By Jase Walker
It’s been a fair while since I’ve been back to the apex Academy venue in Manchester and I don’t think I could have wished for a better lineup to return to this venue for. Alexisonfire, in support of their latest album, ‘Otherness’, Boston Manor, also in support of their latest album, ‘Datura’, and finally Higher Power who are touring in support of… well, anything really: they’ve been touring almost non-stop for about a year!
Going off Higher Power‘s performance at Outbreak, and what I heard of the 2000Trees show, I’m fully expecting another mental show off the Leeds hardcore group! God I can feel that bass drum shaking my jeans, I’m glad it’s not drowning out everything else though as I’ve seen happen a few times at shows this year. To say Higher Power sounds thunderous is a complete understatement, the low end from bass and drums is huge, the riffs punch right through and the singer sounds fantastic right at the front of the mix. Looking down the front of the crowd there’s definitely some fans of Higher Power there flinging themselves around and singing along but I get the impression people further back have no idea who they are, sadly, as the crowd as a whole is quite static despite their great performance.
I’m surprised they didn’t see more movement than the few people in the open circle throwing their arms around which is a bit of a shame but I get the feeling this slot was more for getting their name out there beyond just the hardcore circles. Considering some brief technical issues it was a solid performance from these and I’d say they’ve garnered some new fans also. I don’t doubt for a second I’ll be seeing these all over tour posters next year too!
Second tonight, Boston Manor to a venue that’s steadily becoming absolutely packed out! It’s hard to believe these started as a pop punk band given how they sound these days which is honestly closer to metalcore with massive synth hooks. The audience by this point is clearly a lot more warmed up and the response to Boston Manor is seeing a lot more movement and arms in the air. Again similar to higher power, it sounds great where I’m standing, and the new ‘Datura’ songs are massive, ‘Passenger’ in particular! Also says a lot that I’ve been able to pick up the words for it so easily to sing along with because I am legitimately awful at it!
The light show for this performance is also doing great work adding to the atmosphere of it with its mix of solid colours and strong direct beams. Partway through the set they get the audience spread out to create a massive circle pit and the moment the drop gets in there they all go wild, great crowd work by Boston Manor here! After seeing how Boston Manor conducted their live show on the main stage at 2000 Trees, it’s great to see that they carry themselves just as well on this show too. I can’t fault them in any way for how great it’s sounded and how visually entertaining they’ve been as well. They almost downplay themselves by just referring to themselves as ‘Just some lads from Blackpool’, they’ve got their style and their live performances absolutely nailed. Seeing the crowd response start to get more and more hyped up following finishing on ‘Halo’, I don’t doubt for a second that Alexisonfire is going to be mental.
Alexisonfire are on a bit earlier than expected but here we go! I can already pick out a massive light set up behind them moving around before the show properly kicks off. The moment things get moving a few people immediately shoved past me to get to the front, pints start flying everywhere and it’s a sea of arms front to back! The chorus of singing from the audience for their well known older songs, ‘Boiled Frogs’, is almost deafening, to the point of almost drowning the band out! I’m standing essentially where the sound desk is so I can see the sheer number of crowd surfers they’ve got coming over to the top of the crowd and it’s no small number!
I’ve also just noticed their keys player is playing a lap steel for one of their songs which is pretty interesting too, don’t think I know of many Post-hardcore bands that’d be using something like that! And as with the other bands this evening, the overall sound for the band has been completely nailed, strong yet well balanced, enough to shake your jeans with the low end but hear the nuance of the guitars and vocals. It keeps surprising me how loud the audience can get when they’re singing along to a well known song, a truly incredible chorus from everyone. In the middle of all the stuff being thrown about other than pints and people, I’ll never quite understand why people throw clothing like a shirt or a cap, it’s pretty cold outside!
I feel sorry for some of the crowd surfers when I can see a shadow of a pair of legs shooting up before the rest of them and then the odd one taking a sudden dive to the floor, that’s gotta hurt a bit. The strength of Alexisonfire’s performance is pretty evident considering how wild the crowd’s response has been to them though, although I wish that translated a bit more to Higher Power at the start but I suppose that’s just how it goes for some support acts. This show has been pretty stellar and honestly showcases how much stronger some bands can be at their own show Vs festival slot (In this case, Slam Dunk). There’s a lot more careful thought put into the set, such as how much they can extend some instrumental parts and how the overall stage production can add so much more to a darkened room as opposed to a midday slot.
Alexisonfire has put on a fantastic show, and I’m sure a lot of the millennial emos will be feeling a bit rough after tonight given the amount of shouting, pitting, crowd surfing, and just generally going mental. Seasoned pros by this point in every sense of the word, fantastic set and a fantastic show from all bands on the bill. Also it’s not often you get a singer going so hard he completely mangles his mic stand either. Good show!
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