FOR a small music festival this takes some beating tonight.
The venue's filling up, the acts are warming up and a huge pig rotates on a spit outside.
Kicking off the night is Jody Wildgoose – a rare appearance one of Sheffield's most inventive singer-song-writers. The former member of nineties band Variou
s Vegetables plays a set ranging from sorrowful laments to wild, aggressive numbers.
Engaging and evocative, Wildgoose has the full attention of those at the front. But towards the middle of the room people are greeting one another and ordering at the bar.
Michael Eden's set involves looped songs which gather momentum, texture and depth of sound. The vocals are momentarily piercing but often songs fade amid the clatter of the crowd.
By the time the Detroit Social Club take the stage the audience is ready to listen. Demo track Sunshine People is stunning.
The slow, drop-beat rhythm, gravelly vocals and driving guitar have a hypnotic effect.
But it's the Skeletons soaking up all the attention. Frontman Liam leaps about screaming ballsy vocals. Keyboardist Matt jumps up and down as he thumps out honky tonk-tinged melodies.
Skeletons have sussed that a band must work to engage a crowd and their efforts have paid off.
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