I made my way to to Sidney and Matilda in Sheffield for a night of music put on by This Feeling, here is what happened.
Boy Problems got the night kicked off with exactly what the gig needed as some of the audience still filtered through. The 4-piece band did not stop to mess around with any intermittent speeches, interludes or build up in their set. Quick changes from one song to the next helped them to gather momentum and warm up the crowd. They kicked the night off with “Desire”, during which the strap of the bass guitarist fell off midway through. This did not stun the group though as they performed well under pressure until the bass player eventually found his way back in for the next bridge of the song.
Following ‘Shapeshifter’, a slick transition straight through to the third song presented an opportunity for all to see the tight connection between the bass player and drum player, remaining in contact for much of the set. The band showed the importance of their connection and timing with plenty of general pauses for impact as the lead vocalist sang, “Where’s the passion, where’s the fire” in the chorus of their single ‘Passionfruit’. This seemed a fitting message from the opening support act to the audience as the following two bands prepared to take to the stage.
It was clear that Matador’s set was not as refined as it may have been on another day, and this was clear after the singer’s announcement that they had a makeshift band member filling in. Even so, the potential of the indie band was clear despite the set being shorter than what might have been expected.
In particular, the singer was not afraid of emphasising her Yorkshire accent throughout the course of the performance which helped to put a unique twist to the sound of Matador. The singer’s cameo role made this evident for the final song as the rest of the band departed from the stage. It would be great to see the full force of Matador with a lengthier set to showcase more of the sound they are aiming to create.
The night closed with a thrashing performance from 54KG, representing all the classic heavy and hard-edged sound of a punk band. What was particularly noticeable about this band was that they were all performing first and foremost to have a good time for themselves, and this seemed to rub off on the audience. The opening song introduced a taste of their wild sound to the audience, but the song that followed, ‘Rooftop Basement’, showed signs of more indie-inspired riffs.
As the set unfolded with progressively heavier and more distorted riffs, backed up by aggressive tom drum grooves, the band matched this energy. One by one shirts were removed, and the drummer made an unconventional walk around his kit mid song whilst the bassist enjoyed standing on top of the kit.
The lead vocalist perhaps described it best when he stated, “Think we’re sh*t, think we’re good, but you won’t forget us” between two songs. The combination of alternative, indie, and punk influences was contrasted at the end with an Arctic Monkeys cover. It was nice to see that they picked a song less often chosen by bands in ‘Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong But…’ and they certainly made it their own, emphasising the punk-driven nature of the band throughout the song.
MORE REVIEWS FROM RGM HERE
