LIVE REVIEW | THE CLAUSE w/ Cruz and Tom A Smith | SHEFFIELD LEADMILL 28/11/2024 by Isobel O’Mahony

Brummie boys The Clause came to rock Sheffield’s iconic Leadmill stage last week with their Weekend Millionaire Tour. The pressure of playing to a sold-out gig didn’t phase the band last Thursday as they performed loads of classic Clause tunes and some new hits to a ready-to-rock crowd.

Sheffield band Cruz warmed up the room with a loud and moody sound, and an insane lead guitarist, before wunderkind Tom A. Smith took the stage with his whopping stage presence and wonderfully erratic bass player (seriously, she was going feral). There’s an adage that you haven’t started to make it until you’ve played Leadmill, and I think these bands are going far. It’s indie-grunge heaven for both audience and artist and is a truly special place for music.

One thing so innately Leadmill, apart from the eerily nostalgic smell of the place, is good old indie moshing – and the pits hardly stopped once The Clause took the stage. Oasis’ ‘Morning Glory’ graced the speakers before they strutted on for their first hit ‘9 to 5’. The average crowd may take a few minutes to warm up to the idea of jumping around in a big violent circle with strangers, but this crowd had already been moshing in the break to the Courtneers, so they had no trouble going for it in the ‘9 to 5’ chorus.

The Clause (Isobel O’Mahony/Northern Exposure

Tunes from the new EP, like ‘Take Me Home’ and ‘Stop the World’, already seem to be classics for the audience, as hardly a word was missed. It’s a solid record that feels like a big step for the band, but fits seamlessly with older tracks like ‘Pop Culture’ – probably one of the best of the night.

Maybe it’s the Oasis resurrection of these last few months, but some strings and orchestral arrangements would really elevate their sound in a larger venue. For Leadmill however, their sound fit just perfectly and rallied the audience.

Set apart from the mosh pits upon mosh pits were some beautiful moments with slower tunes like ‘Where are you now?’, a song that lead singer Pearce Macca explained to the crowd he wrote at 16 when he lost someone close to him. It’s a moving acoustic tune and they had half the room on each other’s shoulders swaying with their flashlights out.

They finished the main part of the set with the title track from the EP, ‘Weekend Millionaire’. Whilst this is a strong track, nothing could’ve prepared you for an encore of fan favourites. ‘Time of Our Lives’, ‘Sixteen’ and ‘In My Element’ shook the now very sticky floor and had the crowd ragin’. I’d personally love to see some more heavy bass tracks like ‘In my Element’ with a bit of techno waved in because it’s obvious their crowds respond violently well to these exciting tunes.

Overall, it was an insanely strong show. Listening to The Clause on streaming their music is fairly refined and crisp, which is great, but can you imagine the early morning commute with a screaming and feedback-charged Clause EP? If they can somehow capture the sound and feel of this Leadmill gig and put it in an album, they can take all of my money.

The ‘Weekend Millionaire’ Tour continues this month across England before finishing up in Paris on 17th December. Remaining ticket availability and the first 2025 show’s can be found here.