Live Picks (Sep '18): Hosted by Sam Gregory
The decline of music venues, particularly nightclubs, across the UK has been well documented. With land values and the demand for city centre flats always increasing, an inevitable consequence is that spaces dedicated to live music are priced out or pushed out to the suburbs. Just this week, Leeds venue Wharf Chambers announced it was to go the same way as Sankeys and the Haçienda by the new year.
In their place, event organisers have turned to new spaces. Even if it's through sheer necessity, an unlikely location can add that extra something to a performance. For example, the wildly popular GROUNDWORK techno nights that take place in, of all places, the Shakespeare. Jazz at the Lescar are heading to the Hop Hideout bottle shop for an intimate residence in September, while new music showcase Rotunda call cafes such as Crucible Corner and Edisons home. Most grandiose of all, the classical recitals held most Friday lunchtimes in Sheffield Cathedral are one of the city's best kept secrets.
Force Majeure
Sat 8 Sept | Bal Fashions | £8.10
A night of bass music, 4x4, grime and other off-kilter club sounds. Headlining is London producer Tarquin, who's recently remixed both Mr Mitch and Dirty Projectors. Club C.I.T.S founder Hesska delves into the outer edges of rave, plus sets from residents Korra and Timbah, with visuals from Zaron Mizmeras. Link
Rhiannon Scutt
Thu 13 Sept | Greystones | £11
Formerly a member of folk duo Rita Payne, Scutt's work is stripped-back and direct, with just enough instrumentation to carry her warm and evocative voice. New album #9 was recorded without rehearsals by musicians who'd never met before, a rough-and-ready sensibility she's bound to bring to her solo Greystones debut. Link
Captain Avery & The Cosmic Triceratops of Intergalactic Peace
Fri 14 Sept | Theatre Deli | £6.10
Launching their debut album, Sexy Future, the good Captain and his technicolour troupe are joined by bands including the Solar Love Society, Yo Dynamo and Poppers Revival, with delirious DJ sets from Coconut Selecta, Alex del Mango, Celestial Broc and the psytrance veterans at Planet Zogg. Link
Krapwerk
Sat 15 Sept | Shakespeares | Free
South Yorkshire's charming tribute to the robots from the Rhineland take over the Shakey once again, with songs from the Fab Vier's back catalogue as well as other synthpop classics. They're joined by their friends in dark electro outfit The Silent Age and James & The Woods.Link
Planet Zogg
Fri 21 Sept | Yellow Arch | £11.10
Created amid a cloud of cosmic dust around the year 2000, Zogg celebrates its coming-of-age with some familiar faces, including Sheffield's own Sabretooth. There's also psytrance veterans Oberon and residents Dill & Gregg Zogg, with Papa Al, Disorientalist and Gandhi Warhol among those in the Disco of Doom. Link
John Talabot, Mor Elian, Vladimir Ivkovic
Fri 21 Sept | Hope Works | £16.90
It's rare to see a big room lineup so thoughtfully curated, with Spanish house guru John Talabot juxtaposed with Berlin-based electro specialist Mor Elian and Russian techno heavyweight Vladimir Ivkovic. Rising Sheff star 96 Back also plays out, along with Gwenan and other local favourites. Link
JONO
Sat 22 Sept | Edisons Coffee | £5
Launching his debut EP, A Celebration, acoustic singer-songwriter JONO is joined by Cat Levi and Jack Hardwick of Cora Pearl for an intimate evening hosted by champions of new music Rotunda UK. Party hats and booze available.Link
Miriam Ast and Victor Gutierrez
Wed 26 Sept | Lescar | £8
A night exploring the potential of the human voice as an instrument, with German vocalist Miriam Ast joined by Spanish pianist Victor Gutierrez. They'll be playing material from new album Secret Songs, continuing an ever-evolving, semi-improvised dialogue between the two players, as well as putting their spin on a few jazz standards. Link
Ensemble 360
Thu 27 Sept | St Andrew's URC | £14, £5 students & under 35s
Kicking off their autumn season in Sheffield, the Ensemble play two works inspired by central European folk music. Opening with Hungarian Zoltán Kodály's 'Serenade', the night concludes with Dvořák's 'Terzetto in C', a beautiful yet intricate piece for two violins and a viola. Link
Jlin
Sat 29 Sept | Trafalgar Warehouse | £11.37
The hottest ticket at this year's Sensoria has to be Chicago footwork producer Jlin, currently residing in the critical stratosphere after recent records Dark Energy and Black Origami. Ahead of premiering her new work, Autobiography, a collaboration with choreographer Wayne McGregor, she's playing her first Sheffield date with support from jme.osc. Link
