By Jase Walker
I’m back in Manchester infamous Satan’s Hollow venue today to catch a band I was intending on seeing at 2000 Trees but sadly couldn’t make it in time, RXPTRS. I mean it’s not a particularly hard sell to make it to a venue that’s barely 20 minutes walk from my flat, and not only that they’ve got local lads Ventures in support who I’ve not seen on stage for a pretty long time.
With only two bands on tonight’s bill, the show actually gets off a bit later than usual but Ventures are kicking us off and it’s a pleasure to see these guys doing their stuff live again! Their singer’s sporting a pretty snazzy shirt and sunglasses, surprised he can see anything with them on here. The sound’s pretty solid for this venue too and it’s nice to actually hear and feel the bass which helps drive the songs along, not only that but the backing synths are clearly audible as well! Ventures also doing well keeping themselves actively moving around on stage and actively looking like they’re enjoying themselves which translates well to the crowd response.
I’m actually super impressed how great they’re sounding in a venue like this which is notorious for being difficult to work with considering the layout and materials covering the walls. Ventures storm through their set, big riffs, epic choruses, and backed up by a drummer beating the ever living shit out of his drums. Ventures have done really well here tonight, they should be proud of what they put out here. It’s been a great reminder of why their name stuck out to me when I saw them on the bill for this show, hopefully it won’t be as long until I get to see them again!
Walking on to the tune of ‘X Gon Give It To Ya’, RXPTRS go straight for the throat smashing out some pretty damn loud riffs. Just as Ventures did, RXPTRS sound bloody fantastic here so whoever’s doing the sound for them has done a bang up job getting it right. RXPTRS stage performance is slick too, absolutely oozing style as every member of the band flings themselves around Satan’s circular stage with reckless abandon. The main core of the crowd obeys their singers request to close in on the stage, with him climbing on the stage fence to lean into them while belting out some outrageously great singing.
The level of energy RXPTRS are kicking out here is unreal, I’m actually quite upset with myself for not making their 2K trees show. The whole crowd is well up for losing their minds, and with every song whether the crowd knows it well or not are going mad! Right in front of where I’m stood, the lads from Ventures are bouncing around as well, love seeing this from support acts. RXPTRS’ singer is almost acting as if this is a cardio session with the sheer amount of jumping around he’s doing, diving back and forth between the centre stage and the front fence to get close to the audience.
RXPTRS know how to write a properly heavy riff that’s also a real earworm. Every song’s got a recognizable hook that’s easy to catch onto. But not only that, RXPTRS are a real masterclass in showmanship with the way they’re directing the audience and jumping around on stage. A brilliantly entertaining show, firing on all cylinders and easily one of the best sounding shows I’ve ever seen at Satan’s Hollow. This will definitely be the bar I’ll be measuring other shows I see here against.
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