Arriving at Manchester Uni on this drizzly Sunday evening it seems like those 30 or so people had each told 100 of their friends as the main room quickly begins to fill up to capacity. And if you’d been paying any attention to the music press lately you’d notice comments such as “the best band in the world” and “the next Nirvana”. Speaking to guitarist Omar backstage before the show he admits that being signed to Grand Royal [which was a co-incidence in itself after being signed then dropped from D.E.N.] has opened up the possibilities for them but he puts it down to touring solidly for the past 6 years that they have received such attention.
And witnessing the live show tonight who’d disagree with them? After displaying their punk-rock DIY credentials by helping set up their equipment and tuning their own instruments, they finally launch into an explosive set that covers songs from all their albums, including that one on Acrobatic Tenement which goes “it’s all a façade & nothing really matters” [sorry, I lent the CD to a friend so don’t know the tracks] And with Cedric as hyperactive as ever, the whole place just can’t resist jiving along, although everyone heads the band’s pleads for no crowd-surfing or stage-diving due to a friend’s face being kicked against the monitors on a previous tour.
Truly phenomenal. But before all that we were all treated to some raucous rawk coutesy of ATD-I’s pick for the tour Murder City Devils. With a mad bespectacled frontman somewhere between Milo from Descendents & the singer from New Bomb Turks, they blast the crowd with some top energy-filled punk’n’roll. Even though most of the crowd, me included, were stood gawping at the horny female keyboardist giving seductive looks to the audience! But it was clear who everyone here came to see and no-one left disappointed. Or without a T-shirt!
