Thursday night saw a trip to the O2 Academy in Sheffield for what promised to be a great night of entertainment, and it didn’t disappoint.
First up was The Clause hailing from Birmingham, who took to the stage with a confidence rarely seen in such a young band. They have good reason to be having just announced a 2022 headline UK tour, judging by what was on offer tonight I can see why the lads are so popular. Latest release Cruella impressed with a solid bass line and floor tom thumping backbeat appreciated by the early crowd. This was the band’s first night supporting the Twang and they smashed their way through a great set, definitely one to watch.
The Clause (click on thumbnail for full image)
Next up was Liverpool’s Red Rum Club, who never fail to impress me and it seems everyone else at the moment, a master stroke by the Twang asking the lads to support. Pretty much the entire crowd sang along to a 30-minute set of anthemic songs, designed for maximum audience participation. Singer Fran Doran mentioned that he was struggling slightly vocally due to a sore throat, but to be honest I wouldn’t have known, Fran put on a great performance as did the whole band. The lads recently announced a well-deserved 2022 date at the South by South West Festival in Austin, Texas, taking their fantastic music stateside. If you haven’t already, check out Red Rum Club as soon as possible, they really are one of the UK’s best bands and deserve to be huge.
Red Rum Club (click on the thumbnail for full image)
The Twang had promised a ‘Twangmas’ festive party and having never seen the band live before i was blown away by the crowd’s response, a diverse and mixed age audience ranging from teenagers to 50+ and beyond. From the opening tune ‘Barney Rubble’ frontman Phil Etheridge had the entire room singing out loud to literally every word of a powerful 13 song main set list. Testament to a strong catalogue of indie rock anthems crafted since 2004.
Musically solid as a rock, supported by two fantastic female backing vocalists, Cat Mctigue impressed with a solo effort on the song ‘Everytime’.
By the end of the night the crowd was literally bouncing, people on shoulders and a great party atmosphere as promised.
The world seemed a much better place to be as I left the Academy and that I guess sums up the Twang really. A brilliant live band, great songs and a huge fan base they deserve a great review tonight, I honestly can’t use enough words to describe how good they actually were. Maybe the photographs will tell the story.
Check out all of tonight’s bands on major streaming platforms and go see them live soon.
The Twang (click on thumbnail for full image)
