A little under three weeks since my last gig/festival meant that I was ravenous to get back into gigging and thankfully these bands did not disappoint.
It has rained for what seemed like weeks in Manchester but thankfully the heavens gave us a break as we arrived in town this evening.
Having arrived an hour early my mate Hayley and I sat at the bar and had a great debate about biscuits with brews and which are the best but this isn't a food blog so back to the music.
First up and not listed on the event billing (as far as I could see) was Blob Halford. Like Rob but Blob (his words). He hailed from Florida and it was him his guitar and a whole lot of reverb... He basically played rock n roll classics but with rewritten words. My favourite was definitely a reworded version of Marilyn Mansons The Beautiful People entitled The Ordinary People. It was pure satirical rock and roll and he didn't take himself too seriously at all. I've not heard anything like it before and it was rather random but he got a great reaction from the small crowd so it was a great start.
Next up were Cherry Pickles. If you've not heard of them they're Priscilla B from Brazil who plays guitar and does vocals with Mimi B who plays drums from the UK. Mimi played a high tom and snare only, at one point using maracas rather than drum sticks. I've not heard anything like these ladies before. They were fucking brilliant! Some bands are beyond comparison as they're not like anyone else... on their Spotify they say they have a fan who is a dead puppet in a coffin and they're Frankenstein. I loved them. The crowd loved them. I managed to record Lily is a Spy (see below) so have a listen. Their music wouldn't sound out of place in a Tarantino film, they're that good. They left me wanting more as all the great bands do. If you get the opportunity to see them live then do yourself a favour and see them.
Onto the headliners Black Mekon who all came on in their trade mark masks (see photos). With a drummer and two guitars with the lead vocalist and guitarist who actually played left handed but with the strings not reversed so they were upside down. The effect this had on their sound was like nothing I've heard. In a good way. The drummer and second guitarist also swapped places during their set which was also something I'd not seen before. If you like bluesy, rock and roll you'd love these guys. Great short tunes. Nice but not radio friendly (on their Spotify it say that). My mate and I went for it and it's one of the few times I've let myself go in Manchester with my hair down, dancing my socks off with just myself and the music. They rocked!
Spotify:
Photos and videos are my own:
