Spring King @ The Sugarmill

Spring Kings first time in Stoke-on-Trent was certainly not going to be their last after the amazing adrenalin filled performance they put in last night. Spring King are finishing off a few of last years tour dates due to illness saw the band miss five dates including The Sugarmill.

All of the bands have been featured in our 2016 ICM Awards or in our Ones to Watch section. Which you don’t need me to tell you that it’s going to be one of the best live shows of the year.

Three of the best live bands around, all come together for one spectacular show. Get Inuit kick off the night in their crazy, action packed style of playing music. All the lads put so much effort into their music I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a heart attack. Track favourites ‘Mean Heart’ and ‘Pro Procrastination’ got the crowd a huge thrill of jumping and screaming ‘Whoooo!’ and ‘Yeahhhh’ quite a lot, which seemed to be a running theme from the crowd.

Their latest single ‘Teriyaki’ is arguably their catchiest song they’ve written yet, it’s an immediate pop tune, but is sweet as the track is bitter. Along with their already impressive repertoire, three new songs are given an airing, one of them an effective slow-burner, the other two catchy as hell, just like everything else they put their name to.

Their summery beach-grunge tunes are played with manic dancing, singer Jamie Glass an absolute joy to watch onstage and will always get the crowd pumped with excitement.

London-based all female quartet, The Big Moon entertained us next. They have made a big impact on the music scene in only a short space of time is truly incredible. I wasn’t too sure what to expect when seeing the ladies live, but their sound is very pure. ‘Formidable’ and ‘Silent Movie Susie’ make it almost impossible not to get swept along by The Big Moon’s boundless enthusiasm no matter how big the crowd.

At The Sugarmill was no different, singles ‘Cupid’ and ‘The Road’ had the crowd hooked in a daze of excitement, especially as fans have had to wait almost four months for the rescheduled dates so everyone pretty much just let loose and went for it.

They continued their set with plenty of energy and enthusiasm, smiling and laughing the whole way through. And creeping out a guy at the front by starting at him for a good ten seconds. It was clear the band were comfortable and confident on stage, their presence was great and they managed to engage the crowd for their whole set.

Now it was the turn of Spring King, it was their first ever show in Stoke-on-Trent last night (17/02/16) and it will certainly be one they will never forget.

Kicking it all off with ‘Better Man’ the crowd go mental, everyone starts swaying and getting pushed and shoved into the barrier at the front getting a little bit claustrophobic.

Every track you can literally pop your head and go crazy with everyone around you joining in the fun, you could see the lads faces light up in excitement. It still feels weird that Tarek is going at it from behind the drum kit whilst on the lead vocals, He definitely deserves to be applauded for keeping up the constant stream of powerful pounding throughout the night, whilst simultaneously managing to maintain crystal, on-point vocals that never lose key.

‘Demons’ and ‘City’ were split with having ‘Can I?’ in between so everyone could get the composure back for round two of mayhem. The passion emerging from the fourth number provokes yet another spate of giddy, mini-mosh pits which, in such intimate surroundings, are impossible to avoid.

Rounding the night off with Rectifier was just the icing on the cake and our Album Of The Year Nominiees have curated one of the best live sounds around.