{"id":262132,"date":"2025-07-13T17:36:27","date_gmt":"2025-07-13T17:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/262132\/"},"modified":"2025-07-13T17:36:27","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T17:36:27","slug":"sheffields-finest-light-up-the-leadmill-femur-the-leadmill-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/262132\/","title":{"rendered":"Sheffield’s finest light up The Leadmill – Femur @ The Leadmill review"},"content":{"rendered":"

5 March 2025<\/p>\n

Ash Birch<\/p>\n

Photo Credit: @jamburrito<\/p>\n

In light of recent events, a Friday night gig under The Leadmill\u2019s luminous signage is likely something to be cherished for posterity, so it felt fitting that last Friday (1 March), a stacked lineup of Sheffield bands fulfilled their rite of passage and stomped around the 30-odd-year-old Leadmill boards for the evening (yes, the boards have probably been replaced once or twice in that time, but you take the point).<\/strong><\/p>\n

With apologies to Flat Stanley, who I arrived too late for (although I have it on good authority that they were great!), it was heartening to witness a crowd in The Leadmill go mental to some of Sheffield\u2019s finest current crop of guitar-based, high-energy merchants.<\/p>\n

\"FemurDjango Jones and the Mystery Men. Photo credit: @Jamburrito<\/a><\/p>\n

Headlined by Femur<\/a>, the sold-out night in the small room was put together by the band themselves and local promoter Jarred Up and showcased other local faves Django Jones and the Mystery Men and Any Old Iron.<\/p>\n

As I arrive, Django Jones\u2019 Will Tomlinson flexes and prowls the stage before eventually abandoning it all together to join the crowd and stoke the barely contained mosh pit\u2019s early embers. With the fuse lit, Any Old Iron simply need to strike a few chords to reignite it.<\/p>\n

\"FemurAny Old Iron. Photo credit: @Jamburrito<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve seen Any Old Iron a coupla times before and, while I\u2019ve rated previous shows at Yellow Arch, for me, tonight sees them seriously take it up a notch.<\/p>\n

Blasting out more songs than their bass player could fit under his little cowboy hat, Any Old Iron\u2019s shaggy-haired, moustachioed frontman commands the crowd with a mix of aloofness and jerky energy that I don\u2019t remember seeing at previous shows. It\u2019s good stuff! An excellent entr\u00e9e.<\/p>\n

\"FemurNever too big to flog your own merch! Photo credit: @Jamburrito<\/a><\/p>\n

I always seem to bump into Femur\u2019s lead singer and all-round top human, Felix Renshaw, before a Femur show, and they always give off a barely contained nervous energy in these chats.<\/p>\n

Still, they assure me they\u2019re looking forward to the gig and, interestingly, to playing some new tracks \u2013 though they\u2019re a little worried about forgetting the words, given the whole thing is being filmed. It\u2019s also their birthday, which I didn\u2019t realise at the time, so happy 27th, Felix!<\/p>\n

\"FemurFemur. Photo credit: @Jamburrito<\/a><\/p>\n

As it turns out, Felix needn\u2019t have harboured any nerves, and they, in particular, are on sparkling form this evening, swinging from the rafters and trust-falling into the crowd like they\u2019re on an anarchist corporate away day!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a little while since I last caught Femur live, and I\u2019d almost forgotten just how special they are. They are, in my humble opinion, the best in the city at what they do \u2013 and that\u2019s no shade on other bands of similar ilk, or even those on tonight\u2019s bill \u2013 it\u2019s just a very high bar they\u2019re setting.<\/p>\n

\"FemurPhoto credit: @Jamburrito<\/a><\/p>\n

You feel in safe hands with Femur. There\u2019s trust established there. They\u2019re going to drag you along for the ride, which musically, tends to be the long way round.<\/p>\n

Within the same song, you\u2019ll face moments of doomy metal drone that suddenly explode into monster dance beats, as drummer Danny Cox flings open his hi-hat. Catchy 4\/4, almost indie choruses collapse into mesmerising, snake charmer-esque, Balkan-inflected riffs. It\u2019s a trip, man! And whether Felix likes it or not, it\u2019s groovy music!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Big tunes, like \u2018I Don\u2019t Like\u2019 (above) and \u2018Comeback Kid\u2019, rightly get the crowd response they deserve, but the new stuff is met with the same enthusiasm. All stage-managed by Felix (at one point, they even coax the majority of the crowd, including me and my weathered knees, to squat down), a good portion of the near-300-strong crowd spend the entire evening in the pit that fans out nearly as far as the sound desk.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s the knowledge that this might never happen quite like this again or the irrepressible magic of Femur, this has been a bloody good time.<\/p>\n

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