Despite the absence of Scottish natives The Amazing Snakeheads due to the departure of drummer Scott Duff, the remaining Slaves, Fat White Family and Palma Violets weren’t put off their stride, as the illustrious NME awards tour began its jaunt around the UK in chaotic style in front of a packed Sheffield crowd.
Plenty of revellers had got down early in order to catch garage punk duo Slaves open proceedings and the baying crowd certainly weren’t disappointed. It was a vicious start to the evening as Laurie and Isaac tore through tracks from their forthcoming debut album Are You Not Satisfied?’ whilst slotting in fan favourites such as ‘Debbie Where’s Your Car?’ and ‘The Hunter’, the latter proving to be especially volatile. The duo clearly enjoyed themselves in the opening slot as they asked the crowd what was their favourite biscuit and were even joined onstage by someone dressed as a mantaray during new sing ‘Feed The Mantaray’ which was a sight to behold in itself. Their storming set was then rounded off with the chest bursting ‘Hey’ leaving the crowd eager for more.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20bk3IVM0pY&w=740&h=422]
More was what the crowd got, in the form of South London hell raisers The Fat White Family who, despite not previewing any new material, completely stole the show. Their enigmatic live reputation is certainly justified as their set was utter pandemonium that’s somehow bottled up and contained on a stage. Frontman Lias Saoudi squirmed, rattled and jarred his way through the mind blowing set which included the raucous ‘Is It Raining In Your Mouth?’, the down right dirty ‘Wet Hot Beef’ and recent single ‘I Am Mark E Smith’. Unfortunately things came to an abrupt end after the brilliantly sleazy ‘Touch The Leather’ as the band were cut off, yet the set was that enthralling it only seemed as if they were onstage for a matter of minutes. They may have left everyone feeling as if they needed a shower afterwards but The Fat White Family are easily one of the best live bands around and they tore The Leadmill a new one.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nub1idoqfNk&w=740&h=422]
Swaggering onstage with a hell of a lot to live up to, the returning headliners Palma Violets managed to not be upstaged as they found their groove immediately. Tried and tested opener ‘Rattlesnake Highway’ whipped the crowd into a frenzy and the pace didn’t relent throughout, with the majority of debut album 180 getting an airing. Deploying their rousing anthem ‘Best Of Friends’ early on didn’t derail the set either, as the thumping new single ‘Danger In The Club’ and the shape shifting ‘Matador’ hint towards a more darker and developed sound, yet they still manage to capture the essence of their outstanding debut. Bassist Chilli Jesson was on form throughout as he told all the photographers in the pit below the stage to fuck off so he could get a better view of the crowd and he even received a plastic cup to the face thanks to one over excited crowd member. The main set came to a close with the drunken ode to the London night bus that is ’14’ which provoked a mass singalong before returning with an encore of a new, unknown track and a rapturous ‘Chicken Dippers’. The night ended with unofficial fifth member Harry Violent bounding onto the stage to provide vocals on the rousing ‘The Invasion Of The Tribbles’ which brought a fitting end to a night of unbelievable live music.
If the standard of the opening night is anything to go by, it’ll be a miracle if all 3 bands are still standing come the end of the tour. But the again, it wouldn’t be the NME awards tour without a touch of mayhem would it?
Words by Joe Cadman