This year I made a great sacrifice. Instead of waking up on Easter Sunday and forcing my body into a chocolate-based coma, I decided to spend my Easter funds on experiencing what Britain's Best had to offer.Two favourites meet the new kid on the block.
Catfish and The Bottlemen (Little Comets) - O2 Academy, Sheffield
Here we go again!
Festivals aside, this is by far the biggest venue I've ever seen Catfish and The Bottlemen fill.
Classically, the band opened with Rango and closed with beloved Tyrants and packed the rest of the setlist with The Balcony hits. One thing you can always expect from a Catfish and The Bottlemen gig is energy and diversity- mums, dads, teenagers, awkward first Tindr dates (just to the left of me) and grandads all dancing together and shouting back the lyrics to belters like 'Kathleen'.
As always, the band were flawless with their performance. A particularly significant moment was Van's performance of the acoustic track, Hourglass, from their debut album- which was like caramel to the ears. Somehow the audience all seemed to harmonise and it created a spectacular atmosphere that isn't easily forgotten or created.
Circa Waves (Genghar, Ratboy) - Leadmill, Sheffield
The chances are that if you haven't heard of Circa Waves then you've still definitely heard them. There is pretty much no escape. These four young uns from Liverpool are flooding (see what I did there?) our stereos and will certainly be part of your summer soundtrack!
I'd been impressed by Circa Waves upon seeing them perform as support to The 1975 in September, but here I was only months later in the audience to one of their own sold-out shows. Hats off to them!What the setlist maybe lacked slightly in variety was completely made up for with enthusiasm! Their hits, 'T-Shirt Weather' and 'Fossils', particularly had the crowd moulded into a ball of energy. I noticed that these lads may be the 'newbies' but he dynamics of the group itself works perfectly! There didn't seem to be a member that was lacking in confidence or talented! That was impressive to witness...
The Wombats (Darlia) - Leadmill, Sheffield
This is a band that I, personally, had been so excited about seeing live that before even entering the venue I think I'd used all my energy on bouncing about on the bus into town. Now, taking off my fourteen year old fangirl hat and slipping into my objective boots, did I truly think that The Wombats performed well?
Yes. They provided an absolutely explosive set.
The setlist weaved between quirky classics, 'Techno Fan' and '1996', and their ardour filled Glitterbug tracks, 'Give Me a Try' and their latest hit, 'Greek Tragedy'. All in all, this was probably one of the best gigs I've ever attended and definitely my favourite Leadmill gig.
I only hope that I have the privilege of seeing them again!
