Tag Archives: O2 Academy

Win tickets for The War on Drugs, 9 July

Since the release of their third album, the much lauded ‘Lost In The Dream’ in 2014, The War On Drugs, driven by the creative force of Adam Granduciel, continue to triumph.

And next week you have the opportunity to hear them live in Sheffield, at O2 Academy Sheffield.

Tickets are available to buy here – but the lovely folks at O2 Academy Sheffield have a pair of tickets available to win in a special Sheffield Live competition.

To enter, just email comp@sheffieldlive.org by midnight on Tuesday 7th July with your name, telephone number, and youranswer to the following question:

Name the support act for The War on Drugs at Sheffield on 9th July.

Entries are in line with our standard competition terms and conditions.

The winner of a pair of tickets will be informed on Wednesday 8th July.

Placebo – O2 Academy – 13th March 2015

Friday the 13th of March, androgynous alternative rock ensemble Placebo returned to Sheffield’s O2 Academy to celebrate their 20th year of remarkable music making.

Completely sold out, the gig’s crowd filled the Academy from front to back. Pure Morning played softly while the band prepared behind the scenes. It was gratifying to see fans young and old attending the gig, reminding us that music is something that stays close to us regardless of age.

The show started with the brilliant B3 and continued with songs from newer albums Loud Like Love and Battle For The Sun. Next up, perhaps the most popular Every You, Every Me, from the 1999 film Cruel Intentions.

For me, I would have been keen to have heard more from the group’s previous albums but it seemed although the show was marketed to celebrate 20 years of hard work, it really only focused on their newer material. This meant that in a sense we were denied some of the best work that Placebo have produced as they have dipped into different styles and mastered them all.

Space Monkey was the song of the evening in my opinion, well delivered and just incredible to hear live, it certainly packed a punch and displayed Molko’s vocal talents perfectly.

Brian Molko looked and sounded beautiful and gave a stunning performance, however overall I do wish they had given us a little more from their outstanding back catalogue.

Halestorm review

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Halestorm at O2 Academy Sheffield in April. Photo: Ollie Murton

Halestorm at O2 Academy Sheffield in April. Photo: Ollie Murton

The venue was packed, the atmosphere amazing, and as soon as lead singer Lzzy Hale opened her mouth to sing, I knew exactly why it was a sold out show, what a voice! (writes Natz Beard, presenter and producer of Sheffield Live!’s Local Talent Show).

Being only the second show of the tour, the band were full of energy and enthusiasm and by the time they were a few songs into the show this had the crowd buzzing too.

Perhaps the most memorable part of the show was Arejay’s drum solo, after wooing the crowd with a very impressive solo, he then went on to do another, playing with just his hands and another with giant drum sticks. Although impressive, this did seem to drag on just a little too long, he probably could have achieved the same ‘mouth wide open’ wow effect  if he were to shorten it down to one continuous solo instead of three, but then again if you have the ability why not stop the show and show it off?

A huge highlight for me was the band’s cover of  Daft Punk’s song Get Lucky, I am already a huge fan of the twist they have put on this track just from hearing it on Soundcloud previously. Fans of this cover will be happy to know that it is featured on their ReAniMate 2.0 EP, which is now available to buy.

Steel Panther review: amazing sound; explicit banter

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Steel Panther are a spandex-clad American spoof glam metal band made up of excellent musicians who dress like, and perform like a combination of Van Halen, Bon Jovi, and Twisted Sister, writes Sheffield Live volunteer Graham Marshall.

This is combined with inter-song banter which was a cross between Beavis and Butthead, Jedwood and Chubby Brown.

The band have gone from strength to strength since supporting Def Leppard a couple of years ago on their European tour.

Graham and Natalie from our Local Talent Show went along to review their sold out show on 20th March 2014 at O2 Academy, Sheffield.

Here’s what Graham and Natalie had to say about the experience (click the play button to listen):