Last night I had my first ever trip to the Hi-Fi club in Leeds to see the Haggis Horns play live. I went with Heather and a number of her friends from Dentistry for her 21st Birthday celebration. I managed to meet up with Sheena there as well which was good as we hadn’t spoken in quite a while! The band already had a good reputation from an appearance of theirs I had seen at the Wardrobe, but it was great to see them in a new venue.

Hi-Fi is a superb club. It starts off fairly empty and then fills up before the band comes on stage. The setting is just how a jazz club should be; the focus being on the stage and dancefloor with seating and a bar round the edge. Despite how full the club ended up being service at the bar was exemplary and there was always to odd stool to flop onto when you were tired of dancing. I can’t really believe that I hadn’t been to this great club before really – its was well worth checking it out. I won’t go as far as to say its better than the Wardrobe, but the two clubs are certianly on a par and I’ll be sure to frequent the Hi-Fi as often as I go to the Wardrobe. Like the wardrobe membership is also available at the Hi-Fi, I certainly think I’ll be applying.

Onto the gig then. The music took a little longer to start than was publicised with the band not getting on stage until just gone midnight, but it was well worth the wait as the sound was vibrant and funky and the crowd were very fired up. It wasn’t long before we were all on the dance floor. The style of the Haggis Horns is not really unique, its heard in quite a few jazz clubs around the country in various forms, but certainly makes for a good night of wholesome jazz entertainment. The clear influences from traditional big band jazz make the experience a memorable one, and the way in which every musician is seemingly given a chance to do their own thing (most notable being the bongo and drum solos) is very refreshing.

I’d definitely reconmmend trying to catch the Haggis Horns live if you fancy a vibrant jazz night out. They play a number of good venues in Leeds so its not usually hard to track them down.