Superb!

A superb evening's music, and I'm not just saying that because of all the cider. But where was the audience?! You lot simply don't deserve bands of this calibre if you can't be bothered to turn up...

The first band on stage were Arctic Monkeys. This was something of a surprise, and not just because they weren't mentioned on the pre-gig advertising. When the doors had eventually opened, I'd managed to chat with some of Fred Yukka, and they'd already urged me in the strongest terms to listen out for this new brand of Monkey music; the Arctics sound-check was that inspiring. Despite the impression of extreme youth, Arctic Monkey are one of the most proficient bands on the Sheffield circuit; as the Yukkas put it, "here's a band that knows how to play their instruments". They also know quite a bit about showmanship, so that the balance of musical forces varied from piece to piece, sometimes the whole band playing, sometimes just a part, but always the right level of complexity for the music at hand. Definitely a band to watch out for; Sheffield venues, and venues elsewhere, we urge you to book them. And we urge you, gentle readers, to bother turning up next time.

The Arctics advertising machine is obviously just as good as the rest of their set-up, for as soon as they'd finished their set the bulk of the audience started to drift away. Despite not being included on the main advertising, they'd managed to pull in what seemed to be easily the bulk of the audience. Nonetheless, with three bands still to appear, the audience size was respectable if not something to write home about.

Next on stage were the erstwhile Free Radicals, now going by the name of Lava Kayak. There's is a softer brand of music, which brings its own problems. Playing solid but chilled out music is no way to get the audience bouncing with excitement, so god only knows how to assess bands operating out of this genre. Chatting to those members of the audience who hadn't left with the Arctic ones, we agreed that Lava Kayak were giving a sterling performance, but at a time of the evening that was bound to detract. Not sure how to fix this one; it suggests they need to perform as part of a larger concept evening, so that different styles of music can be played off against one another to the benefit of all.

Now it's the turn of Fred Yukka, one of the two bands I'd specially made the trip down to the Boardwalk to see. I've been to a few of their practices and was really looking forward to hearing the live event. No disappointment here. If anything, even better than the pre-gig practices. There's always a danger that bands can rehearse the spontaneity out of their performances, but Chris Yukka had a simple solution to that one - he'd been on holiday until just before the night, so the band couldn't have done more practices even if they'd wanted to. The Yukkas are nothing if not odd, and their songs cover a multitude of unexpected topics. Everything from pointless record industry hacks to duracell bunnies, dogs ravaged by lawn mowers to Munchkin-mindedness, and one of my absolute favourite arrangements, Life on Venus. From the title you'd expected something vaguely Hunky Dory, but no - it's a truly memorable (and again unexpected) combination of two classics. I'm not telling you which ones - get off your backsides and come and listen to them next time they're on. If you're in luck they might just perform it for you.

And finally, the other band I'd especially wanted to hear tonight - Silverseed. I'd caught their performance at the Deep End and liked it so much I immediately bought their CDs. Their style is more forcefully set in the trials, tribulations and joys of everyday life, but while many a band descends into cliche, Silverseed have retained their edge. The musicianship is finely honed and the vocals have just the right amount of angst. Despite, or perhaps because of, the relatively small audience (only around 20 people this late in in the evening, if I remember it right), the band clearly enjoyed themselves, and the audience (consisting mainly of fellow musicians, who'd have a better right to judge what they were hearing than most) reciprocated.

Definitely one of the better musical evenings of the modern era.