Tag Archives: Plug

The Rusbies review

Sheffields’ own rock and roll group The Rusbies styled one of our best loved live music venues, The Plug, on 22 August.

The very first thing I noticed was that The Rusbies have a wonderful supportive following who would chant and scream which gave the atmosphere an exciting edge: when they threw out a free t-shirt to the crowd it went down a treat – I wouldn’t have minded one myself!

There was one point during the gig where a slightly inebriated gentleman was given permission to come on stage as it was allegedly the fella’s birthday. I don’t know if was a relative or close friend and although some people in the crowd seemed to love the gimmick, for me it really took away some of the shine from the performance.

Despite this interesting interruption it there were many wonderful things about this gig including the vocals. These were spot on sounding very Doherty-esque – emphasised perhaps by lead singer Nathan Keeble having a few beverages previously.

The band also threw out a cover of Tainted Love and they did a superb job of this! The drumming was excellent and it was clear that the group have a passion for what they do, and that others share the passion with them.

At the moment they’re a very rough and ready group who are incredibly down to earth and more than happy to interact with a crowd, destroying any barrier between audience and performer, which is one of the reasons local groups can grow to be so popular.

Missed this gig? Not to worry! The Rusbies will also be playing local venue The Rocking Chair on November 28th.

The Jezabels at The Plug: review

I’d not heard of The Jezabels until relatively recently when I stumbled upon a huge poster in the city centre advertising their new album The Brink; later the same evening I decided to stick it on Spotify and have not looked back!

Quite often I need to hear an album in its entirety several times to be able to make what I believe would be an informed opinion but it became evident immediately that new release was completely saturated in magic.  Much to my delight I was notified that the group were soon to play the new release at one of Sheffield’s renowned live music venues – The Plug. With regret, on this occasion I was unable to attend in time to see the support act Shermer however, I keep my fingers crossed that I will catch them on another occasion.

The Jezabels were outstanding, and there were so many factors that contributed to it being such a wondrous evening. At this point I feel that I must confess (if it has not been evident already) that I am very fond of most music that involves a keyboard, so having Heather Shannon looking beautiful beside one gave them a slight advantage.

After reading that they had described themselves as “intensindie” I was curious to find out what this meant. I think those who see themselves as ‘serious’ music critics could  perhaps cast this off as just another pop group but to see them perform I think it’s evident they have a lot of depth.

Hayley Mary has such haunting vocals, she possesses a voice that seems to get inside your head as well as your ears, and there is a particular element of ‘moodiness’ that seems to hold genuine emotion.

I particularly enjoyed the aesthetics of the band, all in dark clothing which made them eerie in the best possible way, I was especially happy to see the women fully dressed and looking smart which for me helps me to take them more seriously. It’s clear they care more for the art of their music than taking the route a lot of female musicians do by wearing as little as possible to sell records.

It was plain to see that the band were serious about what they do and that showed with the pure emotion that came from all of the members, Hayley especially, who was dancing with genuine emotion along with the crowd. The band manifested a breath-taking atmosphere and I would happily see them over and over again.