 |
| Picture: James Polley https://jamespolleyphotography.wordpress.com/ |
Recent contenders for the BBC’s Sound of 2016,
Stockport based shoegaze rock band Blossoms played Sub89 on the 10th
of February to a crowd consisting of a mix of 18-21 year olds and 50-60 year
olds, with seemingly little in between. Rumour has it that Radio 6
DJ Steve Lamacq turned up but he could’ve been any one of the grey haired men
sipping Guinness in the crowd so who knows how much truth there was in that.
Support was in the form of Viola Beach, described by
one of their members as “Candy floss in sonic form” and The Vryll Society, who
went with the slightly more cryptic description of “Esoteric expansion”.
Blossoms themselves were on excellent form, with
each song being received like a fan favourite and the band not putting a foot wrong
throughout their (admittedly quite short) set. Breakout hit ‘Charlemagne’
was the highlight of the night, almost being drowned out by the sound of a room
full of drunk fans shouting the words, no mean feat considering the song’s only
been out for a few months and with this in mind it’s a shame they didn’t save
it for last, with the stellar finisher ‘Blow’ seeming a bit of a letdown after
the euphoria that preceded it.
The set list itself was predictable, as the band
only just have enough songs to carry off a headline slot, so the only real
surprise they could manage was the order they’d be playing them in. This is no
bad thing however, with the feeling of seeing a band on the cusp of something
big lending their performance even more energy.
It’s also nice to see three bands that are clearly
having the time of their lives, with a special mention to Viola Beach trying to
sell people t-shirts via hypnosis and an old scouser telling me not to call
them shoegaze because “shoegaze used to be an insult, y’know?” Well sorry mate
I’ve done it but I mean it as the highest praise, I promise.
Overall it’s clear to see that Manchester’s
reputation for generating the next big thing (well alright, they’re from
Stockport, but that’s close enough for me) is well deserved, with Blossoms a
clear candidate for 2016’s breakout indie band. Expect to see them on the cover
of the NME looking nonchalant any day now, as in the words of front man Tom
Ogden “We just want to be as big as we can” and if their performance at Sub 89
is anything to go by, that’s going to be pretty damned big.
Since writing this review the members of
Viola Beach have tragically passed away in a car accident, along with their
manager. My thoughts and condolences go out to all involved and I hope that the
outpouring of support that ensued provided some small comfort to those who knew
them.
No comments:
Post a Comment