Finally
taking notice “live” of a band whom I’d overlooked before… I’d first “seen”
Manchester’s Slow Reader’s Club when they headlined here in November 2017 (gig
1,063), the band making the mistake of having the brilliant Desperate
Journalist as tour support, and thereby being blown into the weeds by Jo and
Co. However, I subsequently revisited them a couple of years later, thoroughly
enjoying the strident, dark post-punk guitar noise of their 2020 “The Joy Of
The Return” CD (their 4th!), and booking tix for their 2020 tour,
which of course, due to Covid, got postponed… and postponed… and postponed
again... Said date was eventually rescheduled for an Autumn 2021 date which
clashed with a whole-family gig elsewhere, which ultimately I didn’t go to
either, due to my having to isolate as I’d tested positive myself! D’oh! So, I
grabbed tix for this Thekla return, supporting hookier, more anthemic new album
“Knowledge Freedom Power”, only for SRC to then be added as The Pixies’ support
in Cardiff next weekend! Famine to feast, as they say…!
Anyway,
“The Dirty Boat” first… again cognisant of grabbing a parking spot, I hit the
road at 5.45 for a drizzly drive, parking up outside relatively easily and
joining the queue of devotees. Said queue included facebook friend and Readers
fanatic Adrian, whom I’d met at the Chameleons Fleece gig a couple of years
back (gig 1,207), plus his charming wife Claire who was celebrating her
birthday! In at 7 p.m. doors and grabbing a spot near the front, house left, in
time for painfully young solo acoustic guy opener Andrew Cushin, on at an early
7.15. An affable and confident young Geordie, his buoyant banter (“this is the
3rd time I’ve played The Thekla; every time I think we’re gonna
sink!”) and upbeat audience interaction (plenty of hugs with the front rows)
was slightly at odds with his darker, almost macabre material, some of which
would have fit nicely on the soundtrack to “Peaky Blinders”… His strident vocal
projection was heard to best effect in the anthemic singalong “Wor Flags”
(“about going to the match!) and, conversely, the plaintive and personal,
Verve-like closer “Where’s My Family Gone.” Decent set from a talented young
man.
A
quick loo trip (bumping into my Editors goth friend from gig 1,261 on the way!)
saw me squeeze back in a few rows back, as anticipation grew and the devoted masses
chanted, “Readers! Readers!” Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” (a pre-set regular
number, now restored to the schedule, according to Adrian) heightened the party
atmosphere, before 8.15 saw the lights smash to black, and an eerie backing
track and backlit strobe/ strip lights herald the band onstage. Opener and new
album leadoff track “Modernise” immediately set the tone, its clipped, dark
post-punk riffery and robotic synth blare overlaid with a strident, anthemic
“it’s time to modernise!!” hook, lustily sung back by the devoted, hands aloft already
in celebration and worship. “Bristol, you sound in good spirits!” remarked
angular vocalist Aaron Starkie before a brilliant, Taxpayer-esque “All I Hear”,
coaxing higher levels of response from the crowd, although he needn’t really
have bothered…
As
I said, this was my first time of properly taking notice of Slow Readers Club “live”,
and it was evident from the outset that the connection between band and crowd
was like few others, the band unable to do any wrong in the eyes of the
audience. And they played up to it, delivering a blistering performance of
seething power and underlying menace, so it was easy to see how they engender
such devotion. “The Wait” featured a shimmering guitar pattern and a soaring
hook, before a White Lies-esque slow burn and synth-powered “How Could You
Know”. “Plant The Seed” saw Aaron reach for the Jimi Somerville falsetto before
another mass singalong, quipping, “our 4th time on the Thekla! I
don’t know if we upgrade to a cruise liner next time…!”, before a stripped
back, sinister “Everything I Own”. Then, “Afterlife”; almost a companion piece
to The Sheila Divine’s “Modern Log”, this eased in with a similar undulating
opening guitar pattern, building like steam to a frankly massive soaring
chorus. For me, easily their best number, and brilliantly executed.
Penultimate
number “On The TV” saw the entire crowd dancing along and singing the hook,
even after the song ended… so the band started it up again! Planned? Maybe, but
impressive nonetheless. “Feet On Fire” ended a 1 hour 15 set, before a 3 song
encore which highlighted the new album’s title track, a racey,pacey synth hurtle
reminding me of Our Daughter’s Wedding (!). Finally, Aaron abandoned the stage
for closer “Lunatic”, delivering his strident, impassioned vocal from the belly
of the moshpit. Impressive stuff. Set-lists went quickly to the devoted (fair
enough, really) and I said farewells to Adrian, running into old footy friend
Ben Ford on the way out, a quick M4 blast and kebab stop getting me home before
11. Overall, an excellent gig from Slow Reader’s Club; I won’t make the mistake
of overlooking them again!
No comments:
Post a Comment