Yard Act live in London: James Brown and ‘Young Americans’ glamour via Yorkshire

There’s a mid-point in Yard Act’s set where they bring out a homemade ‘Wheel Of Fortune’ to let someone select which song from their debut EP ‘Dark Days’ they’re going to play. Tonight, the honour of spinning it falls on Tarra Thiessen of buzzy NYC punks and support act Gustaf. “It’s a very special night,” offers Yard Act frontman James Smith. Indeed, it’s Thiessen’s birthday, and to mark the occasion she’s presented with a Colin The Caterpillar cake. It’s more Blackpool than Vegas, but that doesn’t stop Leeds’ ironically self-proclaimed “post-punk’s latest poster boys” from reaching.

Opening with the Beck-leaning woozy art-rock of ‘An Illusion’, the band make good on the evolution from the spiky indie of lauded debut ‘The Overload’ to the more full-bodied jazz hands vibe of 2024 follow-up ‘Where’s My Utopia?’ – manifesting it with the help of some backing singers and hype ladies to add a little bit of David Bowie ‘Young Americans’ soul shimmer to the whole affair. At one point, Smith falls to his knees to play dead as one of the singers tries to resurrect him; a Yorkshire tribute to James Brown. It was early favourite ‘Peanuts’ that birthday girl Thiessen’s wheelspin landed on, to a rapturous response, leading Smith to ask “Who would have thought that song would lead to this?”

This, the final stop of their UK tour, does indeed feel like a culmination. It’s not their first time at The Apollo – with Smith noting two stops here for The Mercury Prize, including the one postponed at the 11th hour due to her Majesty’s passing. The band, started by Smith and bassist Ryan Needham as “two broke millennial men,” as they sing on the self-fulfilling ‘We Make Hits’, know how much this matters. Their anthems of laughing through the struggle reach their most cathartic form tonight when belted out like it’s the last gig on Earth, particularly for the celebratory ‘Dream Job’ as the room comes together to mark this moment: “Ace, top, mint, boss, class, sweet, dece, not bad”.

The setlist builds to an explosive peak with ‘The Overload’. Soon after, the tender ‘A Vineyard For The North’ closes the first set with an existential pang as Smith calls on all present to “have hope” and “stay strong” and the sentiment rings through to the encore of ‘100% Endurance’.

We could have done with the bangers of ‘Fixer Upper’ and ‘Rich’, but it seems the band had to make way for the extended jam wig-out ‘The Trench Coat Museum’ – assisted by Gustaf dancing into the night, Baba Ali providing some added oomph on percussion and Murkage Dave really giving it some on guest vocals.

“Very few of us in this life will know what it means to be truly free”, ends Smith, paying tribute to the people of Ukraine, Sudan and Palestine as he calls on the bouncing mass before him at the Apollo to really make the most of the moment. We oblige, as it’s all we have.

Yard Act’s setlist was:

‘An Illusion’
‘Dead Horse’
‘When the Laughter Stops’
‘Petroleum’
‘Pour Another’
‘Fizzy Fish’
‘We Make Hits’
‘Peanuts’
‘Witness (Can I Get A?)’
‘Down by the Stream’
‘Dream Job’
‘Payday’
‘The Overload’
‘A Vineyard for the North’
Encore:
‘100% Endurance ‘
‘The Trench Coat Museum’

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