The Streets – Live Review – The Piece Hall, Halifax

By Steve Crabtree, August 2024

Back in 2002, hip-hop project The Streets burst in to the commercial music scene, with something that, for its time, was pretty unique.

Mike Skinner, a Midlander complete with an accent that’s often derided, spoke out his lyrics and left an impression. So much so that, 22 years on, he’s still heralded as a poet in some quarters, and a rap-genius in others.

Myself? I owned Original Pirate Material, loved ‘Don’t Mug Yourself’, and they were on the periphery of my musical tastes in the early part of the millennium. I liked the tunes I heard, but I didn’t go out of my way to get into them, or to learn more about their music.

And I entered the Piece Hall to see them with the same feeling, really. Looking forward to seeing The Streets in concert, but without any expectations other than they’d probably be decent.  As it turned out, they absolutely blew me away and delivered one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen.

“Bouncing”

It was a remarkably damp night in Halifax, again. I’ve become accustomed to the weather now (and I need to shut up about it, I know!). Skinner and his crew came on stage at 9pm. And, as the haunting strings of ‘Turn The Page’ kicked in, the audience, packed in under ponchos and raincoats forgot about the need to stay dry for the next 20 songs.

This one was loud. Very loud. And from the outset, the mood was set for an unforgettable night. The crowd, a mix of devoted fans and a much younger generation were bouncing up and down in rhythm with the enormous beats that powered the show.

The first big cheer came early with ‘Don’t Mug Yourself,’ getting its airing just four songs in.  The buzz and the energy in The Piece Hall was up, and Skinner had everyone drawn right in.

‘It’s Too Late’ and ‘Troubled Waters’ were another couple of hi-octane numbers that had the entire 6000 people moving, dancing and bouncing. Add to that a bass that, every now and again, came so hard that you felt it in the pit of your stomach and wondered how the hell the building was going to keep standing.

“Chilled out beats”

The gig was ticking along at a rapid pace, but we had slower moments too. ‘Could Well Be In’ was great, and the chilled-out beats of ‘Has It Come To This’ were beautiful. A full-on nostalgia feel for that one.

Throughout the night, Skinner connected with the crowd. Perhaps he harped on about Huddersfield too much, and he talked about Rochdale far too often for a Yorkshire show. But the Halifax pantomime boos when he mentioned our rival towns meant the banter was nicely going both ways.

All night he promised that he was going to run through the crowd, give some beers to the ‘guy in the yellow coat’, crowd surf back, and give the rest of the drink to bandmate Waynie (Bennett), celebrating his birthday.  It was a highlight moment when he actually went ahead and did it! A brilliantly executed bit of showmanship that added an extra layer to the night, making it even more memorable.  And it also cemented Skinner as a great frontman who you couldn’t help but really like.

“The place erupted”

What was very clear was seeing what an awesome night everyone was having. The sound and lights made their mark on us, as well as the music. What struck me most was how The Streets’ live show felt like a different beast entirely compared to their recorded material.

As the night progressed, ‘Fit But You Know It’ was kept as a special treat towards the end, and when it finally dropped, the place erupted. Again. It’d been erupting all night, to be honest.

And ‘Dry Your Eyes’, was quite the beautiful singalong track in the encore, which ended with a storming version of ‘Take Me As I Am’. This saw the Piece Hall bounce in unison for one final time before we all had to go home.

By the end of the night, despite the soggy conditions, it was clear that everyone was leaving with a beam on their face. Over on the socials, I’ve seen friends say they’d just been at the best gig they’ve ever been to. And I absolutely get why that’s the case.

I’d started by going along for the ride to see The Streets.  Me and the wife came away on the same high as everyone else…I expected ‘decent – we got excellent.  I can see them coming back here time and again over the next few years. Their music and their vibe fit into The Piece Hall far too easily.

Images: The Piece Hall/Cuffe & Taylor