Yard Act

 The Brudenell Car Park

Generally speaking, the pages of Stub Quarterly are for championing independent grassroots artists trying to break the mould. However, on special and historic occasions, exceptions to that rule are made. The first ever gig in the Brudenell car park is one such occasion. As promotion for their upcoming third album, 'You’re Gonna Need A Little Music' (YGNALM), it was Yard Act who were awarded the honour of consecrating this holy tarmac. 

Whilst the band need no formal introduction, Yard Act’s history is interwoven with the Brudenell in more ways than most remember. In January 2020, the venue was the location of the band’s first gig, supporting local duo Big Softy. Fast forward to June 2021, Yard Act were part of the welcoming committee when the venue re-opened post-pandemic, previewing new songs to two socially distanced seated crowds. Within the next six months, the band’s popularity exploded exponentially and they looked on course to score a number one album with their debut. As part of their efforts, they sold out the main room on a school night, for a midnight performance of 'The Overload' in full. The doors for the gig opened whilst the band were still on the road, following an instore in Nottingham, and the band unloaded in front of 400 tired, dedicated fans. To bookend the chaos of 'The Overload' era, in 2023, the band played a five-night residency with stand-up comedians as support acts, including Nish Kumar, Rose Matafeo and the legendary Harry Hill. What’s more, the connection between Yard Act and the Brudenell began long before 2020. All members played there in previous projects (Menace Beach, Post War Glamour Girls, Holodrum etc.) and James Smith was regularly a member of the New Year’s Eve traditions, performing in various one-off tribute bands. Without the Brudenell, there would be an absence of the fate that drew them together and Yard Act’s component parts may not have known each other at all. Do you want a few more miscellaneous connections? Here goes - the Brudenell is acknowledged in the lyrics of ‘100% Endurance’ (Nathan’s house), it was the filming location for their debut performance on Jools Holland (the studio shows were cancelled during the pandemic) and the car park was home to the golden rover for a long while before they torched it for promotional material. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

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Surprises are increasingly a commodity nowadays. There’s no longer the need to actively search for spoilers. Against your consent, the algorithm will tell you who is playing the Glastonbury secret set and who dies in the Coronation Street tram crash (I’m a few episodes behind). Scroll too fast and the mystery is over. Nevertheless, details of today’s event were kept relatively under wraps.  Even the original coordinates were a red herring and risked directing some unlucky fans to the Be At One near Millennium Square. All we knew was that Yard Act were planning an outdoor event at the Brudenell for the reasonable price of zero pounds sterling. 

The most genuine and pleasant surprise was today’s warmer upper and compere – Phill Jupitus (of Never Mind the Buzzcocks fame) performing under his Porky the Poet alias. Having just ran the Leeds marathon, Jupitus was passing through the area and summoned as a spontaneous support (allegedly, citation needed). His material was a spectrum of sentiments, from poignant words around accepting his biological demise to Nigel Farage assassination fantasies involving many teaspoons and a big magnet. Jupitus was humble but unreserved about his love for Leeds and Yard Act, essentially a reflection of us all that day. 

It finally transpired that Yard Act’s cunning plan was to subject the crowd to ‘new ones’. Not just a few new ones, but ALL of the new ones in track list order. Fortunately, they were all quite decent, top, not bad etc.

‘YGNALM’, the new album’s title track, and ‘New Beginnings’ were euphoric pop numbers with catchy choruses that stuck around as earworms for the coming days. On their sophomore effort, 'Where’s my Utopia?', these songs would have felt like natural singles. The overall tone for their upcoming album, however, sits in stark contrast – as laid out by the single ‘Redeemer’. Sounding like a lost “…Like Clockwork” track, Redeemer has a darkness and intensity rarely demonstrated by Yard Act. Smith’s vocals are gritty and reminiscent of those from his previous group Post War Glamour Girls. In the early days of Yard Act, Smith remarked that Yard Act allowed him to be the most honest reflection of himself compared to earlier projects. Is he once again choosing to shield himself behind a character? 

My personal highlight from the new album was ‘Cherophobe Rock’. The song has a driving rhythm, a weighty Viagra Boys-esque bassline and a bouncy chorus. Another standout was the similarly up-tempo track that immediately followed this, ‘Thrill Of The Chase’, which features a jagged guitar riff that draws even closer to The Rapture than the ‘Dark Days’ single. The track ends with Smith rapping, with his vocals being breathlessly cut off by laser blast effects moments before suffocation. 

The set concluded with a handful of crowd chosen favourites from the back catalogue: 'Dark Days', 'The Overload', 'Fixer Upper' and 'The Trappers Pelts'. It was only appropriate that, as well as the first gig in the Brudenell car park, Yard Act would also be responsible for the first mosh pit.

Overall, this was the perfect belated thank you to everyone who bought sixteen variations of 'The Overload' vinyl four years ago. The conditions for an outdoor performance were pristine. Glorious sunshine was impeccably positioned just above the stage (although that could have just been the glow of Ryan Needham’s immaculate skin). My only feedback is that going full Beatles and performing on the roof was a missed opportunity. I’m sure they’ll have done the risk assessment. 

Words by Lucas Blackwell. 

Poster pilfered from the band’s insta.

Doodle by James Smith (for a super-secret future Stub project).