What better way to spend a Saturday night than supporting your local scene?
Last weekend, I had the absolute privilege of swinging by one of the new hotspots for community, The Arches Social. Based down Brussels Street, a stone’s throw away from the Corn Exchange, this volunteer-run nonprofit started up this past summer with the mission statement of bringing Leeds communities together.
On this very night, despite the best efforts of the downpouring bad weather of late, the statement remained the same: to provide a night of entertainment showcasing the very best of Yorkshire-based alternative rock music.
With a bill boasting three regionally-friendly acts merging the lines between a variety of different subgenres of the scene, by all estimations onlookers were about to be in for a ride.
Hardware kicked things off, bringing a euphoric and warm indie vibe to a dampened nay wet night. A unique act marketing themselves as “Britain’s only non-tattooed band”, they have been known to draw influences from Martha and Declan McKenna.
Not just a grassroots band, this group of artists came together to keep the harmony alive with quite the Yorkshire-beloved folk charm evident in their performance. I would absolutely recommend checking out their track “Sunday Scaries”, which quickly became a relatable one for me the next day.
YouVee followed, bringing a charm which came in a very different way. Through more of an energized vibe, the band from York somehow brought about an entirely different aura to their set, wowing the fans with an exhilarating showing that kept them wired in to the evening.
The fine DIY-esque venue truly acquainted itself to the overall atmosphere of the set, and I was particularly bedazzled by their single “Peacemaker”.
And just like that, it was time for Private Empire to take the stage. Dominions of their unique brand of rock, it felt specifically catered to the appreciative audience in The Arches Social.
The hometown psych band gave it everything in an all-or-nothing performance that really came to show just how on the cusp of breaking out they really are. I caught these guys over a month ago in Santiago’s not far from here, and it really gave me the sense that this was what local gigs are all about.
“It’s Easy to Want Answers” was a key highlight, taking the show from one level to the next.
At a venue I was unfamiliar with until a few weeks ago, on a dire winter’s night, I really picked up once I walked through the doors.
The staff and patrons I spoke to were great to be in the company of, and all-in-all, it was a night at the new venue that I am hopeful shall not be the last.
Photography by Jazz Jennings. Main image Private Empire.
