Beautiful Days 2014

The Beautiful Days festival was concieved by The Levellers and first held in 2003 over two days with two stages. Over the years this has expanded to four days (you can now camp on thursday) with six stages featuring a variety of music, comedy and theatre. 

There are plenty of activities, particularly for children which makes this festival ideal for families. Robots, costumed dancers, tree people, fire jugglers and all manner of street type entertainment occurs spontaneousley appealing to adults and kids alike. Bars are plentiful across the site with a range of fine ales and ciders provided by tne nearby Ottery Brewery.

As always an eclectic range of artists kept us entertained over the weekend. All of a very high standard with my favourites being as follows; on the main stage - Undertones, Dead Kennedys, Ruts DC, New Groove Formation, Seasick Steve, Steave Earle, Jimmy Cliff and of course the Levellers; in the big top - Levellers (acoustic), Bad Shepherds, Seth Lakeman and Ferocious Dog; in the Bimble Inn (best bar on site) - Stevie One Bloke and his Mandolin.

There is far too much to see and do here than I can cover in a blog post, go to  www.beautifuldays.org for a full band listing, activities etc and be sure to order your tickets early because it always sells out.

Sex Pistols Experience @ Sheffield O2 Academy

Punk cover and tribute bands are, as our American cousins would say, "a dime a dozen." The Sex Pistols Experience stands head and shoulders above the rest in this respect. Along with excellent local band Reasons To Be Cheerful we were treat to a night of quality classic punk rock.

Reasons To Be Cheerful regularly gig around South Yorkshire and the surrounding area playing punk, new wave and ska from the late 70's / early 80's. Well worth seeing on their own they provided a great warm up to the main act. http://www.reasonstheband.co.uk

 

The Sex Pistols Experience have played over 1,000 gigs around the world, have been involved with several documentaries and films since 2001 and are recognised as the best Pistols tribute you will see. 

Johhny Rotter exudes all the cynisism and bile you would expect as Kid Vicious sneers and baits the audience at every opportunity with Steve Clones and Paul Crook equally enthusiastic in their roles to complete a truly authentic experience. Top notch musicianship combined with all the nasty attitude and energy of the original Pistols shows gave us a fantastic night of old school anarchy leaving everyone sweaty, grinning and howling for more.

More info and gig dates at http://www.sexpistolsexperience.co.uk

The Creepshow @ The Cockpit, Leeds with support from The Radiacs

A great little venue this. With the entrance is situated under a railway arch set in a graffitti covered wall I knew this was my kinda place. Cheap digs were found 100 yards away with pleny of pubs and fast food joints within easy staggering distance. All these plus points added up to an instant decision to keep an eye out for more good bands playing here.

 
Speaking of good, nay excellent bands, on to tonights support in the form of old school psychobillys The Radiacs. Back with a re-vamped line-up with new members Martin Aylward on drums and Ben Lee on guitar. Former bass player Nev Preston makes a welcome return and Dale Williams as ever snarls out the vocals up front. I've got to say they sounded fantastic and it was great to hear the new single "All Wound Up"  fitting right in there with older Radiacs songs but still sounding fresh at the same time. Looking forward to the album guys. By the end of the set I'd already had a great night with more yet to come.

The Creepshow hit the stage rocking with an intense pace that kept us bouncing, dancing and singing along with established favourites from the first three albums and a generous helping of new songs from the latest release "Life After Death". By the end of the gig we were left hot, sweaty and screaming for more, a job well done I'd say.

With Sarah Blackwood leaving the the fold, I like many others wondered what the future held in store for The Creepshow. It became instantly obvious that the Creepshow scored a serious result in the form of vocalist / guitarist (and tattooist) Kenda Legaspi. Kenda sounds amazing, looks great and fits in perfectly with the band. With every album improving on the previous one and a fantastic live show the future is looking good for these Canadian psychobillies.

A big thanks to Kristian "The Reverend" Rowles for joining us for a few beers after the show. Apparently most of the band caught up with us as well but things got a bit blurry as we drank into the wee hours.

Si Cranstoun @ Rolls Royce Club, Derby

After leaving ska band the Dualers in the capable hands of brother Tyber in 2010, Si Cranston has forged an increasingly successful career as a solo artist. Impeccable vocals and presentation with backing from a highly talented band has Si playing to sold out venues wherever he appears.

On arrival at the Rolls Royce Club the dance floor was already packed as the DJ did a fine job of getting everyone warmed up. With no fuss and a modest introduction Si and his band took to the stage for two sets of pure magic. A combination of original songs penned by Si and a selection of covers kept the dance floor alive from the first note to the closing encore. 

Original compositions "50's Pin Up", "Throwback", "Coupe de Ville", "Lonesome Heart Bandit" and "Dynamo" fitted in seamlessly with classic covers including "Reet Petite" and "Twisting The Night Away", very worthy tributes to Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke, two of the biggest influences on Si's vocals. Two surprising covers were "Sex On Fire" and "Just A Gigolo / I Ain't Got Nobody" both benefitting from Si's unique treatment. Several new songs were also showcased with an enthusiasic reception indicating that the new album could be the best yet.

If you like soulful rock 'n' roll then you need to listen to Si Cranston, I can't think of anyone around at the moment delivering this style of music with such perfection. Tour dates and CD's are at sicranstoun.com and you can go like Si on Facebook.

Barrence Whitfield and the Savages @ O2 Academy Sheffield

Until a few weeks ago I'd never even heard of Barrence Whitfield and the Savages. I spotted them in the local gig guide, checked out some write ups and looked on YouTube and thought "yeah, worth a look".

They proved to be a whole lot more than worth a look. Full on high energy soulful rock 'n' roll delivered by a big guy with an even bigger voice backed up by a group of hard rocking seasoned musicians. Barrence's passion for performing came across right from the start, intantly infecting the audience and continuing throughout the show. 

I'm amazed someone this good has slipped my attention for so long but I'm gonna be sure to make up for it now. More info, music, video and tour dates at barrencewhitfieldsavages.com

The Toasters @ Delaneys

 
Delaneys Music Bar in Sheffield has become one of my favourite live music venues of late. Owner Steve Delaney has a gift for booking some great local bands as well as others from further afield. This was the case when we found out New York Ska veterans the Toasters were playing with support from Sheffields own Jungle Lion. Watch this space for a future blog on Jungle Lion, an impressive twelve piece ska / reggae band that had the audience dancing from the word go.

The Toasters appeared on the Ska scene in 1981 but were unable to get signed to a label. Consequently front man Robert 'Bucket' Hingley formed his own label Moon Ska Records and has released over 20 studio, live and compilation albums. Robert remains the only consistent member and although I've seen the Toasters a few times it's never been the same line-up. Nevertheless I've enjoyed every show, this one being no exception. 

Playing as a five piece this time round the Toasters set included "Two Tone Army", "Weekend in L.A.", "I'm Running Right Through the World", "Shocker!", "Pirate Radio", "Run Rudy Run" and more from their substantial back catologue before finishing the night with the rousing "Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down". 

If you've not come across the Toasters before check out the "30th Anniversary 1981 - 2011" album. A great retrospective collection and visit the website http://www.toasters.org/ for info and tour dates.

The Wildhearts @ Rock City

It's been way too long since I last went to Rock City and since the Wildhearts were playing there on one of their all too rare tours I got myself some digs sorted nearby ready for a night with one of the best and most underrated bands on the planet.

Arriving too early to get in my room at the Igloo Backpackers Hostel, Charlie the nice lass on reception kindly let me stash my gear so could go down to the Tap & Tumbler for some lunch and liquid refreshment. You just can't go to Rock City without going for a beer in the Tap, a fine rock bar with a great atmosphere. A few hours later and much refreshed, if a little wobbly, it was back to the digs for a scrub up then down to the gig. Thinking at seven o'clock I might be a bit early I was well pleased to see Ginger's project band Hey! Hello! coming on stage as I walked in. Hey! Hello! got the evening off to a great start with plenty of us already familiar with the songs and singing along with favourites "How I Survived The Punk Wars" "Black Valentine" and "Swimwear". I could have happily watched them play twice as long, paticularly since next band the Von Hertzen Brothers weren't really my cup o' tea (sorry guys) although many folks obviously enjoyed them. Horses for courses and all that eh?

My time away from the Von Hertzen's set was put to good use however as I sought out the merch stall to get me a copy of the Rock City vs. The Wildhearts CD that they'll only be selling on this tour then off to seek further liquid refreshment. A good idea here is an additional bar selling tins. Now these are a bit overpriced but an ideal solution if you want get down the front and still keep most of your booze in its container when the crowd goes mental. So with drink in hand and tinnies in pockets I got a prime spot front centre ready for the madness to begin.

The Wiildhearts hit the stage on top form with "Nothing Ever Changes" then keeping the energy up with "TV Tan", "Nita Nitro", "Sick Of Drugs" and "Caffiene Bomb". By now I'm sweating my nuts off and loving it. After a brief respite we're all wanting to know 'Where's my Elvis?' as the band storm through "Vanilla Radio", "Someone That Won't Let Me Go" then  (relatively) recent songs "This Revolution Will Be Televised" and "Mazel Tov Cocktail". The intensity increased further as the set finished with "My Baby Is A Headfuck", "Suckerpunch" and "I Wanna Go Where The People Go". Glad of a few moments rest I looked round at a sea of faces grinning as madly as I must have been and taking the time to apologise for treading on toes, crushing folk and the odd accidental headbutt. All good fun y'know.
Coming back on stage, Ginger let us get halfway through "Geordie In Wonderland" before joining in. Then in an encore nearly as long as the first set we had "The Jackson Whites", "Nexus Icon", Tim Smith" and "Junkenstein", Scott took the lead vocals for "The Only One", a good many of us wanted their excellent cover of Warren Zevon classic "Carmelita" but you can't have everything. A great job of covering Jason and the Scorchers "White Lies" however followed before leaving us wrung out with our vocal chords pushed to the limit with "29x The Pain"

A truly fantastic show with a great set list. Great to see Scott Sorry back in the line-up with Ginger, CJ and Rich. Last but not least a great crowd, an absolute pleasure to get crushed and battered with you all.

http://www.thewildhearts.com/

In The Post - Joe Solo "A Revolution in an Empty Room"

I caught the end of Joe Solo's set at Shakespeares in Sheffield and was gutted I hadn't seen the full performance. As consolation I ordered a copy of his 2013 CD 'A Revolution in an Empty Room'. This duly arrived along with a message of thanks. Extra touches like that make a world of difference.

Joe delivers poignant lyrics with passion and conviction tempered with easy humerous interaction with the audience. If Joe Strummer had been a folk singer this is how he would have sounded.

Check out the video below, listen for free and buy music at Bandcamp and go say hi on Facebook

Straight Razor Angels farewell gig

 
A bittersweet evening really.  The Straight Razor Angels have decided to call it a day, their last gig being at The Shakespeare in Sheffield.

Excellent support came courtesy of Dave Woodcock and the Dead Comedians, a band definitely worth keeping an eye on and I'm sure I'll be seeing more of and writing a piece on in the future. Apparently Dave and the guys were supposed to be top of the bill but graciously gave headline spot to Straight Razor Angels due to the circumstances.

 
The Angels pulled no punches in delivering a typically rocking performance to a full room and appreciative crowd. yours truly couldn't resist getting down the front for one last bop to one of my favourite bands of recent years. By the end of the night I was hot, sweaty and grinning all over despite being a little sad that this was the last time.

I'd like to wish Vegas, Ross and Eddie the best of luck in their future endeavours and thank them for all the pleasure I've had from seeing them play, cheers guys.