Two thirds of the crowd were already in there seats when Lauren Harris took to the stage. Opening with 'Your Turn' saw Harris in a seemingly confident mood, unfortunately a problem soon arose as she removed the microphone from the stand & the connection fell out the back. As luck would have it the first words audible after this incident were "She's gonna blow it". Now this could have proved prophetic for the rest of the set but Harris recovered immediately & continued in a way that a seasoned professional would have been proud of.

'Like Or Not' & 'Let It Be' followed & with the inclusion of a strong version of Gun's 'Steal Your Fire'.Harris looked mostly at ease, especially when singing, but is perhaps slightly more nervous when not required to provide vocals. This stage craft though will surely come with the experience of playing more live shows. Criticism that could be laid at Harris feet is the that her music isn't 'rock' enough to sit comfortably with what was ostensibly a metal audience, but on the evidence of this performance her material, in a live setting, has a harder rockier edge than the studio counterparts which can be found on her www.myspace/laurenharrisuk website.

Harris finished the short set with 'Get Over It' & departed to a large amount of applause. If you are going to Download you should check Lauren & her band out on the Snickers stage - definitely recommended.

   

Snakes! Freaks ! Demons & Wannabe's! No I'm not talking about Big Brother but rather Alice Cooper at Sheffield City Hall. I must admit I have never previously seen Cooper live but even I know what to expect. The question in my mind prior to tonight is if the performance can match the theatrics. The answer tonight is a resounding yes. The crowd was made up of a vast range of ages & face make-up and Cooper proved more than just a showman as his back catalogue of songs provided a strong set list. Classic songs such as 'School's Out' will always stand the test of time & bring the house down as it when bringing the evening to a close.

The show opened with the band in face masks & hats and the theatrics continued throughout the set, basically  all you would expect from a Cooper show. Snakes, guillotine's, killing's & straight jackets, all pure Alice.  Having just come from the Canadian leg of the tour his band looked a tight & well organized unit. Musical journeyman Keri Kelli fitted into the line up with ease and Eric Singer, as ever, was a master on the drums with Chuck & Damon looking as thought they are really enjoying the show as well. 

From the intro tape of 'Phantom of the Opera' the crowd were on there feet. 'Department of Youth', 'No More Mr. Nice Guy', 'Dirty Diamonds' & 'Billion Dollar Babies' soon followed with Alice throwing out his money to the clammering crowd. 'Be My Lover', 'Lost in America', I Never Cry', 'Woman of Mass Distraction', 'I'm 18', 'You Drive Me Nervous', 'It's my body', 'Go to Hell' & 'Feed my Frankenstein', 'Wlcome To My Nightmare' are all belted out, a montage of classic Cooper songs. Then there was the version of 'I Love The Dead' which saw the band alone provide the vocals leading into the to the climax of the show School's Out.  

The encores started with Poison & ended with 'I Wish I Were Born In Beverly Hills' & 'Under My Wheels'. On this evidence Alice Cooper may have his imitators but at the end of the day there is only one Alice Cooper and that is that original.