[ATTENDED: October 10, 2024] Yard Act
I had tickets to see Yard Act last back in 2022. That show was cancelled at the last minute because Yard Act was called back home to do a live TV appearance for the Mercury Prize (surely a lot more lucrative than playing a gig at Underground Arts).
But they returned to Underground Arts last year and I grabbed a ticket. My expectations were mild and they blew me away with their energy and fun.
Yard Act are very British (being from Leeds). On record, “singer” James Smith mostly rants and speaks angrily in his accented English. His lyrics are placed over some very cool guitars from Sam Shipstone and some really grooving bass from Ryan Needham. Drummer Jay Russell keeps things together.
For this tour they added two backing singers Daisy Smith and Lauren Fitzpatrick who made a surprising difference to the show. Their vocal contributions were great but it was their physical presence that added a lot to the show. They also added a keyboardist Christopher Duffin who fleshed out the sounds–I’m not sure if he was making some of the really weird sounds that floated through the background, but I assume so. (more…)

