Sunday Best at Tilt - 22/11/2024

I returned to a Lazy Two Steppers gig on 22nd November to review Sunday Best who came all the way from London and were joined by local band Receipt and Manchester’s Mere Amore. The venue, Tilt, was unique, in that the the stage had unconventional wooden railings, there were only house lights and no stage lights and there was no PA system – just a couple of small monitors for the vocals. I can’t imagine many promoters who would discover this and still carry on with the gig and it still be a total success, but Lazy Two Steppers aren’t like many promoters! The sound was absolutely incredible, and people were too engrossed in it to care about the house lights. It was really incredible to see such a celebration of the music in its rawest form, unaided by lights and front of house audio processing. 

Receipt 

If you’re a fan of watching someone shred a guitar so hard you wonder how it doesn’t break, this would have been your kind of set. Receipt’s music is intense and loud and was a great way to lift the room’s energy at the start of the gig for the other bands to follow. Their arrangement featured a mix of broken and flowing articulations, and they performed lots of well-timed and controlled drops which really went down well with the audience. The guitar tones suited the style well, with a sound that combined heavy distortion crunch with a subtle spacey and distant tone for single, higher notes. The band moved around where possible in the limited space, including plenty of stylistically-appropriate stomps and air-kicks. The front person made a witty comment about the band being called Receipt and them writing a song called ‘Keep the Change’, which they then performed. 

I would love to see Receipt include more dynamic variation in their songs. While it is understandable that heavier dynamics are integral to the band’s genre, I think there is still space to drop the intensity slightly more often, which would create more emphasis on the sections that are heavier and give the audience time to recover from the energy of those parts. Receipt are a passionate band who know their style and know how to create energy in a room and did a great job of opening this gig. 

Mere Amore 

Mere Amore, all the way from Manchester, were notable for their catchy riffs and vocal melodies and energy that demonstrates authentic passion for the music. Mere Amore’s lead singer included a lot of movement in their performance and interacted a lot with the audience, which is vital in an intimate venue like Tilt. The audience were encouraged to move forward and join in with the lead singer’s head banging, which contributed to the intense energy of the genre. The balance of breakdowns, build ups, drops and main sections were all balanced well, creating varied dynamics and builds in tension, without overdoing it. This made them very effective and really engaged the audience well.  

It was nice to hear the backgrounds to the songs before they were performed, as this created more authenticity and gave the audience some insight into what they were listening to. The songs were well-written and catchy and included some incredible solos! Towards the end of the set, the lead singer took the mic around each member of the band to scream into which was a good demonstration of the band’s on-stage chemistry, as everyone seemed to have fun with it. 

Sunday Best 

Sunday Best really emphasised their strong intro, using a backing track to assist them. Their set had a healthy mix of slower and faster parts, and included soulful vocals and the perfect guitar tones for the style. Sunday Best’s lead singer was most notable for their movement and stage presence, which requires no improvement. From swinging the mic stand around, to sitting and hanging from the stage’s railings, to involving the audience, some of whom knew the words very well. The placement of band members in the limited, unique space was well thought-out. Having the drummer with the guitarists in a line on the stage allowed the guitarists to ‘work together’ and support the bass player and lead singer at the front, who both definitely made use of the extra space with their movement! As Sunday Best’s set progressed, the audience became more warmed up, and it wasn’t long before the two-stepping and moshing started. The band used their frequent drops and dramatic build-ups to encourage this, as well as the classic ‘getting lower in the build up to the drop and then leaping up when it happens’. Even bringing the guitarist down from the stage to the front to share the intense playing with the audience, up close! The band described their last song as their “last piece of business”, before telling the audience that nobody is allowed to be stood still as the intro built up. This resulted in one of the more intense mosh pits I’ve seen in my time watching gigs, but definitely gave the audience the opportunity to blow off some steam!! 

Overall, this was a special gig. The unique space and lack of sound system posed unprecedented and unexpected challenges to the promoters, bands and sound technician, but everyone should be praised for their resilience in facing this issue, including the bands who were all able to perform fantastic sets with a fantastic sound and no monitor system! Although unexpected, this situation demonstrated the true values of rebellious, anti-establishment grassroots punk to its core, proving that even a PA system isn’t required to share their music and get people moshing, and that’s something that not many punk promoters and bands can say they’ve done.  

Once again, Lazy Two Steppers lived up to their name, by putting on a gig that involved some classic moshing that, under the right circumstances, brings people together as a room of rock-lovers. 

Also available on TJPL News/Plectrum Magazine