The Beat Surrender

The Octagon is a venue i’m really starting to like now, you seem to get a decent view no matter where you are, it’s fairly easy to get a decent cool drink thanks to the double sided bar and the sound is usually good. The only thing I sometimes find in their is a slightly subdued gig but that might be the gigs i’ve been to rather than the norm. As is usual on the way to the Octagon we managed to get lost in the car, finally arrived in Sheffield and got parked before heading off to the venue.

We knew we were cutting it fine to see Fields the support band as we didn’t arrive until after eight, once in though they were midway through first song If You Fail We All Fail, a real favourite of mine is this track so it was a bit disappointing to have missed the start of it. The band were quickly into their stride and that single was followed by the muscular Feathers, one of the bands early tracks.

At this point it’s probably worth pointing out that I was probably more into the gig than 95% of the crowd, most of who had come along to the sell out night to see headline act Bloc Party. Hopefully after tonight they’ll have re-evaluated their outlook on the two bands. So i’m enjoying this part of the show which is the usual Fields wall of noise, sitting somewhere between the old indie bands of the late eighties who went for sonic guitar sounds and the brilliant wave of sound that Ride used to create on the first three EPs. They do this though wrapped up with a very modern take on things.

Charming The Flames is next up (the next single as far as I know) and is quickly followed by You Don’t Need This Song (To Fix Your Broken Heart), they are right I don’t need it but I do love the song and it’s pleasing to see that as a live unit they are getting better and better all the time. Brittlesticks is next up and they finish all too soon with the excellent Song For The Fields.

The night is still young and my reason for travelling to Sheffield have already come and gone, no doubt with a few new fans to add to their collection. Bloc Party come on to adulation and a crowd that are clearly mad on them, they don’t hold that magic for me though, this is the second time i’ve seen them live and they’ve bored me both times. The tracks off the first album are the ones that gather the greatest support, which doesn’t bode well for the second album when I eventually get around to buying it.

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