Live Review: Yard Act - Village Underground 17/02/2022
It's the long-awaited headline tour from Leeds' most-loved modern poets. With their highly anticipated debut album, The Overload, now out in the world (and reaching Number 2 in the charts no less) Yard Act are kicking things off in London, as frontman James Smith smugly calls it "just the warm up for the more important cities".
First to the stage however is enigmatic electro-rock duo Baba Ali. Releasing their album Memory Device last year, they've now just recently put out their latest single "Black + Blue" via Yard Act's own Zen FC label. Full of all the confidence and flair for performance, the New York-via-London pair are slick and gripping to watch, and put on an impeccably polished but punk-rock show. Definite ones to keep an eye on as I'm sure this tour will blow up their fan base tenfold.
The inevitable Yard Act are on fine form themselves. Opening with a heavy instrumental, ringleader Smith sneers their way into their fiercely tongued early single, "Dark Days", and the madness ensues. The mosh pit erupts instantly, or the "bouncy bit" as Smith dubs it - "Everyone alright in the bouncy bit? Everyone comfortable?". It's the start of an immersive relationship he has with his audience that doesn't let up, with his own infectious onstage energy bleeding into the crowd's.
With the album only 3 weeks old, it's an impressive feat that the life in the room never falters throughout album tracks like "Dead Horse" and "The Incident", the audience lapping up Smith's every prophetic witticism. But with the mere mention of "a second home" they're sent into a frenzy. "Graeme, Graeme, Graeme". It's of course "Fixer Upper" next. Their early EP tracks perhaps still get the biggest reaction, but the album offers so much more depth and versatility.
With the command that we "put our differences aside and have a good time" they lead us into the dancefloor realm of "Pour Another" - a feel-good jam about not sweating the small stuff and just getting on it instead. Their more electro-pop side quickly gives way however to the original post-punk realism that has grabbed the attention of so many. "Tall Poppies", their epic tale of an eventually normal bloke from their small-town origins - the type that we all know and grew up with, the type that you can't help but despise for having it all - is even more hammed up and stretched out with a heavier backing than on the album. Their storytelling often precedes their musicianship but this set definitely feels like more emphasis is put on the music while the lyrics are now at the point that they're being rattled off.
And who can blame them. Surrounding the album's release they toured the country extensively with instores and any other opportunity to promote their chart battle. And that was after popping up at all the best festivals last summer as well as a string of independent venue gigs. It's no wonder that by the time we get to the encore, and the highly demanded EP favourite "Peanuts", Smith admits he can't be bothered, and we witness an awkward karaoke-style interlude while he tries to find someone else to perform the central poem. True to the disingenuity that anyone from elsewhere would expect in the capitol, and seemingly not to the band's surprise, no one can come up with the goods, and we're left looking like a crowd full of fake fans. It's all quite entertaining if you can take it on the chin and accept the London mentality to be a bit of a let down in the eyes of a Northern band.
Yet still trying to please, they take on a democratic vote in order to decide the final song, and settle on their inimitable debut, "The Trapper's Pelts". The bouncing continues with fervour as the band belt through their original violent sound that got them noticed what feels like only months ago.
They're a band that have come through the pandemic with force and with a message to be heard. Their audience is already gripped and loyal, and the rest of this tour's going to complete the picture for so many across the country. Let's just hope that they will not be as disappointed as in London.
Words by Alice Jenner
