Girl, not that we have any idea who they are but that’s not the point. As we enter the building there’s a well-stocked and reasonably priced bar so I invest the found quid (and a bit more) on a bottle of Twaites beer, now you don’t get that at Carling Weekender or T in the Park! I later find out they have real ales straight from the barrel, now that’s a bit of a result. Anyhow there’s a fair crowd for Airport Girl who to be fair sound pretty good, kind of obvious indie guitar pop with a bit of an alt country edge, oh and a pretty cellist too. About halfway through their set the bassist makes a comment on how they are going to get a bit rockier so anyone of a twee disposition should leave the building, he laughs and then says better not as they’d be nobody left! And that’s the other point about the majority here, The Smiths were probably a bit mainstream for them and Belle and Sebastion are sell outs for actually selling more than ten albums (on coloured vinyl no doubt)! All jolly nice to a man though! Airport Girl hardly get ‘rocky’ but they do get plenty of feet moving and for their final song they end up as a kind of indie super group with three lovely backing singers and a guest vocalist.
Back out into the sunlight we kind of bump into Dave Gedge who is the real reason why we are here for their headline set. He jokes that he charges a fiver a pop for a photo but let’s us take a few snaps anyway. We then have a few minutes discussing the fact he likes playing unusual venues (this fit’s that bill) and then the antics of Doctor Beeching (who to the uninformed shut down hundreds of railways like this one during the 1960’s).
The next hour or so is a blur of sunshine, The Lodger and bloke from Derby playing an acoustic session in a herbal tea tent, a few lagers / beers and a bit of heritage train spotting. Our ambling means we miss all bar the final song of the set by Comet Gain who pack the main stage and get a splendid reception after their finale.
We know that there’s a bit of time before the Wedding Present take the stage for their headline slot so we head back out to the outdoor stage for a bit of air and see who is on. It transpires that Punk TV the headliners of that stage are on, we have a bit of time so we decide to give them a few minutes. Turns out that they are from Siberia via Moscow but Punk TV definitely bring Russian music in from the cold. They look the part, always like the long hair and hooped shirt look (takes me back to my shoegaze youth) but Punk TV have quite a bite to them. They also have quite a beat about them too, comparisons are made between them and Soup Dragons whilst they cite New Order as an influence. It’s a bit of shock to the system to see a Russian band in the middle of Derbyshire on the back of a truck but it works and they are sensational.
Unfortunately time moves on we have to head back over to the main stage as The Wedding Present draw ever closer. In fact as we get a quick beer Gedge and co are already making their way onto the stage. There’s quite some history between us and The Wedding Present, in fact our first Weddoes gig is nearly seventeen years ago (Wakefield Rooftop Gardens if you are interested) and the album ‘Seamonsters’ is an ever present in our top three albums since it’s release (we invested in the American version for the single B sides!). Throughout the years they have never, ever disappointed live neither and they aren’t going to make an exception tonight, it’s a blinder. Gedge is in top form with plenty of banter with the crowd and they play an eclectic mix from throughout the vast catalogue and long career. Gedge even throws in an old Cinerama song, his other band when he took a Wedding Present hiatus. As we able towards the front the first of many old ‘uns are banged out ‘Suck’ is an emotional bombshell and true Wedding Present gem. We love the fact that a member of the crowd asks (well shouts) for ‘Montreal’ and he says he’ll see if he can learn it in twenty minutes. About twenty minutes later he’s playing it, obviously on the setlist all along but what a star response. Musically The Wedding Present verge from frenzied guitar murder to the twee indie pop but it’s the former we love. Nobody can argue that ‘Brassneck’ isn’t a true indie classic and gets a welcome outing but it’s the finale that really is the highlight. After Gedge traditionally announces that they don’t do encores they blast through first ‘Dalliance’ and the ‘Dare’ what an ending. These two ‘Seamonster’ classics are a right beating to the senses, hardly easy listening but lyrically and musically second to none. What a way to end, they be some sore limbs and bruises to those down the front but it’s always well worth a bit of physical pain to go with Gedges emotional musical onslaughts. Simply stunning.
We grab a last beer to cool us down on our way out of the engine shed and head over to the station, no dark walk back to Butterley for us. The heritage diesel unit is already sat their waiting for us as it quietly fills up, others stay onsite for the promise of an indie disco which is quite tempting except our man has the prospect of a stella drive half way across Europe to Erfurt in former East German the following day. There’s plenty of chat on the short train hop back, it’s all about what a fantastic time everyone has had. We fully endorse these sentiments, probably the best festival we’ve been to in many a long year and here’s hoping for another next year in 2009.
Doncaster Music Live 2008
Venue: This is one of the more ‘unique’ venues on the festival circuit. It basically in Doncaster famous market place with a decent sized stage plonked outside of the good-looking Corn Exchange building. It’s actually not bad as it’s paved so no muddy feet and it’s flanked by a couple of pubs so there’s proper beer and real toilets handy too. Now in it’s third year with previous headliners of The Bluetones and last year Leeds miserablists The Wedding Present. The real decider is that it’s completely free, no text competitions, tickets, booking fees just turn up and enjoy.
Tiny Dancers – One of the few local bands on the Saturday night (Sunday was devoted purely to the brightest local talent) Tiny Dancers make the short journey for the second year. Judging by both years they haven’t really improved none so we hit the bar!
Elliott Minor – It has to be said that in the youth market Elliot Minor really are big box office and they have quite the following assembled by the time they hit the Doncaster stage. Fair play to Elliot Minor they have worked damn hard and seem constantly on the road plus some clever major label marketing that have seen the band hit the charts with good regularity. Their debut longer player is a bit too polished for it’s own good and strays far too often into ballad territory. Fortunately live they gain some roughness back and sound more like a rock band than a pop act. In fact they seemed to have rocked out quite a bit, so it’s more muse than mcfly! There’s a bit of the old busted about sections of the fans though, what’s all this holding up messages for the band business, bizarre. All in all it’s good fun and songs like ‘Time after time’ should see them well.
Elliot Minor - Shadders scoreline 9
Atmosphere - 9
Ability - 8
Effort - 9
The Rascals – Compared to Elliot Minor The Rascals seem like old age pensioners! Actually what they are a more ‘conventional’ indie band with a more obvious retro sound. They have a great look and quite the provenance with the Last Shadow Puppets / Arctic Monkeys connection. They don’t have the raw energy of an Elliott Minor but have the swagger of a band that know they are damn good. They have a big old 60’s sound and you can tell almost instantly that they come from Liverpool, the scouse musical linear runs all the way through them and their music. A relaxed half-hour or so which is time well spent with The Rascals on stage.
The Rascals - Shadders scoreline - 8
Atmosphere - 7
Ability - 9
Effort - 8
The Levellers – We at Shaddersonline have been more than critical of the choice of The Levellers as headliners of this years Doncaster Music Live but they have drawn the biggest crowd yet so maybe they complete has beens then! Now really compared to Elliott Minor The Levellers actually are old age pensioners and the age of the crowd seems somewhat older than a couple of hours earlier. They may be older but as The Levellers hit the stage both parties roll back the years, the atmosphere down the front is electric as the folk punk rock is hit out at a frantic pace. With a couple of decades under their belt they have a huge body of work but it never deviates from the tried and trusty Levellers formula. They look like they always have; bloke with dreads, clothes that Gok Wan would have a heart attack over and a bloke playing a fiddle! There’s huge cheers for the ‘big’ anthems with ‘Beautiful Day’ especially going down well, after all it’s one that everyone can sing along to. But the ‘highlight’ is the song that made their ‘indie legend’ status, that is ‘One Way’. And for this we have a little addition, yes it’s a bloke in a skirt with green hair playing a didgeridoo! The crowd go that crazy that half the stewards have to ensure the barriers don’t collapse, the other half can’t be bothered with that as they are dancing like loons! For whatever we think about the booking of The Levellers it cannot be argued that they can still draw a crowd and strap it on like pro’s and for that we doff our crusty caps and salute them!
The Levellers - Shadders scoreline 8
Atmosphere - 9
Ability - 8
Effort - 8
Doncaster Music Live value for money – 10 (it’s free, local and a few good bands too)
The Chartists
Venue: Doncaster Vintage Rockbar. A great venue, downstairs at the Rockbar is excellently suited to The Chartists, cool surroundings with ice cold vier on tap! Another rather fine aspect of the Rockbar’s bands policy is that usually there’s no door charge, so it’s a bloody cool venue and it’s nowt to get in, double bubble then! Support: A couple of local supports which verge from the sublime to the ridiculous! First up are Sheffield’s Kalenko who are dark and brooding and the sublime element of the equation. Mutterings around the rockbar suggest Interpol and Radiohead influences and the guitars are pretty full on. The ridiculous part comes from the most horrific ‘rawk’ band ever, the haircuts are dreadful and the music even worse, so we dart back upstairs to avoid wanting to remove our ears with blunt rusty knives to save our sanity. The Band: Let’s face it The Chartists nail their influences well and truly onto their flagpost, but thankfully there aren’t many that don’t like the Rolling Stones! Lead singer, Joe Hudson has the swagger and confidence to really pull the job off; he has a look of Vernon Kay but all the moves of a Mick Jagger. They look good, play hard and sound on the money, hell it ain’t gonna win many awards for originally but who cares when it’s sounds so damn good. Stuff like ‘Walk on water’ has all the characteristics of the stones at the pomp or perhaps even Primal Scream at their best. Verdict: The Chartists are the latest in a long line of bands since the ‘60’s to take the rock and mix it with it with the blues and bang it out loud and proud. It’s a fine line though and if you get it wrong you look and sound really stupid but fortunately The Chartists are well on the right side of that line. A fittingly cool performance to go with the cool venue.
Shadders scorelines
Atmosphere - 8
Ability - 8
Effort - 8
The Chartists value for money – 9 (hell it’s free and they were pretty damn good!).
Elbow
Venue: Sheffield University – Octagon. The biggest of the Sheffield student union venues, the Octagon has always been a bit of a fav of ours. It’s going to face some competition from the new Carling Academy but that’s not to worry about tonight. Rumour has it it’s a sell out, well we hear a bloke saying he’d bought the second to last ticket so that’s good enough for us. Support: Two Gallants. We never saw them but Guy was most enthusiastic about them, he even advises everyone to buy their merchandise too! The Band: It seems like a lifetime ago that Elbow were last in the neighbourhood, in fact it’s only a couple of years but back they are with their fourth lp, ‘The Seldom seen kid’. By this stage in their career they have absolutely nothing to prove and by the relaxed mood Guy and the lads are in they’re going enjoy themselves as much as their paying public. Like the Reverend the previous night Guy’s banter is nearly as entertaining as the music, he is in fine form and obsesses about the importance of manners; he’s obviously nice about it though! First single ‘Grounds for divorce’ the ‘comeback’ single is typically Elbow except for a harder edge. There’s plenty of evidence that the reflective, melancholic elbow still remain and sounding still in pretty good shape. There’s even plenty of reminders of their glorious past to go with their stunning present, ‘Newborn’ is dedicated to the members of the band that have just become fathers again, Guy jokes about how when he’s 97 he’ll still be doing this except with their sons rather than them in the band, the song sounds as fantastic as ever. It’s stuff like this that shows what an exceptional voice Guy has, we hear somebody joke he has the face of a bricklayer and the voice of an angel! We also get the highlights from their alleged difficult third album; ‘Leaders of the free world’ is good but ‘Forget myself’ is magnificent. As we’re in Sheffield Guy says it’s a shame that Richard Hawley can’t be here to play on ‘The Fix’ as he does on the record, oh no he’s joking and he’s Richard Hawley (looking like the classic fifties throwback) ambling on stage! Guy and Hawley have a good joke about their meeting on a transatlantic flight which ends with Hawley doing the worse German impression in the world ever, fortunately they then get down to some business. In his buoyant mood as they leave the stage Guy laughs that they’ll obviously be back for more and that everyone has to sing them back on, he’s tells everyone that to the tune of yellow submarine they have to sing we are live in Pete Turner’s hair! He laughs and the crowd do indeed get them back on stage with Pete Turner’s hair song! It’s a good job they do too as for the finale they do indeed leave the best for last. ‘Grace under pressure’ is awesome; its beauty is only surpassed by its power. It’s slightly marred by the security assault on a stage invader, but as good manners goes Guy virtually calls a halt to proceedings to try and calm the situation and ensure he’s alright. By the way Hawley returns to the stage to join in, the perfect end to a near perfect gig. Verdict: Special guest stars, frontmen in top form, stunning light show just add to a catalogue of songs that most of their contemporaries would die for. Do gigs get much better than this?
Shadders scorelines
Atmosphere - 8
Ability - 10
Effort - 9
Elbow value for money - 9
Reverend and the Makers
Venue: Sheffield Academy. It’s first night at the Carling Academy after it’s extensive and indeed expensive conversion from flea pit nightclub to uber venue. It’s a great choice for opening night too; Sheffield’s current favourite son’s Reverend and the Makers. The place looks pretty cool too, decent voice from around the place and unusually a 500 capacity standing room balcony rather than out of it upstairs seats. The money seems to be well spent but the opening night queues at the bar are just plain stupid and will have to be addressed for future shows, a happy punter is obviously a punter with a pint of carling in his hand, but there’s one hell of a wait tonight. Support: Some rap type which remind shadders why we don’t really do rap or hip hop because generally (especially live) it’s a load of tosh! As normal there’s some bloke shouting about this and that but behind him is somebody with a box on his head, some twerp who looks like he’s just been kicked out of the neu rave backlash and two chav lasses who just stand about looking not very bothered. Quite a spectacle but unfortunately not a very good one, bring on the Rev. The Band: Arriving on stage fashionably late come the Reverend Jon McClure and his band of his merry Makers, this one off homecoming show is something of a no pressure party gig and McClure and co are well up for a bit of that. The Reverend is true to his title too as he blasts out some gobshite sermons to his congregation! He enthuses that you shouldn’t believe what the papers say, think for yourself and listen to Roots Manuva! He also makes no apologies for smoking on stage stating that Gordon Brown ain’t gonna stop him having a cig and he’ll have to pay a two grand fine for the privilege, not that he’s bothered about that! Back on the musical front the best bits from the 2007 stand out album ‘State of things’ are all given an outing much to the delight of his home crowd. In fact it’s the tune ‘State of things’ that’s the first to really show but it’s only a slight prelude to the mayhem that is caused by ‘Heavyweight champion of the world’ this is a monster song that is well suited to the Reverend’s live style and none too suprising the place goes ballistic! ‘18-30’ is booted out to great effect soon after with McClure saying it’s name is something about pricks on holiday in Benidorm, it’s a great example of why Reverend and the makers work, great lyrics and a buzzing beat with plenty of energy. McClure turns his attention to the security staff advising that they should be ‘tested out’ as they’re only on trial! He pulls the notices attached to each of the stage monitors stating that crowd surfing is punishable by death (well eviction from the venue anyway) and throws them into the crowd, it’s a red rag to a bull with this lot as there’s surfing aplenty even though their next song is one of their slowest! In fact with the Rev the rants are nearly as good (nearly!) as the tunes. He does a bit of poetry, has a pop at politicians, why you shouldn’t stand for shite jobs and then goes on about how proud people should be of Sheffield bands and how they should get out on a Tuesday night supporting their local bands. His most interesting piece is about the former life of the Carling Academy as the Roxy’s nightclub. He decides to do an interactive straw poll of how people first came here, how many people got pissed here and then how many people have had sex here! He then laughs as a bloke shouts out from the crowd, the Rev then says it was probably them but they’ve changed a bit since then! They finish with a blast through ‘He said he loved me’ with over the top and energetic duel vocals, goes down a treat. The band leave the stage to a heroes reception whilst Jon waits around to the acclaim of the crowd, he then grabs his coat and says he’s going to continue outside then legs it. The venue awash with the feeling there’s gonna be something special outside head for the exit. Unfortunately two thousand odd folk and one door make for a disaster in the making, in a city cast with the shadow of Hillsborough this ain’t a good thing. Once outside there’s enough coppers around to arrest everyone and no sign of the Reverend. There’s some waiting around in the cold evening air before the crowd disperses into the steel city’s suburbs. Verdict: Not quite the killer gig the shadders team witnessed at the Leadmill last year but that was one of the best gigs of all time! Still great performance and a pretty good venue, the place just need to sort the beer and exits out and we can’t wait to be back.
Shadders scorelines
Atmosphere - 8
Ability - 9
Effort - 9
Reverend and the makers value for money – 8
Doncaster Music week: BBC Radio Raw Talent Gig
Venue: Doncaster Leopard. The original local venue that of late has been eclipsed somewhat by newcomers The Priory and Vintage Rockbar, even so it’s still pretty apt to include the place as part of the Doncaster music week events. The free ticketing means that the place is damn well packed too. The Bands: Darren Bell. Walking on as we’re handed back our ticket stub is pretty well good timing. Darren is pretty much alone up on stage but with a variety of knobs and whistles he beefs up his acoustic show. Neat tricks include singing into a second mic and looping them into backing vox and making a quick slap on the guitar, tap on the old effects pedal and hey presto… drums! Acoustic he certainly is but there isn’t too much whimsical about the music, in fact vocally he is a bit reminiscent of shadders fav gobshite Lee Griffiths (and in our eyes there isn’t much better an accolade than that). Bizarrely virtually every song has no title, one gets a name from the crowd whilst another is the subject of some inter studio banter that gains a title something akin to woodland creatures eating cheese, despite all that they all get a stella reception. Good honest fair and that damn fine by us. The Beaus. This lot are the stylish bunch making big waves on the scene but things go tits up from the off. Firstly they don’t half look the part but Dougy; chief beau encounters big problems before even playing a note. Unfortunately as the guitars and samplers go down so does his mood with them, never a good idea to strop on stage in front of a packed house! It never really hits the highs of their obvious promise; there’s plenty to attract the disciples; part libs, bit clash and a tad bloc party just not tonight. It’s not great but The Beaus but they will have other nights, bigger stages and we’re sure better days. The Alychamps. The Beaus may have been a bit of a damn squid but all hail The Alychamps who are the other end of the spectrum, stunning. Tonight they are the kings of Doncaster and have the Leopard in the palm of their hands from the off. Ross Cameron is a star in the making, the most charismatic frontman this side of Sheffield, a bit of Jarvis with stage presence to burn and balls of steel to match. The rest of The Alychamps are unfairly eclipsed by their frontman which is a compliment to him as they are spot on and never put a foot wrong. They all deserve to move up from this as this is damn special but for tonight they bask in the glory for they are truly kings of this here town. In a strange quirk of fate they aren’t actually the headline act but for the bbc local radio, who have taped all tonights acts for broadcasting across the Yorkshire network, M101 are last up. Unfortunately for them about half the crowd have decided that The Alychamps were headliners and have already bogged off. Despite this M101 get up and do their thing anyway, they do that jumping around punk pop rock thing and are pretty good at it too. They even get to extend their set past the allotted songs required for the wireless and end the proceedings on a bouncy high. Verdict: Doncaster Music Week is a fantastic addition to the local music calendar and another string to the scenes bow. The bands tonight have shown that the talent is here and given the opportunity they’ll light up venues like this. Undoubtedly The Alychamps were the highlight but overall a great idea has been transformed into a great night’s entertainment, nice one.
Shadders scorelines
Atmosphere - 9
Ability - 8
Effort - 8
Value for money - 9 (it was free anyway!)
Sam Isaac
Venue: Doncaster Vintage Rockbar. Arguably the coolest alternative bar in the town at present and hosts hundreds of gigs a year in a downstairs room. The venue itself is pretty small but has the feel of say a Cavern club except unfortunately it does seem to share the smell with the toilets which are also situated downstairs! Other than that, yeah, it’s pretty smart. Support: First up Above Them which are a bit of an odd one out as they are a straight forward rock band whereas what follows is definitely well in the realms of indiedom. Not that there is anything wrong with Above them, far from it. They are good at what they do and the singer complains that his voice is ‘knackered’ too although that could add the rock roughness. It’s a quick jump across the West to South Yorkshire border for Above Them from Pontefract and a worthwhile one at that. My First Tooth are the main support and closer to Sam Isaac in spirit, in fact they have played with Sam a few times already and thus are relaxed and comfortable with the gig. In fact My First Tooth are a duo, male singer & guitarist (who does share a look of Sam) and a multi talented girl who plays a variety of wacky looking instruments but fortunately for the majority of the evening she reverts to a violin. Musically it’s good stuff, laid back acoustic old skool indie which borders on just about right side of folk. The Band: The foundations are neatly laid by My First Tooth for Sam Isaac to take to the stage, for the next leg of his tour Sam will perform with a full band but he’s here as a pared down duo tonight. It’s therefore more lo fi acoustic pop but it’s upbeat and always has a decent tune. Sam is not just in fine voice neither he’s pretty chatty with the hardy souls that have braved the rain and force nine gails (that have caused chaos according to the news down south). In fact he’s pretty obsessed by a recent spell in Canada, not only do a number of songs gain their titles from across the Atlantic but there’s a few bizarre stories too. The most notable involves Sam nearly burning down the house of which the basement he was lodging in, the interest comes in the fact he did it by burning fish fingers and has to mention several times the dog in the house was unharmed but gutted it missed out of the fishy snack! Verdict: Perhaps most telling is that Sam Isaac got a Doncaster crowd on a cold Monday night clapping along which is no mean feet! This illustrates that the guys obviously has some talent and presence too. The acoustic indie pop sector may well be a bit on the busy side at the moment but there should always be room for a Sam Isaac.
Shadders scorelines
Atmosphere - 7
Ability - 9
Effort - 8
Sam Isaac value for money - 8
Athlete
Venue: Hull University – The Asylum. It’s a good set up this, a dance floor down a level, which means there’s plenty of vantage points for those not wanting to get too close to the action. The only downside to the humble photography is they forgot that security and others actually need to get into the pit in front of the stage. So anyone who needs access has to climb over a balcony six feet down, not an easy feet at the best of times and even worse when trying to get back up! Back to the gig, it ain’t sold out in advance but there’s enough takers of ‘bargain’ face value tickets (avoiding ticketshark.com booking and transaction fees) to bolster the crowd to a near capacity. Support: Boy Kill Boy. Unfortunately due to the fact it’s a good two year since the last time we were here and some rather dodgy Hull signs we get in just as Boy Kill Boy are finishing which is bloody annoying to put it mildly. They look the part as ever and the two minutes we see look pretty good! The Band: Athlete still get slated for not been the most exciting of bands and that criticism isn’t just saved for their records but their live performances too. To a point that’s fair, you aren’t going to get blood and guts nor a high tempo affair but what you do get is a dependable, solid and frankly a decent night out. That’s the crack with Athlete what they lose in ‘excitement’ you get a set full of cracking melodies and singalong tunes. They trademarked the Athlete ‘sound’ with the debut album and taken it right through to the third long player ‘Beyond the neighbourhood’ all of which are included in a lengthy set list. From that third album the singles ‘Toyko’ and especially ‘Hurricane’ take the eye, the latter is a damn fine pop song. A suprising highlight is a midset solo performance of ‘Beautiful’ which lives up to its name and is stunning. But as we’ve said before the jewel in the Athlete crown is ‘Wires’. It’s quite a formidable tune in it’s own right which is always a winner live but take a step back and listen to the lyrics, it’s a very rare beast, a intimately personal song that works on so many levels. It gets a cracking response. Verdict: It ain’t ever gonna be hundred mile an hour stuff but Athlete again prove to be a solid live draw with an arsenal of top tunes. That’s the deal with Athlete, pure and simply great music.
Shadders scorelines
Atmosphere - 6
Ability - 9
Effort – 8
Athlete value for money - 8
Amy Macdonald
Venue: Sheffield Leadmill. First time in ’08 for us at ‘Leadmill and it promises to be a good ‘un with a sell out crowd expected and the Leadmill never lets us down, or does it? Support: No idea but there’s some twerp absolutely murdering The Cure on stage when we arrive, thank heavens he’s exit stage left straight after! The Band: Amy MacDonald. On she comes to some pride of tartan style backing tune, now why does everyone from Scotland as soon as they step over the border have to be one great advert for the place, we know where you’re from, get over it! First impressions aren’t sparkling as she hardly looks like she’ll win smiler of the year but hey we’re here for the music so sing on. It’s all very nice and technically it’s spot on but there’s something missing, atmosphere and a connection with the ‘fans’. The place is indeed packed but the usual Leadmill vibe has been taken over by some sterile bunch of Guardian readers more akin to a night down the local arena than at the pride of the north. The feet only get tapping on the few real movers but mainly it’s applause in the right places and polite laughter at the lengthy between song Macdonald rambles. Of the high points there are few, most of the dinner party favourite ‘This is the life’ is aired along with a few new tracks but she never looks like she’s having any fun with it, it’s all really serious which is a bit alarming for one so young. In fact the one track she can have a laugh with is her cover of ‘Mr Brightside’ but it is just dreadful, she manages to squeeze every last drop of style and charisma out of it. The Killers would be topping themselves if they heard it so they could be spinning in their graves! Oh and for the first track of the encore she does the track that sounds like a Scottish tourist board advert! Verdict: This isn’t how it should have been tonight, the album is rather good but her fanbase seem more interested in chatting than dancing and Amy herself can do little to lift the place. Musically it’s solid if uneventful but otherwise it’s a bit of a damp squid, distinctly uninspiring.
Shadders scorelines
Atmosphere - 0
Ability - 8
Effort - 6
Amy Macdonald value for money - 4