ALEX Clare returns to Manchester on his Tail of Lions tour in an electric performance at Gorilla.
London based artist Alex Clare has been on the music scene since 2011 with the release of his album ‘The Lateness of the Hour’ featuring chart-topping hits ‘Up All Night’, ‘Treading Water’ and ‘Too Close’ – a track best known for the Internet Explorer 9 advertisements which sent the artist into the top 10 in the UK singles chart.
Clare announced his third studio album and European tour dates in September 2016, including Manchester’s Gorilla club on 30th January.
Supported by Luke Quinn, the intimate venue was a perfect location for the electro tinged rock of both artists. As fans began to crowd towards the stage, Quinn appears on stage among a display of blue lights and smoke and dives straight into his performance.
Loving bit of Alex Clare last night…good beard game! #alexclare #gorilla #manchester #music… https://t.co/JhZ9M93Mow
— wishiwore… (@wishiwore) January 31, 2017
The crowd do not react much, continuing to chat over the music, but by the end of the second song Quinn addresses the audience by introducing himself and the crowd begin to engage more.
After performing a few of his songs, the solo artist thanks the audience and the main act for taking him on tour. While the support act was not wildly exciting, the atmosphere had definitely picked up in anticipation for the main performance.
Manchester @thisisgorilla you guys were amazinggg !!! #madferit #tailoflions @fattybassman @mr2sticks pic.twitter.com/w7uuXIfuYc
— alex clare (@alexanderclare) January 30, 2017
After a short interlude, the attention of the crowd focuses on the stage as Clare’s accompanying musicians arrive on stage, greeted by a wave of excitement and cheers.
A heavy drum beat and heavy guitar chords begin as Clare walks on stage and the crowd goes wild with excitement, reaching for their camera phones to get a snap of the artist.
Clare’s voice sounds slightly different live – studio recordings sound a lot ‘cleaner’ but his unique husky tone is still identifiable throughout his performance.
The style of songs in Clare’s performance differ throughout and could even be described as changing in genre entirely.
It’s hard to decide what the audience enjoyed more – the house music style tracks or the heavier classic rock music. Both seemed to appeal to his fans and capture the attention of every one in the venue.
The performance was engaging throughout although one of the longer lasting tracks seemed to last just that little too long and the audience did not respond as well as the other more well known and up-beat tracks.
Mid-way through the set, the audience were a lot more comfortable and were embracing moving along to the music – waving their arms and singing along.
At one point Clare waved his arm in the air and a small proportion of the crowd mimicked him – perhaps he could have attempted audience participation more.
Nonetheless, the audience were captivated by the performance – some were singing along with the same amount of energy as the artist.
The show momentarily turned into a stand up comedy gig at one point as a member of the audience shouts “She wants to lick your beard!”. The artist engages in some lighthearted comedy with the crowd, laughing along – “I won’t tell my wife about this!”. This joke might just have made the gig.
By the time Clare performed ‘Too Close’, his most popular track, the crowd were going wild.
Announcing that this would be the last song, Clare performs one more track but the audience are still engaged and seem satisfied with the performance.
After leaving the stage, the crowd applaud until the artist comes back on stage for an encore. This time, with an acoustic guitar.
Clare performs 4 more beautiful acoustic tracks, really showing off his unique singing voice. His cover of ‘Hold You’ by Gyptian was especially emotional and despite it being such a mainstream track, he still manages to make it his own.
An amazing gig with a very talented musician – Alex Clare is a must-see.
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