Saturday 20th February

Reckless Youth

headline show at The Shed

Saturday 20th February

with Saints of the Sinners and Corrupt Nation

One of the more satisfying experiences, for me, is to go to a gig that has a capacity crowd. Tonight it was not just that The Shed was full of people; it was the atmosphere – the fact that the acts on the line-up had drawn together an abundance of people who were eager to see them and expressed considerable enthusiasm for their performances. Now, that is what makes music live.

Opening the show were two lads called Saints of the Sinners, a guitar-playing, singing duo of Jordon Harrold and Joe Pearce, who delighted the audience with their own songs and some covers. People particularly liked I’m just a teenage dirtbag by Wheatus.  It was an all-round good performance by two versatile musicians.

Someone said to me last night “Leicester is full of great bands these days”; a comment that stuck in my memory even though I can’t remember who said it. I agreed. There are some thumpingly good bands playing our local venues these days and our next act is one of them. Corrupt Nation is a band with some serious talent in its four band members.  Having seen them a few times I find they just get better every time;  others said much the same when talking about them.  In the audience tonight were several prominent members of rock-star bands and each one of them agreed that Corrupt Nation was good.  I often seek opinions from established artists about new acts.

A band whose music has plenty of punch.  Many people in the audience will not have seen them before but they soon won them over with their passionate performance and ear-grabbing music. Breaking into a cover of Mr. Brightside by The Killers. These young musicians have an ear for a good tune. Lead vocals from Ben Wilkinson had star quality. The musicians from Melton received an enthusiastic response from the crowd.  This is a band that will go far.

A band that has already gone far (and come a long way since their early days in the music business, for some of them, many, many years ago) The Reckless Youth has been wowing audiences since they launched in March 2015. These ‘alt rock’ magicians are Ash Wright (lead vocals), Leon Harrold (bass), Kieran Langley (drums), Harry Pentony (guitar) and Kyle Harrold (guitar).  Many of these guys I knew when they were in previous bands. Ash, Leon and Kyle were in Formal Warning.  Tonight they brought back to The Shed the atmosphere of the great days when bands used to fill the place with fans and create one massive party where people danced crazily, sang along to the songs and created memories that were long cherished.  What a set they did! It was hard, loud, heaving and sparkling with volcanic beats to create a moment in the march of musical history. They gave us music that was swelling with energy and excitement, engorged with the red blood of rock and giving their fans the sounds they craved. It is always a good sign when a lot of top people come out to a show to see something they know they will like and tonight there were plenty of familiar faces in the audience.

All in all, this has been a night to remember.  Everyone went home happy, knowing they had really enjoyed the best of what Leicester’s live music scene can offer. It was a night of magic and The Reckless Youth gave it an energy and resonance few other bands can match.

Thanks to Peter Treadwell for the photos.

See also:

The Reckless Youth at the O2 in 2015

See more gigs and shows from our page Music in February.