Live
< Reverend And The Makers
words by Rak
pics by
“I were lobbed out of a Strummer gig here – a year before he died, an’ Don Letts were DJing!” No pissing up against a wall in Sheffield’s Leadmill for ‘Reverend’ Jon McClure tonight. An affable, articulate and charismatic 25-year-old, he and his Makers are set to give security a different sort of nightmare altogether. You get the feeling McClure loves a challenge. Support is exclusively Sheffield: Vegas Child, Gas Club and The Hosts. They’re good, but it’s RATM that have packed them in tonight. McClure struts onstage, resplendent in red and begins jerky robotic moves that would give Peter Crouch a wet dream.
The band launch into ‘Miss Brown’ and their infectious brand of electro-rock has grown men and Year 12s moving in unison. Two drummers, nay three when keyboardist Laura Manuel obliges, and a funky Ed Cosens bass give RATM the ability to detonate dancefloors across England. With Joe Moskow’s predominant organ/synth and Tom Jarvis’ sleek lead guitar defying crowds not to move, it all kicks off in style. As the organ announces new single ‘Heavyweight Champion Of The World’, security braces itself for crowdsurfing of Arctic Monkey proportions. McClure holds firm. He is clearly an advocate of eclecticism and the transient line-up reflects this.
In Laura Manuel, the Makers have a keyboardist/vocalist who makes Abi Zuton look like your mum’s trampy old mate. The call-and-response vocals between her and the Rev on ‘He Said He Loved Me’ sizzle with a brilliant combination of vitriol and lust. Kylie and Jason it ain’t, but it’s fucking special. ‘State Of Things’ continues their victory march. With the inevitable encore, all bets are off. McClure and his posse don’t need to win over Sheffield; this crowd has long since capitulated.
There’s an ex-Monkey, a Harrison and a Long Blonde in attendance tonight, and they’re smiling along with the proles – maybe in awe, at the very least in admiration of a man and his band who are “fucking special.”
Originally appeared in volume 1, issue 24 of Loud & Quiet magazine
