Reverend & The Makers rocked a sold out hometown show at Sheffield’s O2 Academy on the second night of a tour celebrating the release of their fifth album ‘Mirrors’.

Trampolene

Swansea trio ‘Trampolene’ kicked off the evening with many ticket-holders still making their way in to the venue. Made up of Jack, Wayne and Rob, the group provided a unique start to the night’s music with a combination of music – including the track ‘It’s not rock ‘n’ roll’ – as well as spoken lyrics and poetry from their frontman, including a strangely memorable and slightly bizarre poem about Poundland during their 30-minute set.

Franko Frazie

The penultimate act of the evening was Franko Fraize and his accompanying band. Described as a ‘street poet’, the southerner with a ‘cheeky chappy’ personality did a brilliant job of getting the crowd going ahead of the main event. – in particular with his final song ‘Oi Oi’, titled after his catchphrase that he had the crowd chanting back at him over and over throughout the performance.

Reverend & The Makers

Finally it was time for the headliners to arrive and the ‘Rev Army’ lifted the roof off the sold out venue when Jon ‘The Reverend’ McClure and his bandmates Ed Cosens, Laura McClure, Joe Carnall and Ryan Jenkinson burst on to the stage with ‘Amsterdam’, the opening track from their brand new album ‘Mirrors’ which was released last month.

Debut album classic ‘Open Your Window’ followed and got the whole room bouncing with frontman McClure proclaiming “This train won’t stop”….and it certainly didn’t all night! The 22-song setlist included ‘Black Widow’ and ‘Mr Glasshalfempty’, two of the highlights of the new album, as well as classic material spanning their entire five album discography.

It was songs from their hugely successful 2007 debut album ‘The State of Things’ that got the biggest cheers of the night, with ‘Heavyweight Champion of the World’ – arguably their best known song, proving a notable highlight for the excitable crowd.

There was also a poignant moment as McClure remained alone on stage to perform the old B-side ‘Paris At Night’ in memory of those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks in the French capital the night before the gig. The sombre and heartfelt performance was beautiful and the whole crowd were united as the singer made a bold statement that “We cannot let them f*ckers win.”

With the full band back on stage ‘Rev’ announced that “it’s banger after banger from here!” and he certainly wasn’t wrong as the band brought the evening to it’s on-stage conclusion with hits such as ‘He Said He Loved Me’, ‘Bandits’ and finally the incredibly catchy ‘Silence Is Talking’.

But ‘Rev’ still wasn’t done, as he stepped outside the venue to congregate with the crowd for one final acoustic performance, playing a cover of ‘A Message To You, Rudy’ before waving the crowd goodbye and sending them home in style – a truly superb show from a band who never disappoint.

Setlist: Amsterdam // Open Your Window // Shine A Light // Black Widow // Makin’ Babies // Heavyweight Champion of the World // Miss Brown // Mr Glasshalfempty // Hidden Persuaders // Bassline // Out of the Shadows // Paris At Night // Last to Know // Something to Remember // El Cabrera // The State of Things //  I Spy // He Said He Loved Me // Devil’s Radio // Bandits // Silence Is Talking // A Message to You, Rudy (cover performed outside the venue) //

 

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