Review: MacMillan Live Takeover at Hallam Union

Take a group of Sheffield Hallam University students, a stressful few months of final year woes and a love of music and what do you get? Macmillan Live Takeover!
Casey Lowry.Casey Lowry.
Casey Lowry.

After months of preparation, the night of Macmillan Live Takeover finally arrived at Hallam Union.

The room was illuminated with bright green lights and decorations, ready to set the stage for first band, Nottingham based Elders.

The three piece brought an electric feel to the room with their punk rock style and touches of ska.

Telling light-hearted jokes in between sets really grounded the band and made them likeable, which just added to their masses of talent and natural flair for creating a catchy and authentic sound.

Elders are a band to watch, they are unique and innovative, not afraid to play around with new styles and best of all, they make it work.

Up next was Casey Lowry, of Chesterfield band Parka. Best known for providing lead vocals for the indie-rock four piece, Lowry stood alone with his guitar-the other lads were celebrating birthdays!-and performed an astounding acoustic set. Every note of his vocals were packed with a vibrant yet truly raspy and distinctive. Putting a spin on John Legend’s ‘All of Me’ and singing his band Parka’s ‘Big Ego’, Lowry was brilliant and is an outstanding talent.

Finally, Back to Verona took to the stage, the Sheffield based five piece immediately energised the room with ‘Townsfolk’. Their mix of melody and riffs adds a spin to their alternative rock style and they managed to craft a sound that wasn’t overwhelmed with “how heavy can we go”.

The band hit their stride vocally with ‘Shadows’, gently introducing the track with a lighter sound, before Danny Wilkinson intricately carved his gritty vocals around the record, the band had their whole set down to perfection and barely put a step wrong.

Finally finishing with ‘Adhesive’ the band exploded into a mix of guitar solos from Ross Hammond and a high spirited performance from the rest of the band, the lads all just bounced off each other’s energy and this made for a fantastic end to the night.

All the acts had something unique on offer and they all carried it off with uber-cool style and talented showmanship. 
The night was also a huge success and overall managed to raise £555.33 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Photo of Casey Lowry by Louise Hazeldine