Yard Act turn a hometown night into a tour launchpad at O2 Academy Leeds
James Smith & Co have a packed dancefloor really jumping on a return to their home city.
Yard Act opened their first UK tour in two years with a sold-out hometown night at O2 Academy Leeds, the first of two dates at the venue. Backed by a third album’s worth of material and a crowd ready to give everything back, this was a band at the peak of their powers.
Lava La Rue opened the night, playing Leeds for the first time, in a trench coat that mirrored the headliners. They spent much of the set on synth between two microphone stands, with a guitar slung for occasional breaks from the electronics. The bass player wore an X-Ray Spex T-shirt, and with no room in the car for the usual drummer, an edgy guitar three-piece completed the line-up.
Drums and piano sat on a high riser across the back of the stage, and James Smith spent the night using the platforms as launchpads for his jumps. He greeted the crowd with a hello to Leeds, the city they call home, before The Overload had the packed floor really jumping. That’s more like it, came the reply.
We Make Hits set the tone. The audience were so good on the response that Smith left them to carry the title line alone. New song Payday had the balcony bouncing to its take the money and run chorus, while Fizzy Fish arrived on a wave of heat as the room grew warmer.
The older material sat comfortably alongside the new. Trenchcoat Museum, the monster single from between the first two albums, remains a live beast, and Vineyard for the North was a standout, raised hands silhouetted against a white wash of light before Smith launched himself from the riser at the crescendo, trench coat flying.
New Beginnings was the highlight of the new album. A melodic song that had the crowd turning to sing it to their friends, its repeated purge yourself refrain rang around the venue, lifted by a huge organ solo. It's good to be home, Smith told them, before Dead Horse brought saxophone in place of piano and a thrashing dance from Smith that felt like a miracle in the heat.
The night peaked with 100% Endurance. Smith staked out the challenge, telling the crowd that in three weeks’ time the band would see if Leeds was the best, and the answer was a “Yorkshire, Yorkshire” chant, people on shoulders and every word sung. The mid-song pause became a break for a chat, the applause deafening. A female voice offered up a Leeds scarf, and after some grumbling at his reluctance, Smith relaunched the song wearing it.
You’re Gonna Need a Little Music, a perfect road trip song, took its deserved place near the close, and Over the Barrel finished a night that felt like a perfect kick-off. If the final night of the tour proves better, it will not be for want of effort from a Leeds crowd who gave everything.