A Coffee Revolution In Sheffield - Ctrl.Alt.Shift

We travelled up to Sheffield to spread the word of the Ctrl.Alt.Shift movement - setting the scene in a small coffee bar for an intimate gig. It was actually a nice reward for my day of hustling in the cold, recruiting the Sheffield students (students, who always seemed more opinionated and enthusiastic than any political crony), getting sign-ups and generally networking my ass off. After 10 hours of that, I was happy to relax to some nice beats, reminiscing over my studenty days with a bagel and some cheap coffee (swiftly followed by a snake bite).



Here's the review:

Ctrl.Alt.Sheffield Gig @ Coffee Revolution
This week, Ctrl.Alt.Shift hit the streets of Sheffield to spread the good word of the movement, soak up all the youth activist freedom-fighting talent, whilst recruiting some of our own Ctrl.Alt.Shifters from the windy city.

Our street team began by prepping for and promoting Ctrl.Alt.Shift music showcase, Justice's Call; a global development awareness and injustice-combating night set up alongside Sheffield University's Open Space Society.

In and around our venue - the Fairtrade shop Coffee Revolution, in the heart of the university's student union - it came as a welcome surprise that many of the students we were signing up had already came across our project. Erin, a 23 year old engineering student coincidently took part in Ctrl.Alt.Shift's Newcastle hand mural earlier this year, and she was delighted to catch our red t-shirts roaming around her city: "It's so great to see you guys bring the cause to Sheffield." Jeremy, 18, an arts student who had a ticket to Ctrl.Alt.Shift's Sadlers Wells HIV-awareness dance show in London last year said: "There's a massive student population here that will thrive on the cool things this initiative is doing."

And, in the midst of flyering, one 25 year old Japanese student called Karla whispered in my ear that she had seen the Ctrl.Alt.Shift logo graffed on some tunnel walls around the city - evidently the ripple affect of the movement is making headway above and beyond my own expectations.


What to Say?

Sam Browse | MySpace Music Videos

Onto the music show, with an immense line-up of Sheffield favourites, including rebel with a cause Sam Browse, giving an acoustic tribute to anti-fascism, anti-racism, "Love and Politics," and a quick shout out to Ctrl.Alt.Shift's work saying: "Much respect to these (Ctrl.Alt.Shift issue 3) magazines here on the tables, looking through, it's great to see such a celebration of women." The atmosphere was reminiscent of an old-school jazz café; chillaxed and serene with the strumming beat of Browse's guitar...

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Photo: Flickr user hardillb