Manchester Ritz Last Night

by **Grumpy_Jimbo** » Sun Jun 08, 2014 10:29 am

Just got home from Manchester, so very brief Review......

Firstly The Ritz it was a bloody sweat box at 7.00pm, so imagine how bad it was once there was a bloody crowd inside it !!!!

Most important thing is the voice was back and Mac sounded pretty darn good plus he seemed to be in a good mood so no strops at all last night.... Band were sounding good, Will was making his usual noises on his guitar but I was really impressed last night with drums, never really noticed how good a drummer that boy was...

As for the set it was fairly short only played 75 minutes and am still finding it hard to see a Bunnymen show without anything being played from Heaven Up Here, I don't like !!!

So here's last nights setlist....

Meteorites
Rescue
Holy Moses
My Kingdom
Bedbugs and Ballyhoo
Seven Seas
Constantinople
Never Stop
New Horizons
All That Jazz
Lovers On the Run
Bring On the Dancing Horses
The Killing Moon
The Cutter
Encore:
Nothing Lasts Forever
Lips Like Sugar

by **Stuart** » Mon Jun 09, 2014 8:40 am

I'll second everything you said.

:cool:

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... tz-7239234

If you asked many modern bands to compile one of those 'artists who influenced me' lists so popular with music magazines, Echo and the Bunnymen would certainly feature highly in an awful lot of them.

The Liverpudlians were one of the founding fathers of what we today know as 'indie' and helped move it from the underground into the mainstream.

With the release of their debut album Crocodiles in 1980 they occupied a space that arguably hadn't been filled since before the Sex Pistols.

So in one sense there's a slight sadness seeing the band's slightly bedraggled looking lead singer Ian McCulloch striding on stage.

He's a far cry from the youthful brooding character who enchanted so many teenagers in the early 80s.

Okay, the trademark long black overcoat and shades are still there, as is his dry, cutting wit. And, to the frustration of many a man present, even at the age of 55, he still looks damn cool.

This is the band's second attempt at playing this gig, having cancelled the original date last month due to McCulloch suffering from a throat infection.

However the late timing of the announcement, just an hour and a half before the venue's doors opened, left many high and dry.

So despite the adulation those inside the Ritz undoubtedly had for them, they had some winning over to do.

And there arises the question, why are McCulloch and Co putting themselves through this?

As the band themselves say on one of their most famous hits, Nothing Lasts Forever.

However, the answer comes in the form of opening song Meteorites.

That proves they still have much to offer and was the perfect tee-up for the classics later on.

The title track, from the group's new album, which has left critics swooning, straight away gives you the you sense they capable of writing a damn good tune.

And the way new tracks such as Holy Moses and Constantinople blended into the setlist were a credit to their quality.

Though it would be disingenuous to suggest the best reception wasn't reserved for the airing of early classics My Kingdom and Seven Seas.

It's not until the trio of Bring on the Dancing Horses, The Killing Moon and The Cutter that you realise just how special this band is.

The genius of McCulloch was evident in his merging of Lou Reed classic 'Walk on the Wild Side' with one of his own gems, as if he wrote both.

He even manages to squeeze a 'take a walk on Merseyside' line past this partisan Manc crowd.

'Sorry for last time, that was my fault, and the powers above' is his first offer of an apology about the first gig, before he launches into set closer Lips Like Sugar.

Despite all the odds, he and the gang pulled it off with a faultless performance. The Bunnymen are alive and bouncing.