Friday 28th February 2014
Young bands feature at Shed music night
Both stages were in use tonight as a strong line-up of bands and artists gathered at The Shed with their fans and friends for a gig that offered two rooms of music put on by Adam Brown in the downstairs room and Jamie Borland in the main hall.
Photos: © Matt Borland Photography
In the upper main stage room we had
Deep Red Thread
The World Can Wait
Sophie Percival
Downstairs were
BlackWhatNothing
8 Miles High
Horizon
Nile McGreggor
Ellie Bradley
Nile McGreggor sang a set of his songs. One of Leicester’s most well-known and well-liked singers, Nile attracted a capacity audience for his performance, one that had the character and attractiveness that has made him a popular acoustic artist.
Young singer Sophie Percival delighted the crowd with her wonderfully clear and strong voice, despite being very nervous and clearly unused to live performance. The audience, however, were with her and egged her on and in the end Sophie delivered an impressive set of songs. Despite her nerves, she carried on and finished her set to considering cheering. A singer whose fine vocals and lovable personality. Sophie delighted the crowd and provided an entertaining opening to the main stage show.
[Sophie Percival has in fact played some gigs before this show, notably at the Oxjam Festival in 2013. Sophie was asked to perform at tonight’s show at very short notice and had little time to prepare. We are sorry if we gave the wrong impression in our review. We liked her set very much. Ed.]
In the basement, Horizon‘s two musicians created a buzz. Vibrant and up-beat songs proved to be a hit with people.
Horizon is normally a three-piece group.
One of the new bands that has launched recently was The World Can Wait. Playing tonight at only their second gig, the young band proved that they could play like a seasoned act. Their own song Rabbit in the Headlight was a good song and went down well with their set of well-known covers. One of the best new bands to have emerged this year, TWCW put on a stunningly good performance, led by vocalist Sully Archer and backed vocally by all three members of the band, including the drummer.
TWCW is a band that will certainly be in demand over the rest of their year and hopefully beyond; reminding us of The Heroes and Leaving Party and the emergence of FourPointOh, they proved that Leicester is full of surprises when it comes to young bands.
Indeed, we remembered the time, not so long ago, when 8MilesHigh first hit the scene and provided audiences at the Shed with jaw-droppingly good music. So it was great to see them back at The Shed tonight.
Like TWCW, they benefit from a star-quality lead singer Oliver Kidd-Martin, supported by a tightly worked group of instrumentalists. 8MilesHigh has released a new CD – Heartbroken Diary – with four songs, which we will be reviewing soon. Yet another young band that has set the bar high for Leicester’s musical youth. Having already secured a track record for live shows, the band has gone on to make a name for itself and judging by tonight’s performance, they clearly know what it’s all about. An exhilarating set, the band oozed with talent and presence, indicating this is one act that we will see a lot more of in the future.
My guess is that they will in for some stiff competition from The World Can Wait and other new bands, such as Casino Empire. No bad thing of course, to keep musicians on their toes, and good for audiences who can look forward to gigs that have such marvelous music to enjoy.
Another Leicester band that has made waves recently is Deep Red Thread. Tonight they showed what they can do and delivered an exhilarating set of songs that smashed it. DRT’s hard rock songs come with lashings of energy led by front singer Sophie Garner who added plenty of glamour to the show.
Their fun-filled half hour was pushed into the room with enthusiasm and commitment as the crowd of fans and admirers danced, moshed and went crazy for them at the front of the stage.
It was an excellent performance by a band that has a successful career in the making.
BlackWhatNothing rounded off a splendid evening with a solidly good performance, front by lead singer Amy Huckerby and delivering a strongly likeable set of songs.
The five-piece band from Leicester did a poundingly good set that rocked-out big time. Significantly, the crowd stuck around to hear them, even though they were the last band in a night of well-satisfying musical offerings.
Bands on Facebook
Deep Red Thread
The World Can Wait
Sophie Percival
BlackWhatNothing
8 Miles High
Horizon
Nile McGreggor
Ellie Bradley
