All photos by Lia Qin (@liaaaaatgigs)
Drastic//Automatic are one of the most exciting bands operating out of the Steel City at the moment and their enthralling show at Shakespeare’s pub last Friday proved just that. A line up expertly curated by local record label Jarred Up brought the Sheffield-based three-piece to the Shakey for a headline gig to support the release of their new self-titled EP.
As fans filtered up the Shakespeare’s winding staircase to an unassuming upstairs room, it became clear that Drastic//Automatic had put some thought into the setting of their first Sheffield headline show in a few months. Plenty of deep red lighting set the mood from the off and with the smoke machine working overtime, the stage was set for Sheffield’s favourite noise punks to do what they do best.
The set kicks off with a rendition of ‘Great West Road’, one of the band’s newest tunes. The song’s main motif – a relentless, never-ending motorway – fits well thematically with Drastic//Automatic’s rather grey, industrial image. Musically speaking, though, the track is something of a departure from the band’s comfort zone. A slightly slower tempo and a more melodic tune than fans will be used to give space in the arrangement for the band’s instrumental chops to come to the fore.
However, as the band jump straight into the pumping and restless ‘The Finish Line’, it is made clear that this new musical direction is going to have little impact on the breakneck pace of Drastic//Automatic’s live shows. The band rattle through the rest of their now relatively extensive discography with plenty of energy and impressive stamina.
Drastic//Automatic don’t do things by halves and apparently nor do their fans. When the mosh pits arrive mid-way through the set, they dominate the front half of the upstairs room at Shakespeare’s. The band’s hardcore noise punk encourages some of the rowdiest pushing and shoving you’re likely to see in Sheffield on a Friday night outside of West Street’s beer-fuelled punch ups. Unlike the stag dos scrapping in the Tigerworks smoking area, however, everybody involved in this fracas very much enjoyed themselves.
One or two individuals limp out the sides of the mosh pit carrying injuries and after a while, the moshing prompts a warning from the bar: the ceiling was shaking, and they were worried it would give in. When I said in my September gig guide that a Drastic//Automatic gig at the Shakey would “bring the house down”, I didn’t mean literally.
Structural concerns about one of Sheffield’s best boozers aside, Drastic//Automatic’s live shows never fail to impress. Among a sea of bands who feel like they are still trying to figure themselves out, the local three-piece always stand out as a band who are sure of their sound, their image, and their live presence. The band know exactly what they want to sound like and we’re just here to bear witness. They have a nailed-on sense of their own identity and an incredibly well-polished live show to go with it.
