Words: Laura Mills
Sheffield’s O2 Academy was bouncing on Friday night as the city’s newest stars The Reytons returned to home turf ready for a party!
They kicked off set two in Sheff with one of their latest singles ‘Red Smoke’, and what a bloody opener it was. Electric guitar riffs from every angle of the track, aggressive powerful vocals paired with implosive lyrics.
If you’re an avid gig goer, you’ll be familiar with the chant, “Here we, here we, here we f**king go” and luckily for fans, The Reytons provided them with a perfect opportunity to shout it at the chorus.
Picture the scene: fans arm in arm singing back to a band they adore, slinging pints in the air, faces gleaming because of how intensely perfect the atmosphere is. Biblical.
One of my favourite moments of the night was the singer’s emotional interlude before ‘Harrison Lesser’. He told the fans “A lot of things divide us, but we’re all Reytons”. For me, someone who adores music, it was sensational to see everyone united by his words.
‘Low Life’ provided the craziest moments of the show. Fans crashing and smashing into each other, launching pints and having a ball. It was a sight to see, and after 18 months stuck in doors, I think every fan left with a lifelong memory.
Before they launched into the show stopper ‘Kids Off The Estate’, singer Jonny Yerrell address his crazy crowd one last time, “We can’t stand a chance against Little Mix or Ed Sheeran but when you buy those singles we can do what we want”.
The whole scene was like watching a movie and connected everybody in the room. I think it reminds us of why bands like this are so important, not just in continuing The Indie Scene, but for the people that support them too. It makes a statement that in 2021 when you can access every singer, in every language in the world, we still go out and go mad when our bands return to their hometowns.
The show ended with the band and their team arm in arm on the stage. Of course, they brought out the bubbly and sprayed in it over their adoring fans who soaked up every drop. They might not be as high in the charts as they deserve, but each one of those lads displayed a kind of passion I’d never seen before and every single moment from start to finish was a blast.
I don’t know about you, but that’s the kind of band I want to back.
