33 Oldham Street is a new upcoming music venue in the heart of Manchester ready to open its doors to new bands. and tonight that involves Sheffield born Static Lives on their first headline tour.

For a music venue you can tell it’s brand new with the impressive lighting on the ceiling and very clean, not messed up stage floor.

First band is the local Sietch Band, a three piece band ready to kickstart the night. The band immediately go into their roles in the band effortlessly like this was not their first gig, they have a stage presence that amplifies the room and character like qualities with their performance. Like they snap into their characters the second the music starts and it’s something that doesn’t end until their final song of their set. With only an EP out and one of the songs not finished being written they played an incredible show that felt like a headline set, they had a whiny emo feel about their sound that gives you the vibes of early 2000s emo / metalcore artists that shaped the scene.

One song midway through the set their vocalist made it known that it’s not finished yet and that they just have one half of it actually completed, but they played it anyway and improvised for half of it which made it more unique and even more enjoyable. Their vocalist really knew how to play with the crowd including jumping into the crowd mid set and many high jumps into the air as he moved with the vibes of their songs.

Halfway during their set I sent them over to a bunch of people who I know for a fact would love a band like theirs on their radar. Once their first album is out they will have their headline show in that very room, just gotta get that one song that needs to be released finished first.

Second on the line up for the night is another Manchester band by the name of Urban Theory, this time coming onto the stage as a five piece band they had a soft indie look of them, their vocalist has a deep soft vocal range that carries across the room perfectly. Despite the band looking like they’re right out of an indie rock band their drummer looks like he’s from a pop punk band ready to play Slamdunk festival in his vans ensemble but despite looking like the odd one out of the band his playing was perfectly done and his energy bounced off the rest of the band, just watching him play could bring a smile to your face during this performance.

Having a keyboardist in a band may be weird to some and sometimes it doesn’t work and can be left with them being pushed to the back of the band, but halfway during the set he took over the show with some solos which was unexpected but well received by the crowd which had started to fill the room by this point.

These guys are new and upcoming but they have a deep and meaningful presence with their performance. I can see with more shows with a crowd as inviting as this one the confidence will run through them all with ease and they will get used to the environment more. Which will be amazing to see with a band that will go far if they keep up this pace.

It’s now time for Static Lives the headliners of the night, annoyingly by this point supporters had gotten a lot lower than what it was by the end of Urban Theory’s set which was just a bit of a let-down to not see the support there for the headline band. With a backing track playing and the lights going down, Static Lives takes to the stage, the three piece giving an Amy Winehouse vibe with the looks they were going with.

The vocalist’s hair being up and bit with the black dress told you Amy, but we got a voice that was completely different, a voice that travelled across the room with angst as she walked all over the stage owning the room with her arms stretched outside for each and every song. The room began to fill up and you saw a smile hit the band’s face as the crowd sang along to every song and cheered on the new upcoming headliners.

Their guitarist gave the vibe of John Lennon with the outfit and the hair, his guitar playing was amazing throughout the set and vibed perfectly with their vocalist showing the chemistry between the band which we always love to see.

Static Lives have such a unique and edgy sound that will have the room tripling with fans in a year’s time when more music is released, and we can’t wait to hear it and see just how much this upcoming Sheff lot progress.

Words & images: Lauren Allard

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