Lonely The Brave - Plug, Sheffield 30.09.2016

Arriving a lot later than I would have liked to due to some creative parking from an overzealous fan of tonights show blocking the road, I enter the venue just as Eden Haze are finishing their set which is an shame as the 3 odd minutes I caught made me take note. Lead singer Jenny Staniforth's voice is incredibly impressive and I will be make sure I check them out. Next up we have Seconds Apart, a 2 piece unit (operating as a 3 piece tonight) who’s energy is infectious. Despite fighting a losing battle with an overall uninterested audience, the next half hour see the band give it their all. Their radio friendly rock is fun and on point. Lead singer Martin has an endearing presence as he excitedly talks about how supporting Lonely The Brave is a very big deal for the band. Musically they are tight. Guitarist Owen busts out some awesome solo’s, their session drummer (as I am led to believe) owns the kit and ensures he is known despite being tucked away slightly and Martin's vocals are strong with a great range despite a somewhat hesitant start to the set. They even throw in what I will state as officially the best cover of all time, a rocked up version of Rick Astley’s ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’. A great band with a great presence who I hope will benefit from their support slot tonight. Lonely The Brave are next up and I am beyond excited. They first grabbed my attention when they covered Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Streets Of Philadelphia’, one of my all time favourite songs and one that anyone covering would have to be on point with to impress me., and impress me they did. Tonight they live up to my expectations in every way. Despite lead singer clearly suffering and being a little bit under the weather with a warm kettle and remedy’s sitting within reach by the drums, he still pours emotion into every song. His rich and emotive voice full of smooth tones and range raise the hairs on my neck. Whilst his demeanour is a little more reserved than usual as he takes a step back from the rest of the band, I am still left in awe at how tight they all are as they perform. Plug 2 is a room far smaller than these guys deserve, the success of their latest album would suggest they should be in rooms 10 times the size and sadly the audience overall has been somewhat lack lustre. These two points are saddening but for me tonight was pretty special and the intimate setting was one I was so thankful for. With todays announcement that they will be joining Biffy Clyro on their European tour this October and November, I like to believe that everyone will be talking about these guys very soon and rightfully so.

Lonely The Brave - https://www.facebook.com/LonelyTheBrave/?fref=ts

Seconds Apart - https://www.facebook.com/secondsapartuk/?fref=ts

Eden Haze - https://www.facebook.com/edenhazeband/?fref=ts

Photos - Friswell Photography