‘It’s been described as a pin drop moment…’
The last three artists I’ve seen play at the Sheffield Octagon are Richard Hawley, Jarvis Cocker and now Self Esteem. This is significant because it highlights just how much of an icon Rebecca Lucy Taylor and her band have become. Not just in South Yorkshire but across the country. Seeing Self Esteem tear Green Man Festival to shreds last summer was one of the most cathartic live performances I’ve ever seen. A howl of triumph for an artist that I have seen in pretty much every venue in Sheffield across various projects. Well, if Green Man was the cup final, this homecoming gig at one of Sheffield’s most iconic venues was the victory lap – if you’ll allow me to mix my metaphors for a second that is…
We miss the first support act Seraphina as those three pints of Guinness in the Harley were not going to drink themselves, by Jove. We do catch the end of Phoebe Green’s set however, and I’m glad we did as her breezy summer pop anthems with a dark edge are perfect for a night in which the spring air had turned cool following a day of blazing sunshine.
Often, at this part of the review, possibly as a result of the fact that I go and see so many sad indie boys, I will note that the band arrive on stage ‘with little fanfare’. Not tonight. Rebecca Taylor and her ridiculously talented backing band stride on stage with loads of fucking fanfare. Two drummers (one of whom plays about eight different instruments throughout the night). Three backing singers. A light show that would make Daft Punk blush. And then. The main event. Taylor enters from stage right, donning her now iconic cowboy hat from the front cover of her wildly successful sophomore album Prioritise Pleasure.
Indeed, it is ‘I’m Fine’, the opener from that very album, that kicks things off. The Octagon can be a bit patchy in terms of sound quality, but it’s flawless tonight and when ‘Fucking Wizardty’ kicks in that’s it. It’s over. This crowd doesn’t stand a chance. Despite her incredible song writing chops and impressively choreographed dance moves, Taylor’s voice has always been her secret weapon. Here, it soars and swoops through the Octagon, particularly on ‘Hobbies 2’, possibly her finest ever vocal performance, but then again on ‘Prioritise Pleasure’, the titular track from album number two – and what a track it is. It’s during this song that something becomes clear. This crowd fucking love this woman. At one point, the whole band stand staring into the crowd motionless as the screams and cheers threaten to blow the roof off. It feels like this goes on for about three hours such is the level of love and devotion radiating from the Sheffield faithful.
In the light of the huge success of Prioritise Pleasure it’s easy to forget just how good Self Esteem’s debut album was. ‘Girl Crush’ provides a timely remember, as does ‘Favourite Problem’, the latter a gorgeous lovelorn ballad fit for arenas and festivals. As much as we all love a ballad, sometimes you want to see two people smashing up a pair of drumkits while thousands of pile scream I DON’T KNOW SHIT over the top. Now, admittedly, I too don’t know shit, but I do know that ‘How Can I Help You’ was one of the best songs of 2021 and it sounds properly massive here.
Before leaving the stage for the first time, the band gather round Taylor as she plucks a guitar for ‘John Elton’, a song about laughing at your potential lover’s shit jokes, but it is ‘I Do This All The Time’ that provides the night’s biggest moment. Quite simply one of the best songs of the last decade, performed here as if the whole band’s life depends on it – a song so beloved that even the spoken word parts are shouted back at the stage by a crowd enraptured.
While it’s difficult to top that, ‘Still Reigning’ is lowkey one of Taylor’s best ever compositions and it sounds genuinely incredible here before ‘The Best’ closes out the evening in a mess of singing, dancing and limbs. Now, the next logical step for an artist this talented would be arenas, and while I want that for Self Esteem, it’d be sad to see Taylor and co. leave these more intimate venues behind because holy shit does she know how to make every single person in the crowd feel special.
A catastrophic taxi mix up leads to my wife and I having to run through Sheffield to catch the last train home. I’d like to say that the music of Self Esteem turned this into a joyous moment of reckless abandon to be treasured forever. Unfortunately, I’m quite old now so running past people being sick outside West Street Live whilst wearing Converse high tops is actually not the one. But as we sat panting and sweating on a packed train home, we could both reflect on a night and a venue and an artist that are all truly, truly special.
Self Esteem at the Sheffield Octagon. Live. Tonight. Sold out. Breathe it in folks. We might never see anything like it again.