Less Than Jake / Goldfinger / Save Ferris /
Thieves Of Liberty / Frank Grimes & The Disasters
Fireball Fuelling The Fire 2019
September 19th First stop Sheffield!
Live review by; Tuesday
DJ Matt Stocks introduced Frank Grimes And The Disasters as the opening nights opening band. They played a fabulous selection of original songs to a modest but appreciative and responsive audience. Given the calibre of this band it was a shame that more people hadn't shown up early enough to catch them. They were deserving of a much bigger audience. Their stage presence and musicianship was excellent. Their sound was a perfect mixture of pop, punk and rock with a great beat. This is a band that has the potential to go far, they're doing everything right and a place higher up the bill would be more fitting!
Thieves Of Liberty were up next. They are previous winners of the Fireball's hottest band competition. In the past they've supported Duff Mckagan of Guns N' Roses fame at a show on a UK tour of his. The lead singer loved working the crowd at Sheffield and the music from the band was tight. The crowd cheered loudly for their bass player during the band introductions. He was very talented playing the bass adventurously using the full fret board in a way that many players aren't capable of. The room started to fill up during their performance and they got a great response from the Sheffield crowd.
Next up were the 'To be confirmed act' which turned out to be Save Ferris. Save Ferris were absolutely incredible. They provided us with a wonderful concoction of Ska and pop punk and not forgetting noise and bravado! Fronted by Monique Powell who sang, stripped, danced, joked and burlesqued her way through a truly exciting performance! The crowd now so large desperately tried to get closer to the stage. She captured everyone's attention saying she was here to offend and laughing as she announced her tits are from Marks and Spencers but her ass is from Poundland then stating that by the end of the performance she guarantees we'll all be friends. Her connection with the audience was excellent and between them Save Ferris held the attention of the mass crowd right to the last note. Highlights included a cover of Real Big Fish song She's Got A Girlfriend Now (Monique actually sang on the original). The whole crowd from stage to bar were bouncing to at least twice their height in the air. Monique and gang gave an absolutely unforgettable performance.
There was excitement in the arena as Sheffield eagerly awaited Goldfinger (which tonight featured the brass section of Save Ferris). There were a lot of Goldfinger fans in the crowd and the second they came on there were welcoming cheers and multiple clumps of people started bouncing. Everyone seemed impressed by their stage entrance. Goldfinger came on and bounced really high whilst hitting every note perfectly. They were very energetic and sounded spot on! Highlights included Put The Knife Away where the crowd sang the lyrics back so loudly. Other highlights included their fantastic cover versions of Song 2 and 99 Red Balloons. The crowd cheered as red confetti was released during 99 Red Balloons desperately trying to catch pieces of it mid pogo! The crowd were truly hyped by the end of Goldfinger's set. They were fuelled on exciting music and free Fireball shots!
Less Than Jake were next to claim the stage as they home. They were greeted by shouts, cheers and a lot of people legging it from the bar to the stage! Opening with great crowd pleaser Gainsville Rock City they won the crowd from their first second on the stage. They were very attentive to the crowd telling the audience little stories in between playing some stellar tunes. Songs of the set that really had this crowd included Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sell Outs, Things Change, History Of A Boring Town and encore song All My Best Friends Are Metalheads, but the absolute highlight of the show was super hit song She's Gonna Break Soon. They got members of the crowd up to backing dance, it was a nice touch which the audience appreciated. The people they picked were also full of personality and it was fun to watch. The band were certainly well loved and their stage performance was excellent. They're a very charismatic group of performers who know what works and they work it well.
If these are LESS than Jake, then we can't wait to see Jake!
The Fireball event was a fast paced energetic knees up and comes highly recommended. It was a great experience seeing all those bands under one roof. We hope to see Frank Grimes And The Disasters win this years hottest band and watch them higher up the bill next year! Roll on 2020 Fuelling The Fire!