[ATTENDED: November 5, 2023] Yard Act
I had tickets to see Yard Act last year. I bought the ticket mostly because I wanted to see the opening band, Gustaf, whom I had recently seen and really liked.
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).
When this new tour was announced I decided to give them a go. They are very British (being from Leeds). On record, “singer” James Smith mostly rants and speaks angrily. 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 live show they had a keyboardist/saxophonist who seemed to allow Shipstone to go even more berserk.
I really had no idea that Shipstone would be playing the kind of noisy, feedback drenched sounds he did. Which is not to say that he was not playing melody because he was, but as the rest of the band took over a song, he was just wild on the far side of the stage. I was a little annoyed that I couldn’t see him well. The woman in front of me was dancing and taking up a lot of real estate so I couldn’t lean in around the guy next to me.
Needham’s bass had a great sound and was often the only thing holding the melody down while Shipstone went nuts. He also provided backing vocals.
But the focus of the show is clearly James Smith. And the best part of the show is that he doesn’t casually recite his lyrics. He is a non-stop machine of gestures and quips, singing and screaming lyrics. Whispering and delaying satisfaction. He has the entire audience in his hands and he is not afraid to make then do what he wants. It was amazing to watch.
He was also quite taken with Philadelphia (he apologized that they missed last year’s show…but they had other commitments). There was even a point where he shouted I love Philly! And then fell to he knees shouting “And I’m not just saying that!” He also said if he HAD to move to the States, he’d want to live in Philly.
So I’d listened to the album a couple of times and knew what the band was about, but I didn’t know any of the songs really.
Really, it’s the lyrics though, that keep you coming back, even if they are spoken like in “Dead Horse:” (more…)
I Just Read About That... 