Beachbuggy / Texas Pete

@ Under The Boardwalk
Appropriate that Beachbuggy should pick the Get Me To The World On Time night to fine-tune their motorik rock’n’roll. They’re are in pitcrew formation tonight, lovely red overalls giving the impression that Under The Boardwalk is hosting a literal garage band on its fast grown garage night.

Texas Pete get on first however and take a little while to warm up. They don’t seem as loud as usual, the PAs problem rather than theirs, and it impedes their efforts at selfmaiming until the last half of their set. Eventually they locate the blue touch paper and hammer through their brand of fucked-up surf rock while acting much like the molecules in water do when heated rapidly. Dizzy stuff.

What Beachbuggy do is very simple. It is music of the tight-arsed, on the nail, thumping variety and basically it catches the audience like trim, suited rabbits in a halogen spotlight. Jack Straker leads the charge, looking not unlike a rock’n’roll Alan Bennet or even a younger and cooler Boris Johnson but it’s the duel drummers, stereo for the eyes, who fuel the mayhem.

Maybe if the Jesus & Mary Chain were solid and organised mechanics instead of lairy pissheads they might have sounded like this. Alan McGee has notoriously up and down taste but got it dead right with this lot. The new stuff they played sounded much like a spacier variant on the older material but with some bigger melodies. If we could make out what Jack was singing we’d let you know but we’ll just have to assume it was all about cars.

Apparently they’re going to make a video. Anyone can come along but they will have to dress as bees. I think we might.
Jack Tractor
 
 
Purple Sticky Punch

@ The Upstairs, Barnsley
With one of the most explosive entrance’s I’ve seen in ages, PSP would soon prove that they’re not for the faint hearted or for the pretentious musicians that take their work too seriously. PSP are a heavy, up-tempo band, who instantly created a party atmosphere with their opening song, “Saturday”. More importantly however they managed to sustain it throughout the set by not going down the same old road of low rumbling vocals with an over used double bass drum pedal running through the whole set. In fact PSP have done quite the opposite and and gone for high end vocals, screaming guitars but evened out with a ‘glug, glug’ bass sound and punchy drums. PSP are great performers as well as artists which was shown with their on (and off!) stage antics which lifted the atmosphere further.

The band were rock solid in their performance, this is a triumph in itself considering how fast they played and any evidence proving that the drummer has recently been replaced was nowhere to be seen. It could be argued that the band know the songs too well and have gradually got a lot faster since the recording of ‘Too Fine Line’ (the EP). This wasn’t so much a problem but a shame for anyone who didn’t already know the songs as it was easy to miss some aspects which make Purple Sticky Punch so individual and exciting, but the most exciting thing about PSP is that they’re always changing so I can’t really complain!

Overall, it was good to see a more comical, less depressing approach to the genre but still having all the energy in the world. Definitely worth seeing.
Ashley Fusiaski
 
 
BPM / 1600E

@ Carpe Diem, Leeds
Inner ring road-rage must be a rite-of-passage that all bands face when attempting their maiden gig in Leeds City centre. Brownie points straightaway then for 1600E - not only for finding Carpe Diem but also for making it a triumphant foray out of the confines of South Yorkshire.

If haven’t seen these guys yet, kick yourself. And then kick yourself some more and carry on kicking until you do see them. And when you do ? Prepare for a proper ass kicking because it is fast becoming a 1600E specialty.

They look good, sound better and they know it. Howling like a young Dave Gedge with soul, vocalist Nick Cooper relays skewed snippets of the world according to guitarist Richard Martin, one filled with sex-toy obsession, snatched supermarket liaisons and “noughties” urban angst. These guys want to give you a good time and tonight they never let up. The songs mutate into country stomps and psychedelic rock-outs (“Karl’s Daydream” & “The Sweetness and the Light”); even the slower moments (“Lemon Day” & “City Lights”) don’t stop the momentum and in “Northern European” they possess a lapel grabbing headbutt of a song that demands a wider audience.

Although tonight, 1600E are dictionary definition of “hard-act-to-follow”, exiled Sheffielder Paul Young and the three-piece that he nominally leads - BPM - get on stage, breathe deep and pick up the baton, crashing straight into pop nugget thrashabout “Cherry Lips”. How far BPM go into the music biz stratosphere depends entirely on how much they apply themselves because tonight rattling through a shortish set with venom they shine very brightly indeed. They have tightened up the nuts and bolts of their sound, adding new songs (“Steve McQueen”, “Humble Pie”) that broaden their familiar retro punky-pop core. The swelling crowd lap it up and get louder as the set reaches a singalong crescendo with “Gimme Love” and “The Woo-Woo Song”, the former being possibly the catchiest number you will ever hear.

They beg for more but to no avail - we are left with a very sweaty room, two very satisfied bands and some Christmas cheer as Slade and Roy Wood start booming out of the PA. Quite magical.
Andy Swallow
 
 
Bhuna

@ The Grapes
Bhuna’s fanbase is growing. As well as the token friends and relatives in the audience many are present due to word-of-mouth, on the premise that Bhuna are ‘a good band.’ These are simple words with an accurate sentiment.

Their sound is difficult to describe. They oddly and cleverly juxtapose styles, incorporating elements of punk, rock and very slight touches of country. At one point they move from a crunchy punk song ended by a wild scream into soft-rock album track ‘Be my Love’, which offers strong vocals and an uplifting chorus. Embodying a traditional sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll attitude, they swig from bottles between songs and smoke cigarettes between chords. Frontman Scott requests that in the interests of ‘safety’ all drugs should be handed over to the band and later he yells ‘if you want us to play more you gotta scream and all that shit, we’re a rock band!’ provoking loud cries of ‘Bhu-na! Bhu-na!’

The band is clearly passionate about the way they feel music should be, discarding the manufactured mainstream as exemplified by ‘Pop Idol’ in favour of genuine personal expression. Scott tells the audience that they’re going to play a ‘nice song’, before launching into the opening of Gareth Gates’ ‘Any One of Us’ and then urging us to go home and play anything, from the Ramones, to the Beach Boys, to Nine Inch Nails, just as long as it’s not Darius. No fear of that however. Judging by their encouraging reception the chances are that Bhuna will be the music of choice on many stereos tonight.
Eleanor Goodman
 
 
Urban Gorilla's 1st Birthday

@ Fez Club
One year ago Urban Gorilla unleashed its monkey business on the world. Built on the solid foundations of the Tuesday Club the promoters of the infamous night decided it was time to branch away from their hip-hop and drum n' bass dominated dub and bring forward a sound which had been muffled in Sheffield. The sound of break beats. And what a success it's proved to be.

Rising from a mid-week night to one of the best weekend nights in the North, Urban Gorilla has hosted some of most talented DJs on the scene. From the smile-inducing Plumps to the dark and funky Freq Nasty they've consistently captured that dirty, uplifting, unique style and brought it to a mass of happy faces. And their first birthday was to be no let down.

Apart from the rather shaky start with Chris Bibby from NYSushi's garage set the rest of the night was spot-on. A filthy collaboration of house, techno and electronica, all fused together with hard-hitting breaks. Richard Thair from Red Snapper fame headlined the night with a set built on more diverse beat driven house which had the devoted regulars loving every second of it. While resident Geoff Ticehurst (pictured above) topped it all off by playing some of the highlights such as Delgado's 'Coffee Beats', Stanton Warriors Re-mix of Tim De-Luxe's 'It Just Won't Do' and The Slammers 'Raw As Fuck'. It may only be a baby but Urban Gorilla's captured a feeling that most Sheffield clubs only dream of. Long live the monkey madness.
Jessica Soper
 
 
Multiverse 3 / Shogunnaz

@ Tuesday Club
The first act was The Wu-Tang sized Shogunnaz, a team of at least eight MCs and one hard-working DJ.  The Shogunnaz took the stage in groups of two or three rappers each, showcasing a decent but not very distinctive brand of hip-hop.  The groups sounded best when aggressive, spitting out trade-off rhymes over fight-music beats.  A big MC wearing an Allen Iverson basketball jersey stood out from the other rappers.  He rapped like a professional, commanding and rhythmically precise.  The rest of the group sounded like eager students.  Their rhymes tended to rush out and hit the beat a little haphazardly.  The shogunnaz ended their set with a six-rapper freestyle session, a risky move which proved that the MCs can deliver when they rap without a net.  

Multiverse 3 (two MCs, one DJ) were celebrating the release of their new EP, out on Rek Records (www.rekrecords.com).  I liked their songs and they clearly care about (and enjoy) what they are doing, but they weren't breaking any new ground.  The beats and rhymes in both sets were adequate but not innovative, and boring hip-hop can get very, very boring.  This show proved that there is a respectable Sheffield hip-hop scene, but the rappers and DJs followed the underground hip-hop formula too faithfully for my taste.  Multiverse 3 and the Shogunnaz could both stand to be less respectable and more original.
Alec Patton
 
 
Nelli Rees @ The Casbah
Russian jazz singer Nelli Rees dresses like the Terminator by way of the Matrix, slithers through slow-burn ballads like Sade, growls low notes like Sarah Vaughn, and, on the eponymous track of her album Jazz Noir, raps in French.  The band (as tight a group of musicians as you could ask to hear) plays a kind of contemporary jazz fusion:  a mix of 70's style jazz-funk, drum&bass, continental hip hop and Morcheeba-style groove ballads.  All six instrumentalists are phenomenal players, but none of them wasted time on grandstanding during their one-hour set on Thursday night.  The drummer made necksnap transitions from funk to swing to breakbeat with the apparent ease of a top-flight scratch DJ.  The bassist was consistent, versatile and funky; everything a bassist should be.  The guitarist made himself noticed without a single extended solo:  his sound is all wah-wah, funky riffs and immaculately placed licks.  The keyboard player moved from soulful rhodes flourishes to honky-tonk piano to electro synth-sounds with unshakeable composure.  The tenor sax player, who sat out several numbers, plays with a foggy vibrato that's reminiscent of Sade's sax player.  Her solos were beautiful and she has chops to spare, but I would have liked to hear her step out harmonically a little bit more than she did.  The trumpet player plays with a rich, juicy sound, even more so when he plays flugelhorn.  He is the group's main soloist and his tasteful cool-jazz solos were full of harmonic surprises and some refreshing flirtation with dissonance.

Nelli Rees is at her best when she is blending styles.  One of the standout tracks of the night was a cover of the '70s soul classic ""Use Me"" given the Massive Attack treatment, with a crawling tempo, ascetically spare bass line and plaintive torch-song vocals.  The eighth song of the night, my favorite, started with a drum&bass beat that actually seemed to swing a little, then whipped through a series of brief solos tied together with infectious guitar lines.  This is contemporary jazz fusion, or trip-hop jazz or whatever you want to call it, the way it should be:  Nelli Rees and her band borrow from the conventions of electronic and sample-based music without bowing to them.  If you care about contemporary jazz, try to catch this group when they come around again.
Alec Patton
 
 
Jazzanova

@ Scuba / Phonetics
German broken beat scientists Jazzanova descended on Sheffield with their legendary brand of beats, styles and rhythms. Known by music lovers for their jazz indebted releases and slew of fine reinterpretations for a diverse selection of artists. For those who want to hear more, check their fine Remix Collection on Compost from 2000, which does more justice than their own album released this year.

Disappointingly, not all six members made the trip over from Berlin, but the pair-who did come proved to be fine exponents of the group's sound and musical influences. This night was a collaboration between Sheffield's real House fanatics Scuba, and underground Hip Hop and jazz-breaks purveyors Phonetics. Held in the eastern styled Po Na Na, home to Phonetics, as many jazz-beat-house connoisseurs were squeezed in as possible. The battle to get from one side of the club to another unfortunately took some enjoyment away from the night's proceedings.

The warm up seemed more geared to the Phonetics crowd than Scuba, with a wealth of Hip Hop and jazz-steeped breaks. The selection included Blak Twang's filthy ""So Rotten"". The Germans took over, and thrilled the packed dance floor with a varied collation of House, beats and breaks. It was a pleasure to hear a diverse selection, even if the order of programming could be questioned. Tracks that stuck out head and shoulders above the rest included Osunlade's sweet content remix of Jazzy Jeff feat Erro's ""Rock Wit U"", and Sade's caring ""By Your Side"". Jazzanova was an ambitious booking, which was only-made a reality by the co-promotion from two of Sheffield's most forward-looking club nights. It was a unique event, which differed in atmosphere and musical vibe to that of a 'normal' Saturday at Scuba or Phonetics.
Jon Freer