FOLLOWING the release of their self-titled debut album earlier this year, Stockport band Blossoms brought their UK tour to a sold out crowd at Manchester Academy last night. With support from two incredible up and coming artists, the evening was a huge party right from the beginning…
Kicking off the show was Manchester based five-piece, Cabbage.
Donning messy hairstyles and demonstrating an animated stage presence, they managed to get most of the growing crowd moving.
Following the release of EP, ‘Uber Capitalist Death Trade’, the neo post-punk group delivered their satirical songs with lots of energy.
Controversial topics touched on included Donald Trump, private schools and the National Health Service.
Lead singer, Lee Broadbent, jumped into the audience a few times to the great delight of fans.
Wearing sunglasses throughout the set, his effortless vocals complimented the gritty riffs perfectly.
Cabbage’s whole performance suggested that they’re a wonderful mix of creativity and improvisation; not that there’s anything wrong with that.
The band made their way to Sacred Trinity Church in Salford after their set for a second performance at this year’s Salford Music Festival.
https://twitter.com/erbrady/status/781850259379089408
Up next in the evening was 17-year-old, Declan McKenna, an artist accompanied by his young band mates.
The talented group mirrored many of those in the crowd in terms of age and stylish clothing choice.
Wearing a David Bowie t-shirt, Hertfordshire-born singer songwriter, McKenna, introduced himself after taking a quick sip of a drink following the aptly named first song, ‘Brew’: “I’m a bit sick today so I’ve got tea.”
Poorly or not, the group put all their energy into combining a series of mature and well thought out lyrics with instrumentals which simply forced you to dance.
Crowd members sang along to catchy tracks, ‘Paracetamol’ and ‘Brazil’, which were written by a young McKenna, who also won the Glastonbury Festival’s Emerging Talent Competition in 2015.
Their set came to a huge finish with McKenna introducing the final track.
“This song’s called ‘Isombard’, get ready to dance!”
His overall performance was well beyond his years and he’s definitely a refreshing artist to see perform live.
@DeclanMcKenna was quality last night
— Oliver Buxton (@olliebuxton17) October 1, 2016
As the crowd eagerly awaited Blossoms’ arrival, classics such as ‘Love Spreads’ by The Stone Roses and The Smiths’ ‘This Charming Man’ were played through the speakers, which were appreciated by everyone.
The Human League’s ‘Don’t You Want Me’ filled the room as the stage lights dimmed and coloured lights coincided with the beat.
This swiftly transitioned into Kanye West’s ‘Black Skinhead’ while the indie five-piece made their way onto stage and were greeted with excitable cheers.
The boys, dressed in smart trousers and shirts, kicked off the set with ‘At Most A Kiss’, which saw the crowd erupt.
Working their way through the debut album, songs included ‘Cut Me And I’ll Bleed’, ‘You Pulled A Gun On Me’ and ‘Blow’ – all of which sent the audience into a frenzy.
Lead singer, Tom Ogden, bantered with the crowd repeatedly and jokingly asked whether anyone had been dumped recently.
“Bloody hell, that’s about 60% of you!”
Before gracing the stage by himself and giving an intimate performance of ‘My Favourite Room’, Ogden singled out an individual from the crowd named Ed, who had been dumped by ‘Sarah’.
“This next song is from Ed to Sarah,” he exclaimed – which was met with hilarious chants from the audience of “F*** you, Sarah!”
Ogden just shrugged and said, “Well, it’ll be awkward if she’s here.”
Merging the emotionally-fuelled track with both Babybird’s ‘You’re Gorgeous’ and Oasis’ ‘Half The World Away’ was a clever touch.
Dazzling stage lights played a big part in their headline performance and were a representation of how far the band have progressed in their music career.
After seeing them perform at ‘Live at Leeds’ in 2015, this was off the scale in comparison.
Fans lapped up the performance and broke into chants of “Stockport, Stockport” in the short breaks between songs.
Bringing the set to an impressive close was fan favourite, ‘Charlemagne’, which left everyone in the venue on a high.
Blossoms know exactly how to put on an engaging and faultless show and as their music career continues to grow, their live performances are only going to get bigger and better.
By Hollie Rees
@holliejrees
Recent Comments