Sunday evenings are notorious for being that last bit of downtime before another working week begins again. Perhaps associated with relaxing or boredom, it’s safe to say not everyone would feel up to spending their night enjoying a concert. But if you didn’t catch October Drift’s set at The Leadmill in Sheffield, then you certainly missed out.
The alt-rock band were supported by two acts, the first of those being Nightschool. A prompt start from them meant that not long after being ushered into the venue did they begin. Considering the fact that it was early on in the evening, they pulled in a big crowd whom they were very chatty and engaging with. In particular when they announced ‘this song is about Satan’ it elicited a big cheer from the audience, much to the singer’s amusement. They were loud, they set the tone for the night and the last track that they played was an absolute bop.
Out next were Wings of Desire, October Drift’s second support band. Their nostalgic sound sounded incredibly clean and the mixing was easy on the ears. It was indie music with a disco beat that gave good energy, and the female vocalising to compliment the male lead vocals just worked perfectly. They set the bar incredibly high, that you had to wonder, could October Drift possibly be better than what we had already heard?
Well of course they could. As the stars of the show, they had to pull out all the stops, and they definitely did just that. Beginning the set with ‘Waltzer’ they instantly got the audience’s attention, jumping around the stage and giving it all they’ve got. They barely stood still throughout the whole show, always giving you something to look at whilst they owned the stage. There were times when there was so much movement on stage, the floor actually shook. An absolutely electric vibe.
Singer Kiran held his guitar in his signature position, up high on his chest, but that was almost the only part of the show that going into it, I was expecting. When setting up, it was hard not to notice the impressively long leads that were attached to the microphone and guitar, and the reason for that soon became clear.
During ‘Bleed’ Kiran climbed over the railing, walked across the audience and then hung from the lighting rigs attached to the ceiling, where he swung for a good few minutes, continuing to sing. Which was an impressive feat, especially as it still sounded great. This was not the only audience interaction we got though.
There was crowd surfing, letting the audience touch his guitar when he held it over the railing and then the last song before the encore, ‘Not Running Anymore’ where he performed the whole song in the middle of the room, surrounded by October Drift’s loyal fanbase. With the rest of the band still on stage, it was hard to work out where to look. A particular highlight though was watching Kiran use the microphone stand as a guitar slide. It was a performance that just screamed frontman.
Guitarist, Dan was also heavily involved in the audience interaction. Coming out into the crowd, used as a clever distraction whilst the other members tuned their instruments, making good eye contact and smiling at everyone and of course being at the centre of a rowdy mosh pit. They are a band that don’t mind being manhandled, that’s for sure. It was chaotic but in the best way.
In terms of their setlist, ‘Blame the Young’ was a hit with the crowd, what with it being a big single from their latest album, and having ‘Everybody Breaks’ following that created a slightly slower tone that settled everyone a bit. That said, there wasn’t really any track that you could call a slow number, the exception to that being ‘Wallflower’ which was a lovely change of pace towards the end. ‘Airborne Panic Attack’ was a standout of the night though. It sounded perfect.
Their impressive pedal collection was put to good use, the effects evident in many parts of the set. The lights were used incredibly as well, a spectacle that caused the band to keep being cast in shadows. Epic visuals to coincide with the clean sounding audio.
Even their outfit choices looked amazing, with Kiran choosing an all white ensemble that made him stand out against the rest of the band who were in black. This deafeningly loud concert is one I won’t be forgetting. Value for money wise, you get way more than you pay for, and the band clearly love what they do and appreciate their fans. They also appreciate the venues who host them, proved by them shouting on several occasions ‘long live the Leadmill’.
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