A cold night in Manchester and my first gig for nearly 3 weeks, saw me heading to Soup Kitchen in Manchester's Northern Quarter for a sold out gig - this was one I was really looking forward to. It's my birthday on 9th of Feb and I couldn't think of a better way to start my birthday celebrations (technically they started last week, but shhh don't tell anyone).
As I walked in at doors open there was already a queue and someone had been a bit over zealous with the dry ice, making it seem like there was a soupy fog in the basement venue. Thankfully by the time Witching Waves took to the stage at 8pm it had mostly disappeared.
As you know from reading my previous blogs (if you have) I love getting in early to see the support and it seemed most of the other attendees were also in as the place was easily 3/4 full.
Now I'd not heard Witching Waves before last night and quite often I won't listen to a support act before a gig as I want my first listen to be live.
A three piece from London with a singing drummer Emma Wigham along with singer/guitarist Mark Jasper and bass player Ed Shellard they a really funky, fast, indie, punky kind of sound and Manchester was bloody loving it! I don't know their stuff well enough yet to tell you what they played but I did capture 2 videos from their set one is featured below and the other you can find on my YouTube Channel. A broken string and a few minutes delay didn't spoil their set and it also gave Emma the chance to tell us about her dream from the night before! Their final track especially, got some big appreciation from the crowd. It started off with a bass line very reminiscent of Joy Division and whilst the track itself was a bit melancholic, you could feel the love in the room for this band, it was visceral. Manchester loves it's live music and these guys really did blow us away. They were bloody brilliant and above all they had fun with it. I streamed them in the car on the way home and I'm listening to them now when I type this up. They've definitely got another fan now and honestly if you get a chance to see these guys play, live take it. They're ace!
I was lucky enough to see Peaness support She Drew the Gun last year and met Balla and Jess afterwards on the merch stand. They were lovely and I promised to wear my Peaness T-Shirt at every festival I go to this year (still going to).
They took to the stage with a massive cheer and seemed quite taken aback by the reaction to them. They started with the quite frankly superb Oh George and that's when I started dancing.... I stopped when they finished their set with Kaizen. I have so much love for this band. They play happy, bouncy music that you cannot help but bop too. I was looking around at some points and even at the edges of the venue people were smiling and dancing. That's what a great band does - they connect with something inside you that just brings pure unladen joy and Peaness bring this by the bucket load!
Jess was clearly blown away by the reaction of the crowd and said that they normally play in support and that this was their first headline tour. She also said that it was mad to see people singing along to their songs.
I've included Oh George and Kaizen in this review, they're a bit wobbly but I was dancing and having fun with it, as was everyone else. This may be Peaness's first headline tour. Judging by last nights gig it's the first of many!
I even put them on in the kitchen when I got home and was dancing! You can't say much more than that! These girls are going to go far and they truly deserve it all. 10/10 from this music lover.
As usual all pictures and videos are ones I took. You can subscribe to my YouTube for more videos of gigs, I'm also on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook where I share reviews, playlists, and some amazing interviews.
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