By Jase Walker
Nothing makes this guy more of a happy millennial rocker than getting to see not one, not two, but THREE of my favourite college day bands all in one show! Hundred Reasons have returned with ‘Glorious Sunset’ and a tour to support it and bringing along Hell Is For Heroes and My Vitriol for this ride – and not only that, it’s at Manchester’s premier Academy 1 venue. Banging.
A bit of an early start but My Vitriol are kicking off their set and I’m loving the fairy lights draped on the lead singers mic! Interesting aesthetic choice with rarely highlighting the band with the lights as well, there’s a lot going on but the band themselves are seldom visible. It’s time to let the nostalgia trip begin fully in earnest now, right from the start it’s taken me back on a full trip to my teenage days and I couldn’t be happier.
My Vitriol’s atmospheric sound is astoundingly good right from the start, soaring vocals and accompanied by fuzzy guitar that’s dripping with reverb. I don’t think I could have asked for a better introduction to tonight’s show.
If you’ve seen Hell Is For Heroes before, you’d be unsurprised to find their intro song is ‘Hero’ by Enrique Iglesias: nothing like 1000+ metalheads singing it in unison. A slight misstep with the bass to start but they’re coming out swinging otherwise and every time I’ve seen Hell Is For Heroes it astounds me the amount of energy their singer still has, especially while flinging himself around the stage in a suit! Admittedly I expected the crowd to be a bit more placid but the moment they hit ‘Neon Handshake’ songs, people immediately barged right past me to go wild in a pit in the centre of the crowd. It’s good to see these are still making new ones and announcing ‘I Should Never’ signals work towards a new album!
It’s fantastic seeing Hell Is For Heroes on such a large stage such as this, not that it wasn’t already amazing seeing them at The Ritz a while back, but the size of Academy 1 is epic on another level. No shortage of ‘Neon Handshake’ ‘bangers in this set, nor any shortage of their singer diving into the crowd to be carried by people while singing, love it! I hear the familiar sound of a signal, and I know it’s time for ‘Five Kids Go’, the intro song to Neon Handshake and it’s time to scream my lungs out! Following that up with ‘I Can Climb Mountains’ as we continue the run through their biggest songs, this is what I’m here for!
Hell Is For Heroes still has that immense spark and it’s endured throughout the many years that it’s been since their last album release and for good reason. A fantastic live show and music that still resonates so many years on, and I hope that it’ll continue to do so for many years from now.
And finally, after so long, it’s time for Hundred Reasons! Opening with ‘Glorious Sunset’, as expected for this tour, getting it off on the right foot no less. It’s also worth noting their guitarist is sporting a trans flag T-shirt which is fantastic seeing a statement like that being made by a live band.
The brilliantly dynamic lighting works so well to deliver their set as well, the mix of strobes and strong backlighting that pulses along to the beat is great. I’ve waited so long to finally get stuck into a live set from these, after missing so many chances many years ago and this live show is the culmination of decades of experience, and it shows. Most of the crowd may very well be aged millennials by this point, but it’s not stopped everyone here suddenly spreading a large circle in the middle of everyone to truly cut loose and go mental in the pit. We’ve got everyone firing on all cylinders here, the pits going wild, constantly pushing forward with their arms in the air with people periodically being launched above everyone to crowd surf to the front.
Legitimately every time they hit an ‘Ideas Above Our Station’ song, the crowd goes absolutely wild, I think I’ve been beaned in the head by a pint about three times by the halfway point of the show! Admittedly I didn’t expect ‘Silver’ to be a mid-set song!
Being stuck in the middle of the crowd is a real special thing considering the crowd has spent most of the show shouting the words along to each song. It’s made this show that much more special and I’ve loved every minute of it. There’s been a fantastic spread of ‘Glorious Sunset‘ and other songs that have made this one to remember. As you’d think from a band like this, the final song is ‘If I Could’, their biggest song and the one that got me into them in the first place. An incredible finisher to a fantastic set and a brilliant “welcome back” to a band that’s been sorely missed by myself on the scene.
Hundred Reasons have put into practice a show that’s shown why they were so big in the first place and why they’re still brilliant. What an incredible gig, every single band has been amazing and I can’t wait to see them again at 2000 Trees.
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