Any Sheffielder worth their Hendo’s knows that any evening spent with Milburn and their fans is a sound promise of singalongs, airborne lager, and maybe even a tingle of nostalgia for those heady days of the revered mid-‘00s indie scene.
Tonight was to be no exception: as soon as they came rolling in with ‘Well Well Well’ and brought a bumper crowd at Hillsborough Park into raptures, it was quite clear Carnall and co. were to on top form once again.
All the old faves were out, and ‘Count To Ten’, ‘What Will You Do (When The Money Goes)’ and a wistful slow rendition of ‘Storm In A Teacup’ were sung with all the same enthusiasm as when they first became Steel City anthems.
A few new ones were there, too, with ‘Midnight Control’ and ‘A.O.S.D’ off last year’s LP ensuring this was to be more than a jaunt down memory lane.
But to say they fully lived up to expectations would not be to say this wasn’t with its own reasons to remembered; a surprise live debut of the classic ‘Last Bus’, and a touching few words of tribute to the late, great, Tramlines legend Sarah Nulty planted this firmly in the band’s greatest nights on home turf.
One for the record, too, was a signalling that they were “to go away from a little while” – but what did they say about drifting away? Even if this isn’t to be the last time, this was not one to miss.
Words: Benedict Tetzlaff –Deas
Pics: Kevin Wells
