With 36 gigs lined up this summer at one of the North’s most beautiful outdoor venues, the Piece Hall in Halifax kicked off with Manchester band James on Friday night.
Kicking off the proceedings at support were The K’S. These lads have progressed substantially over the last three years and had the prestigious task of opening up the summer season. Despite being plagued with a few technical issues, the band went from strength to strength in their set and undoubtably gained a number of new fans in the process. This week it was announced that the four piece would be headlining their very own show here next year, so they definitely did something right! Nice one lads!
Despite the gig being the start of a summer series, the crowd were dressed for all types of weather. Imagine James bucket hats, umbrellas and ponchos. The sun fought the clouds as they opened with 1986 release ‘Johnny Yen’. The sound poured through the speakers across the venue, and the noise from the crowd reciprocated.
If you haven’t been to this venue before, put it on your list! Not only is it picturesque, but it’s also surrounded by independent vendors such as ‘Loafers’, a vinyl and coffee shop which is licensed to sell alcoholic drinks at the Piece Hall gigs.
It was nice to see a mix of generations through the crowd – consisting of dads and lads, families, couples, and groups of friends. Nobody seemed to care as the rain started to come down, and the band began to play ‘Sometimes’ from (arguably) their most well-known album ‘Laid’.
A rainbow appeared over the venue as the gig continued with hoods up, wet hair, and diluted pints. The setlist was a mix of old and new, with tracks like ‘Way Over Your Head’, ‘Tomorrow’, ‘Zero’, ‘She’s A Star’ and ‘Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)’.
The gig concluded with the two most anticipated tracks played back-to-back – ‘Sit Down’ and ‘Laid’. These songs saw strangers hugging and singing in the rain, before rushing off to get the last train, or for some… to the pub!
WORDS BY SHANNON PILLING
PHOTO CREDIT – HELS MILLINGTON
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