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Month: November 2018

Live Review: Deadmau5 at Store Street WHP

Written by Hannah O'Gorman on . Posted in Reviews.

As any Manchester based party-goer will know, Warehouse Project is an event that sits high up on the night-out bucket list. With the line-ups getting better and better each year, I was very excited to see what 2018 had to offer. It would be an understatement to say that I was thrilled to see Canadian, rodent-headed EDM giant Deadmau5 topping the bill for a November date at Store Street, and I approached the night with high hopes.

Upon arriving at the event, my friends and I decided to explore all three stages that were on offer, starting with the smallest and slowly working our way up to the main stage. Initially, the crowd was spread nicely between the three, but this did not last. By the time we reached the main stage for the build up to Deadmau5’s set, room at the front and middle became increasingly scarce. Unfortunately, the set times were not released prior to the event, so with the exception of the main stage acts who usually had their titles projected on the screen behind them, it was something of a guessing game as to who each artist was. Monstergetdown was a fitting choice for the mainstage before the arrival of everyone’s favourite rodent DJ, having collaborated on two tracks on Deadmau5’s latest 2018 album release, Monstergetdown warmed up the crowd nicely, even playing one of his popular remixes of a Deadmau5 track. Soon enough, the beginning of the headline slot arrived and an iconic luminous mouse head graced the stage, stimulating a series of cheers and applause across the audience as everyone realised: Deadmau5 was here.

Regrettably, the set kicked off with very little room for enjoyment as people continued to pile in to the narrow mainstage viewing area. After several elbows to the ribs and stumbles from the swaying crowd, we decided to head to the back and see what the other stages had to offer, hoping that the main stage crowd would calm down after fifteen minutes or so. Stage three was closed, and stage two was more or less empty with a few groups of people gathering to watch Livsey perform his set, but after returning to the main stage to catch the majority of Deadmau5, it was clear that most of the crowd had either gone to stage two or simply left due to the lack of space. Finally, with a bit of room, I could enjoy what Deadmau5 had to offer. I’ve never seen a DJ with such a flawless ability to command a crowd. With dramatic and euphoric introductions to tracks such as There Might Be Coffee, Imaginary Friends and Polaris, there was something really quite satisfying about seeing a crowd stand peacefully in awe before exploding into an excitable frenzy as Deadmau5 built his tracks from atmospheric beginnings to classic EDM beats. The popularity of his tracks were confirmed by the tendency of the crowd to sing along with the melodies of his more famous tracks, and Deadmau5 had plenty of those to unleash on the crowd.

Overall, after the audience slowly dispersed and allowed for a little more room, Deadmau5 performed a set indicative of his reputation as one of the best EDM producers out there. The impressive range of tracks he brought with him to WHP that night created a real memorable experience, one that I hope to be a part of again at some point in the near future.

 

Reviewed by Tim Mooney

Live Interview: lovelytheband at O2 Apollo

Written by Jacob Thompson on . Posted in Reviews.

“If we can bond with them as people, then the music will come second”

Sat round the table at the back of their tour bus, lovelytheband seem pretty content. After all, they’ve just come off of a sell-out headline tour of the US, have just broken two-and-a-half-million monthly listeners on Spotify and are beginning their support of Five Seconds of Summer on the European leg of a world tour.

But they seem pretty relaxed about it all, and conversation kicks off by discussing the McDonald’s they’d just picked up off the Stockport Road. “It’s much better here, for sure. It doesn’t make me feel like I want to die afterwards,” tells Mitchy Collins, the band’s frontman, as he drapes himself over the bus’s jet-black leather sofas.

And this sparks debate, in fact. Drummer Sam Price, with long fizzy hair that suit his eccentric scientist glasses, perks up in his chair: “Real talk! You guys have the best sweet chilli sauce. Plus, I didn’t even realise that my drink didn’t have ice, or my fries didn’t have salt!”

The mood they’re giving off is one of comfortability; they seem just as worried by the contents of their lunch as they do by the prospect of opening for Five Seconds of Summer. And now, having just arrived in the northwest after two dates in Scotland, lovelytheband are now preparing for almost four weeks on a European circuit: from Manchester to Milan, Madrid to Munich. “On this tour, when we have days off, we’ll be able to see quite a bit”, guitarist Jordan Greenwald says with an air of anticipation in his voice. “Usually, we don’t get to see much of the cities, but we are excited particularly to get involved in the UK culture.”

After the success of their headline tour Broken Like Me, covering the length and breadth of the United States, lovelytheband – with their spangling guitar riffs and glitzy earworms – now play second fiddle to one of the world’s biggest bands. “It’s definitely different to playing your own show,” Greenwald says. “Having come off the back of a headline tour for a month-and-a-half, the first show back is a switch back into ‘support mode’. For example, we don’t have any of our own lights and the fans aren’t there specifically for us, so we find we have to win people over.”

The strategy of how to win over a new crowd is discussed among the four of us. Mitchy Collins tells: “I found that, for example with lights on your own tour, you can use them to your artistic advantage. When you have just a wash light on just us three members of the band, you really have to ‘bring it’ for a half hour.”

Prince interjects with a drummer’s perspective: “I found I used our lights as a crutch – I wouldn’t have to go all out 1000% for every second of the show as we had our own strobes and big moments of black-out, so you can kind of let that speak for itself. I have to change the way I perform as a drummer, I literally have to flail my arms more!”

A queue of young girls that stretches as far as the eye can see is now growing around the venue, just meters away from where we speak, and the faintest activity in and out of their bus prompts everything from chatters to screams. And it seems lovelytheband, who’ve previously been criticised for producing no more than ‘manufactured pop’, are incredibly conscious of the responsibility their song-writing has.

Prince expresses this: “If we can bond with [our fans] as people, then the music will come second.” Song-writer Collins jumps in: “This record is just what I felt I had to write at the time and the product of what I needed to say. Thankfully, we’re fortunate that we can help other people through our songs and that our fans are able to connect with it and find solace in it – that’s special.”

lovelytheband perform at O2 Apollo, Manchester

And the LA-born trio make clear, on numerous occasions, their respect and admiration for Five Seconds of Summer, who invited to join them on this tour. From performing a near-pitch-perfect cover of every teenage girl’s party anthem ‘Mr. Brightside’ in an attempt to rouse the audience for their successors, to the open admission that they’re certainly not the main-event: “The general nature of seeing a new band for the first time means that you might not fall in love with our music right on the spot,” tells Greenwald. “I think it’s more about working out ‘Oh, do I like this band?” and then they’re likely to check us out. We realise they’re not all here for us.”

lovelytheband open their thirty-minute set with ‘Make You Feel Pretty’: bright track with an impossibly catchy hook, before ‘Broken’ – what Collins describes as the band’s mission statement. “It’s all-encompassing of who we are. It’s the [song] that, if someone asked how our band sounded and what it stood for, I’d show them Broken – it represents us both lyrically and musically.”

This further emphasises the clear onus they’ve put on themselves to deliver music with a punch in its message: “[This record] is all the s*** that I probably should have dealt with earlier in my life, imported into sixteen songs,” Collins continues. “Its impossible to not feel them as I sing them – and I want that to come across.”

“The most courageous thing you can do is ask for help,” Collins preaches to the sell-out crowd of teenagers before signing off with ‘Broken’, that gets everyone singing in unison. Lovelytheband have sparky verses and catchy choruses that will entice you in, indeed their jovial stage presence might sell you a show, but the message in their music is what’ll keep you around.

 

Review by Adam MacDonald

Live Review: Goodness x Bok Bok at Soup Kitchen

Written by Jacob Thompson on . Posted in Reviews.

As I walked down the stairs into the Soup Kitchen basement, there was a feeling of excitement in the Mancunian air. Friday night saw forward-thinking promoters Goodness bring some energy to the city in the form of bass-heavy duo Bok Bok & L-Vis 1990 with warm-up duties on the night coming from the equally as talented Bolt and Afrodeutsche. As the temperature outside began to drop the basement of soup kitchen was just heating up.

Soup kitchen has been racking up some impressive bookings recently and is surely becoming a real favourite for Manchester’s music lovers/party goers. With its dimly lit basement, it seemed one of the more fitting places in the city for the night’s festivities. After spreading their wings to Manchester earlier this year, following success in Oxford and London, Goodness have brought some fantastic artists to the city including Hessle Audio’s Joe and Timedance main man Batu. Both occasions have proved to be riotous affairs, so I knew I was in for a treat.

As I arrived BOLT, a member of local collective VAM was handing over the reins after a well-received set to Afrodeutsche, who dived headfirst into a blend of electro & techno, easily grabbing the attention of the room. Her set was a definite nod to the old Detroit electro legends but it was combined fluidly with her own unique sound; the Manchester-based artist showed real talent and I am looking forward to seeing more from her in the future.

This was my first time catching the night slugs head honchos, and after rinsing their boiler room from way back in 2014 I was looking forward to seeing them in the flesh. As Bok Bok & L-Vis 1990 took to the decks at around 2 am it didn’t take long before the basement was shaking. With a genre-spanning set from UK funky to grime, no area of the bass music spectrum was left untouched, the following couple of hours were extremely entertaining.

In a Noisey article earlier this year, L-Vis commented on the way Night slug sets don’t really have a ‘peak time’ as such: “Our sets are not building to one specific moment, it’s more about different waves of energy throughout the set”. Energy was something that definitely wasn’t lacking down in that basement. The reception from the crowd was warmly appreciated by the DJ’s who looked to be enjoying it as much as the revelers on the other side of the booth. The front of the crowd was feeding off this energy as the tempo was upped and classics such as Lil Silva’s now legendary ‘Seasons’ got a predictably huge reaction alongside new productions that had the crowd roaring.

In an industry that sometimes struggles with representation, it was also great to see an equal split of genders on the line-up without the promoters using it as some kind of marketing tool. Hopefully, this positivity can continue throughout the scene.

I can happily say I struggled to find any negatives about this one and I look forward to the next Goodness event. Smiles were aplenty as the crowd headed up the stairs into the cold Manchester morning.

 

Review by Adam Parker

Live Review: Kamaal Williams at Gorilla

Written by Mia Edwards on . Posted in Reviews.

It is unusual to enter a concert and be greeted by a completely silent room. At first, I thought the first act hadn’t started yet and the crowd wasn’t feeling very talkative after a busy Tuesday. Then the ethereal sound of Madison McFerrins voice filled up the entire space under Gorilla’s industrial railway arch. As more layers of her voice appeared, I realised she was using a loop pedal to create acapella melodies over which she would eventually sing. The crowd were encapsulated by her ability to craft her tracks with her voice as the only instrument. It would be easy to think that she was performing with multiple performers if I wasn’t watching it live. She also included the crowd and set a nice buzz for the rest of the night. It was a much-appreciated start to the evening and brought a soulful female twist and a new discovery for me. She’s an artist I will be following from now on.

Next up was the main event, Kamaal Williams: with Henry Wu on the keys, Josh McKenzie aka McKnasty on the drums and Pete Martin on Bass. From the first few notes I could tell these three were going to work well together and I was excited to hear what was in stall. The crowd was quickly whisked into motion with fast paced drum beats and skilled keywork. This would be the theme for the first half of the performance: a jazzy fusion that people couldn’t help but dance to.

There was a clear artistic relationship between Henry and Pete, they seemed to be challenging one-another with high intensity, pushing the speed and complexity of their sound to a high energy crescendo at multiple points. Around half-way into the performance a repetitive loop was played on the keys, blending jazz with house music. It’s something I haven’t seen live before and by body noticed before I did. I found myself dancing with a two-step, thinking that this wouldn’t go too far awry in the second room of bona fide techno night.

With that in mind, the performance was not fast paced throughout, with a guest appearance from the Manchester based duo Konny Kon and Tyler Daley, otherwise known as Children of Zeus. They managed to incorporate singing into a performance which I was expecting to be strictly instrumental. With hip hop and soul influences, the crowd certainly sounded impressed.

Next up on the stage was Mansur Brown, he was a welcome addition to the stage. He brought a mature, dignified prescience with a calmer flow compared to the start of the set. This worked extremely well and introduced yet another dimension to the performance.

There was many members and a high amount of energy on stage – each member had different vibe but it came together in the music, giving a multi-faceted performance that I’m very glad to have seen.

Review by Adam McCarthy

Live Review: Parcels at Manchester Academy 2

Written by Mia Edwards on . Posted in Reviews.

Darkness. The smell of BO and beer. The nondescript chatter and buzz of pre-show hype. Out from the dark, synth chords start pounding away as a slick guitar riff begins to ring out; the crowd instantly starts bopping away. Parcels have arrived. Straight off the back of their self-titled debut album, the Berlin based Aussie boys have been lighting up the European synth-pop circuit for years and after 2017’s collaboration with Daft Punk, they have been on everyone’s lips. I sat down with the band before they headlined Academy 2 to talk all things music, influences, and Christmas albums. When asked which genre Parcels would describe themselves as, Patrick (keyboardist and vocalist) said ‘I don’t think it’s important, and it’s not very easy to define. I wanna say pop music because that’s the mentality, kind of, but I don’t think people would instantly associate our sound with pop music,’ and as opener Comedown’s disco synths and jazz-like guitar solo suggests, Parcels are musically miles away from the formulaic music dominating most charts today. However, the intense audience reaction, plus their 1.8 million monthly Spotify listeners, shows this 5-piece has a great understanding of what clicks with a listener. As drummer Anatole puts it ‘in Berlin we were pretty influenced by music that was made to make people dance and we try to re-enact that in our lives shows cos there’s something really special about the whole audience dancing to your songs,’ and when smash single Tieduprightnow is finally delivered there isn’t a single member of the audience who can’t help but groove to this masterfully crafted funk hit.

That’s not to say the boys are all about fan service, as they admits that sometimes ‘we decide to mess with the audience, like after a heavy dance song we’ll play a really slow song’ which at points in the set can be frustrating, especially when the crowd desperately wants to just dance and sing along. These creative decisions might be a product of the youthful playfulness and self-deprecating nature of these lads, which is quite refreshing in a climate where bands take themselves and their reputation too seriously. Anatole even jokingly mocks Patrick when he tries to talk me through the pedals and effects they use to achieve their unique synth sound: ‘Oh the way we make sounds, hm it’s very interesting’ jokes Anatole in a faux intellectual voice. The joviality continues when discussing their Daft Punk collaboration: ‘they [Daft Punk] have inside helmets and outside helmets, the ones they wear on their album covers are the heavy duty ones, but in the studio they just wear smaller ones with better breathing space and holes in the side to listen, it’s pretty casual.’ When asked about future projects, keyboardist Patrick jokes about the possibility of a Christmas album, much to the instant disdain of his bandmates, although I for one would love a funk cover of All I want for Christmas Is You, and even John Lennon delved into the festive realm at one point.

That’s part of the quirky charm of Parcels, when the 8 minute long Everyroad is performed, which
Patrick called ‘liberating, as we weren’t trying to make a pop song, we just made it for ourselves
through jamming,’ guitarist Jules and bassist Noah climb up the stage and begin performing a David Byrne-esque minimalist dance. The crowd goes wild for it and you can see from their beaming smiles after their little choreographed moment they relish these moments of absurdity, although this referential moment is superseded by my highlight of the whole show, when Parcels’ display themselves as the collective they truly are. The five bandmates leave their various positions on the stage to form a single line at the front of the stage for the chilled Bemyself, showing the band off as a cohesive, creative unit in contrast to other bands that portray themselves as merely the FRONTMAN and co. If guitarist Jules wasn’t already the spitting image of George Harrison I would’ve forgiven you for not noticing the comparison earlier, but as they stated in our earlier interview ‘when song writing we would always sit down altogether and listen to demos to decide things together, from the instrumental side to lyrics. We never really wanted a main vocalist either; we wanted it to be like The Beatles.’ The impassioned sing-alongs, the creative harmony, the eccentric bandmates, and most importantly the fantastic songs; Parcels are on the Abbey Road to something special.

They leave us on IknowhowIfeel, a surprisingly slow track in contrast to their bigger dance hits but it makes perfect sense when Parcels deliver their last trick of the night. One by one, throughout the song, each band member leaves the stage, starting with the guitarist, and ending on the drummer. By leaving those responsible for the beat to continue by themselves, it installs the catchy tune into the minds of the audience members much like a fade out on a record, so that when the drummer finally leaves the now empty stage, the audience carries on singing the tune without them even there. Genius.

Review by Noah Matthews

Live Review: IDLES at The Ritz

Written by Jacob Thompson on . Posted in Reviews.

A friend of mine has the rather peculiar hangover ritual of writing Facebook poetry. These, at times come across as mad ramblings – a half-drunk students’ stream of consciousness. However, in opportune moments these poems can be a revealing window into the head of a man’s alcohol-induced state of vulnerability. Indeed, upon accompanying me to IDLES’ Manchester Ritz performance he wrote “Joe Talbot changed my life last night.” This remark was perhaps facetious; a frivolous quip slotted into a meaningless poem. After seeing the same performance however, I think he was deadly serious.

IDLES took to the stage. A sold-out room, awaiting, brimming with anticipation. Proceedings were then initiated. Dev’s lingering bass entered slowly, repetitively, like a Blitz air-raid siren. Colossus had begun. This is the band’s opening track from the marvellous album Joy as an Act of Resistance, and it carefully lulled the audience into a trance. Tensions rose. The guitars quietly followed. Anticipation was building. Frontman, Joe Talbot, almost in warning, began his bellow of “it’s coming”, sounding like a man possessed.  And then, it began.

A cacophony of noise; a vibrant rapture of pints and bodies flung across the packed room. All promises were actualised. Like a Jürgen Klopp masterclass or a Tarantino classic, this was organised chaos. And it was fucking brilliant. As they relentlessly churned through a string of belters, from the chimerical Never Fight a Man with a Perm to Brutalism’s Mother, it just got better and better.

Madness ruled the stage. Joe’s ethereal presence reverberated throughout the room. Guitarist, Bobo, a man with the appearance of Asterix at Woodstock, walked horizontally across stage, crab-like, whilst balancing his guitar on his head. His co-guitarist, Lee Kiernan, divided his time between head banging and crowd surfing. Dev, and drummer, Jon, wisely stayed on stage, aware of the need to keep such mischief on a loose leash.  The act was was egoless, and belonged not to one individual but to every member of the band. Each of them provided a spectacle in their own manner, whether through extroverted or introverted means. When it all came together, it was impossible to look away.

IDLES’ adopted mantra – “all is love” – was certainly reflected in the crowd; although at times it was rough and energetic, it never felt unsafe. There was a sense of unity and awareness-for-others rarely seen in a gig environment. Such sentiments were epitomised as Joe Talbot pointed the audience’s attention to representatives of ‘Safe Gigs for Women’, before playfully insisting that more women make their way to the front to “throw some elbows”. The almost malevolent riff of Divide & Conquer erupted, and an automated audience of men and women moshed in unison.

This concept of ‘unity’ was perfectly embodied, when members of ‘IDLES AF’, the bands most loyal group of disciples, were invited to the stage for the set’s euphoric crescendo. At least 50 fans contributed to a chaotic yet brilliant noise, some strumming guitars, others smashing cymbals, a few performing their best Bez impressions. It was cathartic – the band’s moment of gratitude to a loyal fan-base. Not only that, it was necessary. Idles are a band that unashamedly and openly explore taboos, whether it be depression, toxic masculinity or, god help them, Brexit. Through anthems like Danny Nedelko, Television and the fiercely pertinent Great, they articulate sentiments many of us feel but choose not to talk about. A hierarchy between stage and crowd is in turn redundant – we are tackling a similar mesh of issues.  Even if IDLES don’t promise an antidote, they create music that can be reflected upon, music that’s therapeutic as well as didactic.

Few bands neatly reflect upon a moment the way IDLES do, even fewer bands are as prophetic. With IDLES, gone are the days of ‘rock star’ stereotypes a-la Liam Gallagher. Behind a frontier of loud guitars and vocals there is music with sensitivity in abundance played by men unafraid of vulnerability, accepting of their insecurities. Perhaps it’s because of this nuance in their work that Joe Talbot feels the need to reiterate “we are not a F**cking Punk band”. Perhaps this is also why I think my friend was being honest when saying the night “changed” his life. It certainly changed mine. Indeed, IDLES at the Ritz will go down as one of the best performances I’ve ever seen, from the most important band in the country.

 

Review by Christopher Byfield

Live Review: Mac Demarco at Victoria Warehouse

Written by Hannah O'Gorman on . Posted in News.

If you started stopping people in the street and asking them what the rock and roll lifestyle is all about, you’d get a massively varied range of responses. The first would be: “Who are you and what do you want?”. The second would be “arriving on stage drunk and an hour later than billed, playing a handful of songs and then fleeing the venue”. For some musicians, sure, this might be what their lifestyle is all about, but Mac DeMarco is not one of those musicians. His O2 Victoria Warehouse set is billed to start at 9:45, and he takes to the stage at 9:45 on. the. dot. Both he and his band drink at pace with the audience, and play a set that lasts longer than the entire accumulative stage time of Alex Rose’s last stadium tour.

Not wasting any time, the band launch right into a crowd pleasing intro with the ultra-sexy ‘On the Level’ that perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the evening. The crowd, seemingly comprised entirely of randomised Sims from a character creation screen, lap it up. As the evening wears on, Mac and his band work through varied sections of his back catalogue. They keep the crowd’s pace going with upbeat favourites like ‘Salad Days’ and ‘Rock and Roll Night Club’, but still manage to guide the collective energy of the room back down for downbeat and more chilled out material such as ‘This Old Dog’ and ‘My Kind of Woman’. The ease with which Mac and his supporting musicians fluctuate between these two massively contrasting musical moods is testament to their skills as live artists. At times; the front and centre of the crowd erupts into an uproarious pit as Mac screams nonsensical obscenities into the mic. At other times; the house lights are dimmed, and the crowd winds into a serene calm as lighters are raised aloft. Effortlessly transitioning an audience through these moments is a rare gift even in long since established acts, and the fact that Mac DeMarco and his cohorts are able to wield this kind of command over a venue the size of the Victoria Warehouse is all the more impressive given that his first LP was released only 6 short years ago.

It would be remiss of me to not take a moment to discuss the supporting acts on the bill. Opening the evening a mere 10 minutes after doors opened was Aldous RH, a tried and tested Manchester performer whose smooth stylings eased the early arrivals into a seduced sense of musical security. Aldous RH is what Prince would sound like if he was from the north-west of England. Secondly, Jackie Cohen took to the stage with her band, and played a set that traced the fine line between contemporary blues and alternative indie. It was a massively interesting musical combination, and coupled with a peppering of Legend of Zelda references, made her set the pleasant surprise of the evening. Finally, tearing the crowd into a frenzy just before the headline act was Californian electro-punk band The Garden. Now I must confess, when their set started I did not realise they were an act. It genuinely seemed like two tech staff had gone totally rogue and I was very confused as to why no-one was stopping them. Adorned in boiler suits and trench coats, at times they completely abandoned their instruments and start rolling around the stage and frantically repeating odd phrases over a backing track. Watching them perform was a bit like watching someone shout Charles Manson quotes at an MMA warm-up routine.

Finally, the evening began to close with an updated rendition of Mac’s classic ‘Still Together’ that was abruptly stopped a chorus early. What then followed utterly defied any expectations one could have for the performance. The band launched into a range of covers from acts such as The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Nirvana, and The Misfits, as the band swapped roles without the faintest hint of a care for how much they had overrun their set. The guitarist (now shirtless) took up split vocal duties with the drummer, as the keyboardist picked up the guitar and Mac himself took to the drum kit. In an act of even more surreal peculiarity, Andy, the crowd-baying guitarist, made an effort to announce his bid for the Manchester mayorship between songs and enthusiastically pledged his overwhelming support for the NHS. They even brought the Aldous RH vocalist back on for a rendition of Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Killing in the Name Of’. Finally, after more than 20 minutes of musical experimentation, the band resumed their usual positions and brought back the final chorus of ‘Still Together’ to draw proceedings to a perfectly rounded close.

All in all, Mac DeMarco, his band, and the supporting acts, made for a massively varied and engaging string of performances. If all live events were this good, nobody would ever spend their time doing anything else. I cannot possibly overstate how thoroughly, thoroughly impressed I was by the gig as a whole.

On a scale of 1 – 5, I would rate it: really fucking good.

Reviewed by James Bosson