Tag Archives: The Corporation

Patent Pending at Corporation, 7 April: review

The more of these pop-punk gigs I attend at Corporation, the more madly I fall in the love with the genre and all of the wonderful things it has to offer.

Having only listened to Patent Pending in passing previously, I entered the room without any expectations. I sometimes find this is the best method when I’ll be writing a review because it means I don’t wander in already thinking “I am bound to enjoy this.”

Each track encouraged movement and a great sense of ‘togetherness’ flooded the room.  The group even covered the theme tune from The Big Bang Theory (originally by the Barenaked Ladies) which went down an absolute treat.

The showmanship was unsurpassable, with heaps of audience interaction (including a crowd swimming competition with Joe Ragosta and his younger brother!)  and jokes rolling one after the other, it was such an enthralling atmosphere and there was not a single second I did not feel captivated and excited.

There are very few things that are comparable to the sense of community and belonging at a pop-punk concert with a band like Patent Pending. They speak from the heart and deliver messages that are meaningful and have purpose, that does not mean to say that they are serious – these guys are anything but – however, they are genuine guys who never stray from this which can be so easy to do once you find yourself in the limelight.

Please please follow the guys on Twitter @PTPGOfficial and as always a huge thanks and shout out to my favourite alternative venue in Sheffield Corporation.

 

Alien Ant Farm at Corporation reviewed

It’s a brand new year and what better way to start it off than by travelling back over a decade to see an old favourite play a sell out show at Sheffield’s biggest alternative venue, Corporation?

Playing through their platinum (US) selling album ANThology, this was a nostalgia party that everybody was invited to.

Corp immediately became a swarming hive of activity fuelled by the previous performances by the wonderful Dirty Youth and INME. Passionate and eager, we were psyched up and ready for AAF to arrive on stage. 

The performance given by Mitchell, Cosgrove, Corso and Peugh was nothing short of how I would have imagined it when I first heard “Movies” on Kerrang TV. Feeling somewhat sentimental and ecstatic in unison,  I think I can speak for most people who attended that evening when I say that this gig was something pretty special.

The crowd were absolutely insatiable throughout the entire set and the showmanship was simply incredible, from track 1 all the way to 14, and what better way to close the show than by playing their hugely successful cover of Michael Jacksons’ “Smooth Criminal.”

The band were truly on form and performed to an exceptional level, I’m sure this experience will be a memorable one that will stay with people for a long time.

Follow Corporation nightclub on Twitter for event updates! – @Corpsheffield

Review: Anti-Flag at Corporation

It all started with a perfect opening: Turncoat gave everyone an immediate rush of energy that possessed every person in the room for the entire show.

Anti-Flag have now (for twenty years or more) laboured to build and be part of a conscious community whose eyes are open to the world around them. Fully fuelled by activist political opinion, the group send a positive message to all to be respectful and live life to its full potential. The set list included Die For Your Government and War Sucks, Let’s Party to name a few of their more obvious political songs.

The gig was enthralling, people became united and threw their fists in the air and belted the band’s lyrics right back at them with passion. The crowd was encouraged to make some noise, jump and dance with all they had. This is one of the first gigs I’ve been to where the audience interaction was so consistent, short speeches and opinions on world affairs left people clapping and cheering in agreement.

The icing on the cake for me personally, was the moment Chris #2 (bass guitar, vocals) joined us in the crowd to finish up, it truly broke down the walls between performer and audience and was spectacular to see. Anti-Flag were bringing out positive activist records when I was less than ten years old and they have not lost a single spark of devotion for what they believe in.

The new album American Spring contains higher elements of pop in contrast to some of their earlier music, this is not to say however, that the band have lost of their initial hard hitting edginess. Whether the punk scene is your thing or not, it is difficult to argue with positive messages against racism and hate. It is a close knit community that goes deeper than just the music, and I was delighted to be part of it for an evening.

Review: Inherit The Stars at The Corporation

Inherit the Stars (who played at Corporation on 7 February 2015) are one of the few reasons that make me proud to be watching local bands in Sheffield at this time, writes Jade Knox. The tracks they play have been nurtured and practiced until perfect. As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, a band that is true to the music that influences them and can avoid the slippery indie slope that Sheffield bands are so eager to fall down, are always a plus in my book.

Songs with heavy riffs or with pop twists ensure that the group don’t alienate themselves from other genres which leads to a wider and more varied fan base that they certainly deserve. It is clear that Inherit the Stars have gained extreme popularity as evident by the hectic dance floor antics and soul-felt singalongs. It’s no secret that the group have found themselves friends and not just fans.

Sounds similar to those of Enter Shikari and less well known I Set My Friends On Fire, reminded me of why I used to be so heavily involved in this music scene as an older teen. It is a fantastic crowd to be part of and a band I’d like to see go even further than they have already.

A solid performance from all four members, a true pleasure to watch.

Review: Kids in Glass Houses at Corporation

The main room at Sheffield’s finest alternative nightclub was filled to the brim for Kids in Glass Houses on the 12th October.  The silence broke and a familiar yet unusual tune began to play. It was “Non, je ne regrette rien” by Edith Piaf – and it halted every conversation in the room. The tension skyrocketed after the classic had come to an end and there was a brief silence before the excited cheers and squeals of fans.

On came Kids in Glass Houses and began one of the most fun gigs I have attended in quite some time. Aled Phillips (lead singer) addressed the audience and kicked things off with Artbreaker I from the 2010 album Dirt. I was surprised and elated at the pure talent he possessed singing live with each track sounding like a recording taken from a studio perfected album.

I was wooed by impressive showmanship, Aled climbed on stage equipment and hung on to metal bars. There was absolutely no barrier between audience and performer as he responded to peoples’ shouts and made jokes with the crowd. When Aled pointed the microphone towards us, the entire room sang back, it was truly delightful. There was a perfect mix of songs from old to new as the group conjured up a near perfect set list containing songs from four studio albums.

Not once did it look as if performing that night looked like a chore and in return the crowd reciprocated the same passion and energy, when the band said bounce, the room moved in unison. It was an extraordinarily exciting gig, upon arrival I wouldn’t have expected myself to have been dancing and shouting lyrics along with everybody else but it was irresistible. It was clear that the band and the audience had the same agenda – to have a great time, and this was exactly what happened.

Towards the middle of the night, the group slowed it down a little for an acoustic song which promoted a sea of waving arms and a couple of cheeky lighters in the air, then things exploded to finish on a wonderfully high note. It is a huge shame that this will be the last time that Kids in Glass Houses will be playing with the announcement of a breakup in February 2014. These guys are not normally my cup of tea musically but if I left every gig I went to with that same level of happiness and excitement the world would be a better place.

 

Exclusive interview with rock legend Joe Elliott

Graham Marshall interviews Joe Elliott

Graham Marshall interviews Joe Elliott

Joe Elliott will need no introduction to many Sheffielders, nor to rock music fans from across the world.

The lead vocalist of Def Leppard and of the Mott the Hoople cover band, Down ‘n’ Outz was in town this weekend, and Sheffield Live! managed to catch up with him for an exclusive interview – which you can hear on tonight’s Spirit of the Wapentake show, on air from 5pm – 7pm.

Joe talked with Spirit of the Wapentake presenter, Graham Marshall, about being back in Sheffield and discussed his projects planned for this year.

And he told Sheffield Live! that he’s looking forward to the launch of Sheffield Live Television.

What next?

Hawthorne Heights at Corporation – review

Hawthorne Heights at Corporation. Photo: Jade Knox

Hawthorne Heights at Corporation. Photo: Jade Knox

It would be a considerable understatement to describe how I felt as ‘excited’, writes Sheffield Live! volunteer Jade Knox, when I heard that this band would be returning to the steel city and performing their astonishing album The Silence in Black and White to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its release.

This experience for me, and presumably most people in the room that night, was wonderfully nostalgic having fallen in love with their music at only thirteen years old.

Hawthorne Heights are a band that spoke to me (and many others) lyrically at a time in most of our lives when we are emotionally astray trying to figure out who it is we are. Many young teens at the time and still today find solace in the rolling chords and bleeding hearts of musicians whose lyrics just seem to ‘make sense’ and speak to you directly.

Naturally, since I had first fallen for this album just under ten years ago my music tastes have grown alongside me, however as soon as these guys started their set it felt as if no time had passed at all.

Lead singer JT Woodruff was the cheeky and charismatic character I had always imagined him to be, commenting that the girls looked good and complimenting the crowd.

It’s always a pleasure to watch a gig in the small room at Corporation for the reason that it is a much more intimate setting. The band also removed the barrier you can often feel when in the presence of somebody you know is (or has once been) a pretty big deal, the gig was so relaxed and this was emphasised further by Woodruff’s invitation to fans to ‘hang out’ with him after the show as he would be just around the back.

It was evident during the gig that Hawthorne Heights have – and still do – mean a great deal to the fans. The room was alive: everyone there was singing their heart out and could join in to each song word perfect.

There is always an element of risk with gigs like this in that there could be an amount of disillusionment when time passes since a band first arrived on the scene or performed their initial material, especially if at one point or another you had held them in such high regard.

Now at twenty-two years old, Hawthorne Heights still pulled on my heartstrings in the same way they had done when I spent hours in my bedroom surrounded by CDs writing down my favourite lyrics. Although slightly more mature aesthetically the band have retained their sound beautifully and I am elated to have seen them live at last.

What next?

Gig review: Cold Summer, Corporation

Jade

Jade

Cold Summer – Corporation Nightclub 18/03/2014

It was an impromptu decision to go and watch my second favourite group from Wakefield (after The Cribs of course) play Sheffield’s wonderful Corporation nightclub, writes music-loving Sheffield Live listener, volunteer and gig correspondent Jade Knox.

The first thing that was in stark contrast to a lot of groups I’ve been watching lately was the showmanship of Dan Feast (lead vocals) who actually jumped off stage to interact directly with his audience and (at the risk of sounding unprofessional) ‘went mental’ dancing and pouring his soul into his performance. When an band or artist truly believes in the sound they are producing it provides a superior experience for everyone involved, just the occasional glance from drummer to bassist and smile from guitarist to singer can make a gig just that little bit more pleasurable to attend.

My one and only grumble about this show was the ever-so-slightly preachy feel that came over me when the lead vocalist gave a small speech on the topic of the music of today, expressing that he felt that none of it was really any good, which is something I completely disagree with.

There are plenty of hardworking non-manufactured DIY bands – not only in Sheffield but all over – that work incredibly hard and sound fantastic, however on the same note I also understand that you do often have to separate the wheat from the chaff.

I did agree with the message that artists and bands should be assessed and judged on a measurement of their talent and sound rather than how they look or decide to dress, but this is a bit of a utopian idea of the music industry – a business where how you look is makes a huge difference.

The band played in Corporation’s smaller room; excellent for a gig like this one which allowed Dan to get right up close and personal. It was an immensely engaging performance and musically the band were above and beyond what I was expecting. The genre they work with is post-hardcore/rock, a genre which I’ve not a lot of experience with, however, it doesn’t take an expert to see just how technically talented this group is.

The set felt a little short and it would have been nice to have heard one or more tracks as after twenty minutes I was quite immersed in the music.

Twitter: @ColdSummerUK

Rave Against Racism at the The Corporation

On Sunday the 24th of May, a special “Rave Against Racism” three stage event will be taking place at “The Corporation” here in Sheffield, with a headline set from The Orb.

All proceeds from the event will be going to straight to Sheffield Live! helping us to continue providing a an eclectic mix of original programming by local people of all ages, cultures and backgrounds.

Rave Against Racism is a non-profit organisation that raises awareness around the issues surrounding the far-right and supports community groups and individuals around the world. It was set up in January 2009 to help and support promoters, clubbers and ravers in the ongoing fight against the far right in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world. The people involved have a long history of free parties, being promoters or punters and an interest in anti far-right politics and activism. We want to help support people who may well be turned off by mainstream politics to get involved in the local community groups that are in their area and if needs, help them setting up their own groups. Our primary focus is Anti Fascism and raising awareness and having a damn good time whilst doing so. We want to encourage people to meet and mix and share ideas and ideals whether online or out in the real world.

The bands take to the stage from 9pm and the event runs till 4am. Tickets are priced at £12 and can be purchased online through the Corporation website.

UPDATE: You can now view pictures from this event at our Image Gallery

Rave Against Racism Advert

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The Line Up

Live Arena

The Orb ( LIVE with Visual Show )
Mixmaster Morris ( Big Chill / Ninja Tune / Samurai FM / Irresistible Force )
Celt Islam featuring Bongo Chilli + Danman  LIVE  ( Kritical Mass Records  /  Lone Trader Records)
Alphadrive LIVE ( R.A.R. )
Ann-D ( Headcharge / R.A.R. )
Lady Muckcedes + Mr Benz ( Sunshine Girls / R.A.R. )
Urban Truffle ( Chimp Makes Noise / R.A.R. )

Arena 2

Mixmaster Morris ( Big Chill / Ninja Tune / Samurai FM / Irresistible Force )
Oris Jay / Darqwan ( Texture UK )
Mikey J ( Tuesday Club )
Alex Deadman + MC Walker ( Junglist Alliance / Dark Crystal / R8 Records )
Fattasound ( Dubcentral / Universal HiFi )
Si Cheese ( Dirty Cheese )
DJ Disorientalist ( Disoriental / R.A.R. )

Arena 3

A+D+A+M Lab4 ( LIVE with Laser Show )
Space Sentinelz ( Headcharge / Twisted Traxx / R.A.R. )
Kam-Pain ( Headcharge / Easy Skankin’ Records / R.A.R. )
Freaktechnique (  Headcharge / R.A.R. )
Kickflip ( Urban Gorilla / Headcharge / Fat Records / R.A.R. )
John Wainwright ( Headcharge / Likebreaks / R.A.R. )
Geenius ( Headcharge / Likebreaks / R.A.R. )