The rock and metal scene in my opinion is in a renaissance at the moment. Amazing bands and songs coming out to the forefront and stealing the show. But among those that actually breakthrough and get their recognition are the thousands of bands who never quite got that claim to fame. Every creative career is riddled with only a small percent who “make it” and some may wonder why creatives keep doing what they do for little pay, little attention and frankly quite stressful situations – because for us it’s in our blood and even if we tried to avoid the craft we have ion for, we are inevitably drawn back to it.
My attention was caught by Youth Illusion on a Facebook post about their final tour. As my first review for Moshville Times, I thought it could be a bittersweet farewell for this to be my first feature. Communicating with the band, they were extremely eager to have some coverage and so the day finally came.
The gig is a t tour between Youth Illusion and Playground Circus with in Sheffield from At the Arcade.
A thing I love about the underground gigs I cover is that everything is quite lowkey and intimate. No pit to separate me from the band and no influx of photographers all fighting for that money shot. Even when I work on the higher stages with bigger production design, I think I’ll always find myself drawn back to the underground scene. This day was no exception.
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When I first arrived and was met with an influx of African, Italian and American accents, I wondered if I somehow missed that this was a foreign band doing an international tour – until someone mentioned going to the pub, then I thought “ah, they must’ve relocated here.” Me and the band chatted away at a local pub until it was almost time for the first band. Hearing stories about their shenanigans over their five year stint. The vocalist, Zack, soaking up the sun in the rooftop seating area whilst the rest of us sheltered from potential sun burn. The band have an age gap of around 20 years with their young Drummer, Heath (who is early 20s). It may be a bit awkward for some to work with someone so young, or so old depending on your perspective, but after discovering their mutual enjoyment of weed, the band built a strong friendship (which they were clear to mention they don’t do often or condone and wanted to clear that up before I could write anything down but unfortunately it was already stored in my notes by that time). We bonded over bands we all listened to, the most surprising to me being the bassist (Rory), the guitarist (Matteo) and I sharing our t appreciation for the band Dayseeker.
The time finally came for the first and getting my gear ready, I entered the crowd.
At the Arcade are a 5 piece indie rock band from Rotherham. Formed in 2017, the band have slowly been building up a good rapport with their live performances. The band had the crowd feeling their music which reminded me of a late night drive after a long day. The songs had a great energy that kept you entertained and all attention on the band for the duration of their set which was held together with stable vocals and great melodic performances. The band didn’t move around too much on the stage, with most staying rooted in their positions, typically this can make the stage feel quite tired but the band managed to keep crowd interaction going even with the lack of movement.
Next up was Youth Illusion. The band get straight into their set with some high energy songs, equally matched by the vocalist’s own spirit. Zack had an unmatchable energy throughout the song, constantly moving and jumping even whilst playing the guitar, that had the audience raring to go. Matteo and Rory would jump into the crowd and roam around, both deep into their vibes and feeling the music and as the stage went on, Zack even went as far as to bring his mic stand into the crowd to sing with them. Heath held the fort together with his clear playing and calm demeanour, for someone so young and already so talented. At the end of the set, I heard a member exclaim “I’m drenched.” To which I wasn’t surprised.
A perfect concert in the North, as we all know, is when it’s cloudy, raining and extremely hot all in one day. Welcome to the Northern summer. The plus side of this is it means we have a nice gentle temperature outside after the gig, the downside is it means the inside is insufferably hot, especially with all the moshing and bopping we have going on in the pits. After the set of Youth Illusion, there was now no escaping this heat.
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Playground Circus is a 3 piece rock band from London, and they hit the stage after around thirty minutes after Youth Illusion got off. After the slow start, the band kicked off with great crowd interaction and a great energy. The songs had the sound of a Blink 182 x Bowling for Soup lovechild, which was appreciated by many of the crowd. Much like Youth Illusion, the front of the band were active even through the sheer amounts of sweat I’m sure they could feel due to the temperature of the room. The guitarist wearing a long sleeved top that he didn’t even fan once whilst playing, like a truly dedicated man to his craft. It was clear the band were having fun, with the vocalist even name dropping Sheffield into a song to the cheer of the crowd. The drummer held the band together with his stoic poses, only barely matched with the guitarist who had clearly studied the perfect guitar playing poses when on stage. A mishap towards the end became apparent as the guitarist lost his ear piece, leading the band to try to stall for two minutes whilst he got sorted. Once all was good to go, the band entered their final song and finished the night.
Speaking to Playground Circus after the show, they spoke of their plans to release a vinyl EP at some point next year and focus on touring for the remainder of this year, something that COVID took away from them that they’re determined to make back. With the band hailing from Greece and , they are looking forward to a European tour next year.
My only critiques for this gig were: As the main focus of this gig is the end of Youth Illusion, it would’ve made more sense to have them go last as the final act. Most of the audience were there to bid farewell to Youth Illusion and once their set was wrapped, around half the crowd was lost for Playground Circus. The next gripe was the delay between headline acts. We’re all used to the wait between acts, but without something to keep us entertained, it was clear to see some people starting to lose interest. The change between sets needs to be more snappy and with a sharper pace.
Now you may ask yourself, “what next for the of Youth Illusion?” As a creative, it’s always disheartening to hear someone’s fire has burned out, however rest assured the still have plans. Heath, the talented young drummer, is already involved in numerous bands . Matteo, the guitarist is in the process of ing a new exciting band (who if they play their cards right could be a breakthrough) Rory, the bassist, and Zack, the vocalist and guitarist, are both looking to take time out of creating music to refocus their goals with the intention of keeping a foot in the door.
Whilst this tour marked the end of Youth Illusion, it definitely won’t be the last we see of all the .
Photos by Jayne Slater
