Leeds Underground 2012 Begins...

British Racing Green

Starting tonight until the 22nd August the Leeds Underground is now fully under way taking in eleven popular public houses and entertaining us with a varying selection of music to suit everyone. 
I chose at this opening night to go to The Well at Joseph's Well. I was thoroughly entertained by British Racing Green and Sharp Darts. 

British Racing Green

 My spys tell me that Carpe Diem was packed with enthusiastic music goers hosted by This and That. Empire was having a good night hosting various bands including The Wax Collection and the Tom Gee Band. Some of the venues had open mic nights, Baby Jupiter was in full swing with Chris Martin and Garry Cooper. 

Sharp Darts

This is just a sample of what you can expect in the following days.

Metal Fringe is also running from Friday 17th to Sunday 19th August and don't forget the Yorkshire Gig Guide night featuring Tom Hingley (Inspiral carpets) and Steve Hanley (The Fall) at the New Conservatory on the 18th August. 

Sharp Darts

Underground BadgeTickets are still available on line at the discount price £5 from  Yorkshire Ticket Shop
Denis
Yorkshire Gig Guide

Leeds underground taster at the Grove

Today was the beginning of a two day festival running at The Grove in Leeds in aid of Martin House Children's Hospice. This is a pre-taster of the week long Underground Leeds Festival (16th to 22nd August). There are two stages to The Grove festival, one taking place inside and one outside the building. A varied mix of very talented artists have turned out for this very worthy cause. If you are free tomorrow I urge you to go down to this venue and have a great time!

Russ Graves

Enjoying the show

Michelle Dalgety looking on

Mystery Soup

Dariush Kanani

Dave Kalvert

Topher

Having fun

Tickets for the Leeds Underground are available on line at the Yorkshire Gig Guide ticket shop and at various venues throughout the city.

Cross Cut Saw

Hmmmmm!

Cross Cut Saw

http://yorkshiregigguide.ohdeemhacone.com/index.html
 Denis

Yorkshire Gig Guide

Drama and music at the Battle of the Bands 2012

One Stop Railway, winners of Battle of the Band

With the morning upon us, we arrived in Bradford to the news there had been a major incident in the vicinity of the venue and the police had closed the area. But with the initiative of Yorkshire Gig Guide Team we managed to change venue to Factory Street Studio and get the Battle Of the Bands up and running into an afternoon of fun, entertainment and strong competition. The first band up was :
Elephant stopper
Straight away this band had a great rapport with the crowd. As they had only formed as a Band in November and this was only their third time playing as a band together, you would never have guessed from their chemistry. You got the feel from them that they had known each other for years and had a fantastic feel for music of all genres. Their sense of humour shone through their act, I would say they reminded me of Madness. They had a strong ability to flow nicely from one song to another whilst still keeping to the same style of music. Each unique in their own dress sense these were an all round fun Band.
Espada
This young group was thought provoking. Their style was, to say the least, energetic in some songs mellow in others. Instrumental sections were very accomplished for such a young band.
They come from Sheffield and went to school together espadamusic@sound cloud.
Midnight Getaway.
The first of the bands to have a female member. The talented young girl did both singing and playing guitar at the same time which made this group stand out from the off. This was a group of three males and one female and it reminded me of an American teen' movie. I felt a Gothic vibe coming from these young hopefuls. I got the impression that they had not performed in front of many crowds but it was still a great attempt and they did a good job with the material they had. You can search for them Facebook, sound cloud, YouTube.
Traffic Wire.
A different style of Band. A little bit of a mismatched group made up of five males but it seemed to work well. There were three guitarists, one keyboard player and one guy on the drums. They had a fantastic opening song which really drew in the crowd. The band of five have experienced larger audiences as they have played in the Leeds O2 arena. They have also played at Limetree festival and Culture Shock which is pretty good going for these guys as they are all young teenagers. This band was very up to date in their fashion, looking very trendy they were donning some fantastic instruments too. Traffic wire, from Bramley, Bradford and Castleford were different from anything else we had heard that afternoon with each song a new sound no other band had quite the same affect with their song choices and none sounded like these guys, with all three guitarist singing the songs it will be interesting to hear their new material which they are currently working on at the moment. You can find this up and coming funky, fun group on Facebook, twitter and MySpace.
Suilvan
This band have created some exciting memories with having travelled to London, Manchester and Sheffield to promote themselves they have picked up on working the crowds and having a professional manner.
A very progressive sounding group - fresh sounding even. Although slightly familiar you can hear the uniqueness between songs. The lead singer has an ecstatic energy that fills the room with excitement. You can really feel the passion from this group and that music comes natural to them. You believe in their songs as their confidence and passion comes through their exciting sounds. The drama in the third song they play is very forthcoming as they pounded the drums with great expertise and excitement. They already have an album that you can listen to on face book and you can find them by typing suilven.music into your search engine.
One Stop Railway
One Stop Railway have been together for 18 months. They are made up of four, three males and one female. I felt an American vibe coming from the music they played and they played it well. This band had great energy, especially with their second song which was called Bones. Their first song which was about a girl who had had a bit too much to drink was sung like it was from personal experience. When the guitar string broke on the lead singers instrument the male guitar player filled the awkward silence with professionalism. This band though young are very popular locally. These are the gigs that are coming up for the young group from Huddersfield , gig 21st Aug Leeds Empire, 24th Aug Bar122 HUD, Aug 25th Keighley Arts Centre, 1st Sept Delius Bradford. And you can find them on face book -page, one stop railway.com
Thirteen Sixteen
Thirteen Sixteen were a very dark band with a lot of aggression and a great stage presence. The band was made up of three males, two on guitars and a drummer. The room really woke up when this band was on and I felt they needed a large stage to perform as their energy was very alive. They had fast rhythm and some great head banging moves. The drummer was very accomplished. They did a great cover version from the world famous band Black Sabbath. They were the only ones from all the bands to do a cover and they did it well. As the last band of the competition it was a very loud end to a great afternoon.

Once the bands had finished and had a chance to relax the judges went off to deliberate who should be crowned king of the bands, to win their spot at a recording studio for four days, to play live at Limetree festival 2013, to play at The New Conservatory on the 18 th Aug as part of the Leeds Underground Festival and a certificate certifying their winning position. After A LOT of umming and ahhhring by the judges the winners were announced. In second place was Traffic Wire who also received a four day recording session and a certificate. In first position came One Stop railway. Both groups were ecstatic but it is safe to say it was a very tough choice. But definitely well deserved. So after a long and eventful morning and the Battle almost coming to an end through cancelation, Yorkshire gig guide managed to turn it round with the enthusiasm of the bands for the day to be thoroughly entertaining and a great day to remember. I hope everyone who turned up will think the same and for those who could not make it from all of us here at YGG we hope to see you next year as it really is a truly fun and energetic experience for all.
 We would like to give a massive thanks to The Factory Street Studio for opening their doors for us and providing a venue which saved the day after our difficulty of the morning. Also a big thank you to all the bands and their families and friends who were so patient whilst we were organising the change of venue.
Hannah Heaton & Jason Castle
Yorkshire Gig Guide

Centrestage - A night of winners

Enthusiastic audience

An eager crowd gathered outside the O2 Academy with expectation of a great night hosted by Centrestage. Once the doors were opened and everyone was inside there was an electric atmosphere a buzz of exitement permeated the arena. Then the competition began in ernest as the final 12 tallented young bands took the stage to wow the Judges and the audience in the hopes of lifting the top prize of playing at Leeds and Reading Festival (August bank holiday).
The bands in order of appearence were:-
Glassbody from Allerton Grange High School
Seas-of Green from Carr Manor High School
Euthemia from Leeds College of Music
Distorted Sky from Cockburn High School

Drummers

Traffic Wire from Rock School
The Scandal from Notre Dame Sixth Form
Inlaze from Outwood Grange
The Artists from Brigshaw High School
Another Life from Abbey Grange C. of E. High School
Indecisive Crisis from Prince Henry's Grammar School
Paper Plane from Crossley Heath School
British Daylight from Corpus Christi Catholic College

Glassbody

The night was compeered smoothly and efficiently by Alan Raw from Radio Leeds. As each band appeared on stage they were greeted by uproarious yells of encouragement (in the hopes of impressing the Judges). 

Indecisive Crisis

After all the bands had played their sets, we were entertained by last years winners The Mexanines whilst the Judges were deliberating. 
The tension mounted as we drew nearer to the anouncement of the results. Before these were given all the drummers were invited on stage and presented with certificates for their hard work in collecting funds for Martin House.

Three happy Glassbody fans

And finally the results:-
Runners up - Indecisive Crisis who receive a recording session.
The winners - Glassbody who will now be playing at Leeds and Reading festival plus recording time and £1,000 worth of equipment.
So we come to the  end of another exiting year of the Centre Stage competition which on the night raised £25,000 for Martin House Children's Hospice.

Seas-of-Green

Traffic Wire

Paper Plane

Last years winners - The Maxanines

Looking forward to next year's competition. Well done to all those who took part.

British Daylight

Denis
Yorkshire Gig Guide

Distorted Sky

Euthemia

The Scandal

Inlaze

The Artist

Another Life

Centre Stage- Eagerly Anticipated Final

MARTIN HOUSE CHILDREN’S HOSPICE’S CENTRE STAGE 2012

THE FINAL – O2 ACADEMY, LEEDS – 17^TH JULY 2012

Back in April, Martin House Children’s Hospice held their third, annual Centre Stage Heats at The Wardrobe, Leeds. Over a thousand people came down to support over thirty local, young bands and artists who battled it out to earn themselves a place at July’s Final, where they will compete for a place on the bill at both the Leeds and Reading Festivals this summer.

The Final is now looming and very eagerly anticipated, and is set to take place on 17^th July 2012 at O2 Academy, Leeds. The event will see a diverse range of acts, from as young as twelve years old, and will be judged by a very high profile panel, including Neil Pengelly (Booker for Leeds and Reading), Mike Heaton (Embrace), Jeremy Lascelles (Former Virgin A&R Manager/ CEO Chrysalis Music), Ross Jarman (The Cribs) and Matt Bowman (Pigeon Detectives). 

The Judges at the heats had such a difficult time choosing the winners to go forward to the final. It should be a brilliant night of wonderful music. Come and support your favourite band and cheer them on and at the same time you will be supporting Martin House Children's Hospice.

Denis 

Yorkshire Gig Guide.

Promised Land at the Carriageworks - Review

Alison and I spent an interesting Monday evening at The Carriageworks Theatre in Leeds watching a musical production of The Promised Land by Anthony Clavane. A thought provoking and funny play deftly directed by Rod Dixon and  skilfully portrayed by the Red Ladder cast. The play is set in two time-zones juxtaposed with each other - the turn of the last century and the 1970s in Leeds. Both periods had influxes of immigrants and the play demonstrates how these new people helped to shape the way Leeds is today  Familiar people and places within the city's urban landscape are part of the dialogue that any Leeds born could not fail to recognise - Roundhay Park, Chapeltown, Hepworths Clothing, Kirkgate Market to name but a few
 Excellent stage settings by Kelly Jago transported us backwards in time then brought the audience forward to  the terraces of heyday Elland Road , sharing the highs and lows of both eras interlaced with original music and northern humour.
Through this journey the audience is introduced to many different characters from the sweat shops of old Leeds to the terraces of Leeds United all trying to integrate into a society which they have recently joined. Along the way, Nathan (played by Paul Fox) - from a Jewish family - becomes involved with Caitlin (played by Lynsey Jones) - from an Irish Catholic background, who is a political activist of the kind that were so very prevalent during the 1970s, and a romance begins to blossom with all it's inherent difficulties.
To find out how everything works out for Nathan and Caitlin take advantage of the opportunity to visit The Carriageworks this week to watch this thoroughly thought provoking and often amusing play ably portrayed by the multi-talented cast deftly directed by Rod Dixon with music orchestrated by Beccy Owen and superbly choreographed by Pauline Mayers. The timing by the cast was superb and made this play one to watch. Congratulations and well done to The Red Ladder Company for this production.Running to 30 June 2012
Denis Heaton
Yorkshire Gig Guide

More>

Beverley Folk Festival 2012 Denis's Blog

Andrew  & Michael joining in

From the opening of the weekend with the children of  Longcroft School and Steeleye Span to the closing on Sunday with Joe Brown the weekend  transcended the wet and mud with a wealth of wonderful music.

Throughout the weekend the Yorkshire Gig Guide team was out and about capturing the flavour of Beverley Festival in film, photographs and interviews with the bands.

Harry Priestman had done a wonderful job encouraging and teaching the local children in the upper years of Longcroft School and they performed songs they had written in their workshop with him.  Jessica Lawson, Lady Maisery and Steeleye Span followed in style and the festival was well and truly opened.

Broken underground

Whilst this was happening artists were also playing in the Wold Top Marquee and The Concert and Dance Marquee. To end the night there was a Late Night Festival Club in the Wold Top Marquee hosted by Leila of Moonbeams.

Saturday brought workshops - including harmony singing, melodeon workshop, storytelling and Danish music. There was  poetry, a moving poignant  talk about his work by writer Ian Clayton and tea time dancing with Elfynn. There were outdoor performances - between the showers - in the Festival Village from Morris Dancers, clog dancing, wandering players and many, many more throughout the weekend.

Frumptarn Guggenband

Area 2 presented a wonderful selection of young, up and coming artists all showcasing their various talents at different times during the Festival. This was a favourite place for the gig guide team.
Andrew and Denis managed to catch the World Goes Local concert featuring Humba Rumba, Hope Choir and Kingston Allstars. At this time Eve and Alison interviewed some of the young people who attend the local high school and volunteer to work at the Festival during the weekend. And of course the team met up for tea and cake in the Cafe Vibe in the leisure complex and shared their stories of the festival so far.

Humba Rumba

After refreshments, Alison caught up with the wild west in the American Concert featuring The Carrivick Sisters, The Tom Townsend Blues Band and The Toy Hearts all playing blues and blue grass music. A pleasant afternoon spent in their company.

Once we had sampled the catering round the Festival Village, Eve went to see the Peatbog Faeries in the Main Hall, Andrew and Denis went to see The Sail Pattern in the Area 2 Mid Summer Concert. Alison - not a late night party girl - went to bed!

Kingston Allstars

Sunday woke up bright and clear. The rain seemed to have passed and the ground was drying out. Denis and Alison planned to go to the folk service at St Nicholas's Church. However when they tried to drive the car out of the car-park they became totally stuck in the mud! By the time they had been rescued the service was half finished so every cloud having a silver lining - so it is said - they were able to watch The Alligators who were an unusual choice at 10.30 in the morning but woke us all up with their rousing rhythm and blues.

Just Jamming

Eve decided to take up a roving role for the rest of the day, sampling the various performances around the site and town. Meanwhile Denis and Andrew caught up with the jammin session  led by Broken Underground outside the sessions tent. Very soon Andrew had managed to borrow a guitar and took great pleasure in taking part along with those other people who joined them.

All too soon we were coming to the end with final concerts. Eve and Andrew visited the Festival Farewell Party and dropped in to the Area 2 Finale whilst Denis and Alison had the privilege of going to see The Finale Concert including Furnace Mountain and of course Joe Brown. A great ending to a wonderful festival.

Jamming in the Wold top

The Festival could not have worked without the very hard work of the Festival organisers, the cheerful and willing volunteers, the long-suffering staff at the leisure centre and all the magnificent artists - young and old.
Thank you one and all. Hope to see you all again next year.
Denis Heaton
Yorkshire Gig Guide

Jamming in the Eat In tent

Broken Underground

Humba Rumba

A small selection of the entertainment this weekend