Tramlines Day 1 - Friday

Fir up, to the Devonshire Cat, bizarrely devoid of any official role this year since the busker bus main departure moves to the Hop, round the opposite corner of Devonshire Green.  Having said that, it didn't appear to be struggling for it.   After meeting a few friends and a swift and rather enjoyable pint of Absolution, one of my favourite local beers, a short walk to the Frog and Parrot on Division Street to see and old favourite of mine (I'm becoming quite the groupie!) - Smiling Ivy it was a pleasure to have them as my first band of Tramlines 2012 proper.  A relatively short set nonetheless squeezed in most of my favourites, including the bouncing jumpy "Bombscare", Rancid cover "Timebomb" and humourous Woody Allen-alike track "Life Backwards".  "Ape-o-Calipso" chilled the crowd down and before new single, "Efficicient Waste of Time" [click to download] went down really well, and A.W.O.L practically caused a riot in the tightly packed little pub.

Catch Smiling Ivy at 5pm in Weston Park and at the Vine Inn on Sunday at 6pm 

A short run to Harrisons followed

Beg Borrow and Steal
The Madding Crowd
Spiders

St Patrick's Day Live

Event: St Patrick's Day Live (featuring Smiling Ivy, Chronicles of Graham and Nick Robin, Ben Webster )
Description: Gig
Location: 3 Spooner Road, Broomhill, Sheffield, S10 5BL

Address: The South Sea

Another day, another Chronicles of Graham gig.  Again, supporting the fantastic Smiling Ivy, and this time taking to the South Sea in student-central Broomhill on St. patrick's Day, this was surely a night not to be missed.

The night began with Ben Webster, a singer-songwiter on acoustic guitar.  Whilst he got a good reception from the assembled crowd, I felt he suffered somewhat from the early start time.  He ran through a blend of his own songs and some crowd-pleasing covers as well.  Adept on both guitar and harmonica, his folksy-blues/rock sound was the perfect way to start a St. Patrick's Day off.

Nick Robin (left) really impressed me.  Armed with an acoustic guitar, a kick drum and a cymbal, he was able to sound like a whole band on his own.  He ran through his all too short set with panache and humour, as well as just fabulous musicianship.

Chronicles of Graham came to the stage and filled it - literally as well as figuratively.  The round of applause they received just for their soundcheck was something to behold, before they finally launched into first track and all-round crowd pleaser "Spit".  They then rattled through what seemed like a greatest hits collection including "CoG TV Cribs", a funny take-off on MTV's Cribs, "Pick Up Little Teddy", and a bouncy rock/rap song featuring the wonderful Little of lead vocals and "Body in a Binbag", with Coxy's usual fantastic work on guitar generating whoops and admiring looks from the audience as well as the next band due on stage, Smiling Ivy.  "Gimmie da Fing" got everyone moving and swaying and bouncing, whilst "Here Come the" generated the usual skanking up in front of stage by an audience which was now swelling rapidly.  Just as last time at the Redhouse, The Graham finished off with a wonderful cover of "Lodi Dodi" by Snoop Doggy Dogg (AKA "La Di Da Di"), Little Teddy on lead vocals and Coxstardelux taking the ample cover by A Taste of Honey.  As last time, this was a brilliant finale to a great set.

Smiling Ivy were their usual amazing selves.  By the end of Chronicles of Graham, the floor was packed with people ready to watch Smiling Ivy.  I won't pretend to be well-versed on the tracks played by the band, but every one was a crowd pleaser, danceable, loud and fun, just as one would expect from them.  The drummer was, as usual, a failing mass of hair and arms, every inch look like 'Animal' from The Muppets.  The frontman owned the stage, whilst the band as a whole were tight, and clearly having fun, joking around with each other  between songs.  These are certainly a band to enjoy, and one I plan to watch again on April 6th at Penelopes - come join me please!

Cool Beans - Dexter Dextrous and the Fingersmiths, Smiling Ivy & Chronicles of Graham @ The Red House

Disclaimer - My cousin is one of the founders of Chronicles of Graham

Event: Cool Beans Present.... Dexter Dextrous and the Fingersmiths!
Description: Gig
Location: 168 Solly Street, Sheffield, Yorkshire, S1 4BB
Address: The Red House

Coxstardelux.
Photo courtesy of Emily Louise Bryan

The Red House is one of my favourite pubs in Sheffield, and Chronicles of Graham one of my favourite bands - and I'm not just saying that because my cousin's in the band.  Right from the opening "Spit", in which Trickboi, Mr Icus, Little Teddy, Brogue the Rogue and whomever else gets up on stage with them to spit 16 bars each through to their finale, Little Teddy taking the lead on Snoop Doggy Dogg's "Lodi Dodi" with Coxstar Delux on the chorus, this was a tour de force.

Most of my favourites were played, from the aggression of the opener and doom metal of "Body in a Binbag", through to the reggae-inspired "Gimmie da Fing" and the crescendo of "Pick Up Little Teddy", this was one the their tightest performances, with the only slight downer for me the decreased volume on Teddy's mic following her first track.

Dave's keyboards were slick as always, and seemed to take on a far more prominent role in the songs than I was used to.  I imagine that this is a deliberate effort, and if so, it worked well.  Apron was somewhat hidden away around the corner, but his drumming was tight - he didn't drop a bollock all night.  Buddha Sez No and Didley Dee on backing vocals were (as always) fabulous, and the substitution of bouncing around like a pogo stick on a trampoline by a slow side-to-side sway following the latter belting out her own song, "Underbelly of Darkness" was most welcome, the song itself impeccably delivered as always.

Next up, Smiling Ivy.  I originally wanted to see these guys at Corporation of a bill featuring China Shop Bull and Stand Out Riot (And of course, Chronicles of Graham), but they had to pull out last minute, so I was buzzing to see them.  The dirt of Corp and the relative glitz of the Red House could not have been more different in many ways,  but they were nonetheless phenomenal.  Tonight, their frenetic brand of Ska sounded sublime, and with the crowd throwing themselves around at such a pace you could almost hear the sweat dripping from the walls and taste it in the air.  All their songs were very easy to dance to, whilst simultaneously not seeming over-familiar or generic.  The sax was sweet, the drums tight and the bass driving, whilst Dan on vocals and rhythm kept my attention, was witty and is, most importantly, a fantastic singer.

In between times, the Cool Beans DJ's kept the party flowing with dirty beats and a healthy sprinkling reggae, rock and funk.

Get down to the South Sea on St. Patrick's Day, and watch Smiling Ivy and Chronicles of Graham on the same stage again - you won't regret it, see you there!