Freshers week was a wild muddle of people trying to find their feet in Leeds yet, whilst many were huddled in their house getting ready for Flux, Brudenell Social Club had a different offering, which with a £10 card minimum could get equally as messy but this time for a good cause.

Charity gigs with reasonably big bands are regrettably rare. The Amazons, who released their firecracker of a debut album earlier this year, came up to Leeds for a one off gig to support cancer charity CLIC Sargent following the death of Joe Glew, a fan who recently died of Leukaemia. The sold out room were reminded of this sobering fact numerous times, but the stand out moment came when ‘Palace’ erupted from the darkness with just Matt Thomson, the lead singer, on the keys. As the song reached its fruition the rest of the band slowly came out and the song morphed into the heart wrenching ‘Dancing in the Dark’ by Bruce Springsteen. The passion was overwhelming; there was barely a person in the crowd with dry eyes.

The gig was far from a sad affair though; it was a hurrah of the solace which music can bring even in the darkest of days. Mosh pits opened and closed hungrily as ‘Ultraviolet’ established the tone for the electric set. Thomson even got carried out of one on a chariot made from soaked shoulders.

Over the last four years of constant touring, the band have honed their craft to the beautiful entity it is today. The Amazons are still one of the best live bands around, and add that to a worthwhile cause, well let’s just say the night couldn’t have been any better.

Jenny Pudney

Image credit: BBC