YONAKA’s ‘Welcome To My House Tour’ has landed in Sheffield today. We’re at that stage of the season change where it’s too cold to not wear a coat outside but way too hot to wear one at a gig. When all the bands tonight have such high energy to their sets…just…don’t wear layers.
Our opener for tonight is an act I’ve been waiting to see for so long. Mimi Barks is a growing “trap-metal” artist and if her live performance slaps as much as her songs, this’ll be a treat. Spoiler- it did. The energy Mimi Barks brings onto the stage is transferred immediately to the audience. How can you not head bob along to that bass? It was a shame to see the crowd was still pretty empty, not many people rushing to catch the opener and what a performance they’ve missed.
On the stage was just Mimi Barks and the touring drummer, the latter bringing that energy too. It’s great to see a touring member matching the vibe of the artist on stage. At one point, the drummer left his station to jump into the photo pit and stand at the barrier with his arms outstretched. He then proceeded to encourage the crowd to clap to the beat and made a few back-and-forth strolls during the break before jumping back onto the stage.
I love artists who have concepts and characters behind them. When they come on that stage representing a persona so well, you just can’t not look. The songs of Mimi Barks have such a catchy hook to them, when she started her track “FSU“, I don’t think there was a single person not moving. It’s just so contagious and in a live environment that effect is even higher. I would love to see Mimi Barks supporting more artists with concepts (bands like Sleep Token or even Bad Omens). She’s just such a vibe.
I didn’t know what to expect with NOISY other than being told they weren’t as heavy as Mimi Barks. For some reason, I then thought it’d be an Oasis-type band with acoustic guitars??? If you know NOISY…they’re quite the opposite. The band has this rap x punk vibe about them that just gets you bouncing. The band came out with “Young Dumb”, clad in paint-stained tracksuits that gave them a “naughty boy” look.
The vocalist did a great job at interacting with the crowd, constantly egging them on to make noise and get involved. Immediately upon taking the stage, he made room in the pit for people to get going. The pit never quite made it to the “break some teeth” stage, but just having the pit there gave the ones ready to go the space. People were definitely moshing along with the band, a man named “Dave” being shouted out…whether this man existed or was even called Dave is up for debate. The singer then joined the crowd before the end of their set, making everyone get on the floor and do the jump (something my bones could not tolerate as a tender 26 year old).
Despite most of the members being restricted to one place, the frontman did such a good job at maintaining the energy throughout the set, you never even really noticed every other member was stuck at a station. Before the end of the set, the singer had people holding up their flashes, making the room feel like a rave. The band then gave a shout-out to a longtime fan of theirs, who flew all the way from Amsterdam to see them today on her birthday. In return, she was gifted a broken keyboard with all their signatures and drawings over it (they then remarked that they didn’t know how she’d actually get that on a plane, so they can sort something after the show). How can you not like the band after that?
The room is now full, ready for the headliner. People packed close to the barrier and you had to shimmy to the photo pit. YONAKA came on to the roar of the crowd, their sound the perfect mix between the two supports, that you’re more than ready to take them in. Each member came on with their own vibe and interpretation on their wardrobe; it was almost hard to know where to look because they all had their moves going on.
The opening song, “By The Time That You’re Reading This” especially went down a treat. The song being from the recent EP the tour is in honour of. The vocalist perfectly encapsulates the songs. I loved watching her expressions throughout their set, she would pout, smile and give pleading eyes- whatever attitude the song gave off she was the definition of. It’s great to see a band just so into their music, it doesn’t matter who is listening.
Every lyric of the songs, the vocalist was singing directly to the audience. She was constantly on the move. Even toying with other members at points like putting her arm around the bassist’s neck (then recoiling in horror at the sweat). The guitarists were always approaching the end of the stage and then doing some lean backs as that backlight hit them…nice. The crowd were absolutely loving it. Don’t think there was a moment where I didn’t see hands outstretched or people screaming the lyrics to the stage.
Each act today has an insane energy around them. What a way to be introduced to incredible bands on a Friday night. Each band in their own right are part of the new movement happening right now within the rock scene. No fucks given about genre expectations, just pure vibes. I love it. This tour will continue till the end of March but this won’t be the last time you see these bands. DO NOT MISS THEM.
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