Having had the pleasure of attending a number of shows on the recent Toby Jepson tour there was none I was looking forward to more than the Sheffield gig which saw Jepson joined for the evening by Kip Winger, albeit sans band and in acoustic mode. But, before the co-headliners appeared there was the small matter of opening band The Venus Guns to enjoy.

Sounding like a slightly grungier Roadstar the London based quintet have all of the hooks and melodies that anyone could want. With hints in their sound of the Black Crowes, Aerosmith and the Quireboys evident songs like Summer Rain, You've Done Something Wrong and mostly especially the catchy Lose It proved winners and definitely hint at a promising future. A band worth looking out for.

Kip Winger acoustic is a very different animal than the man you may have seen fronting his eponymous band at last years Firefest. The acoustic setting arguably suiting him more these days than the full on band sound. What this environment allows is for the full depth of his vocal performance to shine through. Showcasing tracks from both his solo catalogue and from the band's repertoire it was obvious how many people were there to see Mr. Winger by the vocal participation of the crowd. For the record Winger served up the likes of Cross, How Long, Headed For A Heartbreak, Steam and an instrumental named Free that eloquently showcased his guitar skills.

Of course Winger songs were very much in evidence and the likes of Miles Away simply had the entire crowd singing along and with Blind Revolution Mad, the opening track from the Pull album, Winger provided his best vocal of the evening, when it came to the rockier part of the song one just had to stand back and enjoy. Blue Suede Shoes was the only song aired on this occasion from last year's IV album and again acoustically the song takes on another life. The emotion coming through as it perhaps fails to do on the studio version. Rounding out the main portion of the set were Winger classics Madelaine, Down Incognito, Seventeen and Easy Come, Easy Go before the well deserved encore saw Winger serve up an outstanding Rainbow In The Rose. Truly a great set from Winger and one that the Sheffield crowd certainly enjoyed.

And so on to Toby Jepson. There may have been a worry that the audience may have thinned out after WInger's set but this is Sheffield and if anywhere in the country loves it rock music then it is the Steel City and the audience continually draws the best out of any band that plays there. With a relatively new band in tow Jepson 2007 is a haveier, rockier proposition than at any time in the past. No more acoustic guitars, just full on rock and roll with little time between songs as the band hits the audience hard, and then hits them harder again.

Opening track Breakdown set the tempo for the rest of the hour and a quarter set, snarling an nasty and by the time Motivated, from the recent Guitar, Bass and Drums EP was over you could see, and hear, the improvement in the band from their last trek round the country in March. The driving force of the rhythm section, bassist Dave Boyce and drummer Andres Luengo, gives the song it's backbone whilst guitarist Dean Howard rips out the riffs that makes you wish you bothered to learn the guitar yourself.

For those that think this is a Little Angel's nostalgia night, think again. Jepson sticks firmly with his solo material in the main and even served up new tracks such as Happy Ever After, Ta-Loo-Lah, Do The Best and Lucky. Elsewhere highlights include the slower Forgiveness which, as with Winger before him, gives Jepson's vocals a chance to shine. Of course there is the odd Little Angel's track aired, Young Gods has everyone singing along and still sounds as fresh as when it was originally released but for every LA track there are a a quartet of solo songs ands hence the set rounded off with Overloaded and the aforementioned Lucky before, eschewing the normal encore routine Jepson once more delved into the past for a rabble rousing Too Much Too Young - simply a great wat to end a great set.

Sheffield, on this occasion, saw all three bands put in 110% and reaping the reward from the audience that the effort deserved. OK so the show was in the small hall of the venue, but better a loud and noisy packed smaller venue than an empty larger one. And for the cost of the tickets, bargain. Anyone who missed this, shame on you...   

Nic Dawson