LIVE REVIEW: The Wildhearts @ The Leadmill, Sheffield

Classic rock n roll fans descended upon The Leadmill for the opening night of THE WILDHEARTS tour in support of their latest record Satanic Rites Of The Wildhearts. For the past three decades, the hard rock meets melodic pop quartet have been well known for their attitude of not taking life too seriously whilst delivering loud, energetic performances. Looking around the room, there’s a mix of older and younger generation with it being clear that there’s a variety of timelines of how long different people have been fans for. Yet whether you’ve been here from the start, became a fan several years ago, or maybe only discovered them with their latest record, the beautiful thing is that THE WILDHEARTS have bought us altogether.

Opening the show tonight we first have DIRT BOX DISCO an alternative punk-rock band who, much like THE WILDHEARTS, don’t take life too seriously as shown through the trio appearing onstage with an assortment of a clown wig, a ski mask, and a furry hat. An ongoing observation across the evening is how it feels like a friend reunion of sorts with constant chats and teasing remarks between the audience and the different bands that leaves an overall welcoming atmosphere. Paired with the endless anthemic tracks with silly, yet relatable, titles that got a good reaction and sing along moments, it certainly got everyone warmed up for the evening.

Rating: 8/10

In slight contrast, JIM JONES ALL STARS took on a little more of a serious persona…to an extent anyway. The garage rock meets blues-soul sound we’re first greeted with is certainly different from what we had heard from the previous band, but it’s still all in good fun. It is during their set however that we first experience one ongoing problem throughout the evening: the sound system not really being able to handle the louder than life acts. Whilst hard to ignore, it’s not something that anyone let’s ruin their evening. And JIM JONES ALL STARS certainly don’t with their natural chemistry and energy.

Rating: 7/10

The moment then arrives for when THE WILDHEARTS take to the stage. Before the show starts, the first thing you notice is the black and white demonic face on the banners either side of the stage, like that of their newest album cover. You’ d expect that to be the end of any performance backdrops or props, but oh no, not when they come on stage to kick off with the loud and fast Suckerpunch and we see the sparks projected up from the pyrotechnics. It’s certainly something we don’t see for the last time, yet it’s only reserved for the larger-than-life tracks on the setlist. Very rock n roll.

The audience is immediately singing back at full volume, again reinforcing that friend reunion vibe we felt earlier, and it certainly doesn’t let up when we move into the second song of the evening, I Wanna Go Where The People Go, where the chorus is eagerly shouted back by everyone, even those unfamiliar with the lyrics have no problem with singing along given how easy it is to pick up.

It’s after this point that frontman, Ginger, acknowledges the issues with the sound system by saying, “First show of the tour and we’re already have technical problems, but who gives a fuck?” Followed by very eager cheers of approval. He returns to the subject a short while later by making light of the situation; “You don’t want things to go too smoothly on the first show!” before throwing praise at the crowd by calling them “brilliant, regardless”.

One thing for sure with THE WILDHEARTS is that nothing is ever chill with their louder than life sound that come across on the many catchy songs on the setlist including the anthemic Maintain Radio Silence, complete with insane drum rolls and further praise from Ginger in how we’ve raised the standard for the rest of the tour; Mazel Tov Cocktail that certainly had the loudest sing along, although that might be in close competition with Everlone given the high energy that can be seen in the pit.

There’s an interesting moment when they start to perform Chutzpah to ‘close out’ the show before coming back for the encore. To say that it sounded rough would be understatement, the sound system once again playing up. Luckily, Ginger seemed to notice by stopping, proclaiming, “That was shit”, and then going straight into Dislocated instead. Whether it was staged or not, it was a wise choice with Dislocated being the better way to ‘end’ the show.

Of course, things aren’t really finished yet when we get to the encore. Once again reinforcing that friend’s reunion vibe, Ginger let the audience choose a song to be performed with the final choice being Eventually, the opening track off of Satanic Rites Of The Wildhearts, which went down brilliantly with the crowd, along with final song My Baby Is A Headfuck, that let the gig finish on a high.

With the friendly vibes, the laughs and banter between the bands and crowd, and the pure energy and volume heard throughout the evening, it just goes to show that rock music doesn’t need to always be serious. And sometimes, the best artists are those who are here to have fun along the way.

Rating: 8/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Sheffield from Sabrina Ramdoyal Photography here: 

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