I arrived nice and early to check out the support and to enjoy the ‘full experience’. (Also to get my money’s worth) And slowly but surely the numbers built until the crowd balloon was fully inflated. We were tightly packed in like Rizlas and I was ready for this shit to start.
The gig was a sellout and the crowd were ready.
First up was Sunburst and it already had the feel of a gig you’d be glad you went to.
The frontman reminds me of The Sheafs or a very young Jim Morrison which is a good box to tick. They played with confidence and on another evening these could have been the headline band.
Everything was going great until somewhere in the middle of the second song some absolute lunatic thought it was a great idea to drop their guts filling the room with an obnoxious gas.
It took ages to clear which I’m convinced took a few years off my life and for a short spell I considered never seeing another gig again. But it eventually moved on and allowed me to enjoy the music once more.
After a few of their own, they played Fluorescent Adolescent which always goes down well in a Sheffield venue.
I thought these lads were really good and would be even better if they’d allow the spotlight to shine more on the lead singer rather than the rhythm guitarist who was too keen to be centre of attention.
I know the crowd enjoyed it but for me, one Arctic Monkeys cover was enough and the second was one too many.
Here we go, Mara are coming on.
These lads proper turned up and although the numbers dropped a little the mosh pit they commanded made up for it.
If I was talking in the 1970s I’d say they weren’t exactly my cup of tea but halfway through the set, I felt an urge to jump about and shove people around with all the others.
And then Marples took to the stage. I saw these gentlemen at The Frog and Parrot on the Thursday of Tramlines so was dead glad I managed to see them here. The crowd had filled back out again and we were all ready for the main event.
They opened with an Oasis cover ‘Hello’ which I thought was a good idea and then worked their way through a top-notch set performing exactly like a headliner should.
The Tramlines performance was a strong 7 but tonight’s gig was easily a 9.
A band on the up, but now it’s time to build on this performance, but where to next? We look forward to finding out.
📸 WORDS AND PHOTOS BY SCOTT BRADY
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