Shred Yr Face Tour – Manchester Academy 3 22/10/08

-

I think me and my friends are getting boring. I should be at the peak of my young-and-aliveness, but now the golden days of spring are past and I’m just tired and contented, this once-exuberant music nerd, captured at least for now the perfect beautiful, dorky girl everything about my hobbies had been basically aimed at, and I’m left just… enjoying it? Since when is mere enjoyment something to fucking feel?

If this accelerated process of spiritual ageing is actually mostly in my head as a sort of dumbass way of processing genuine happiness (ohh god look at me, I’m such a contented cunt) but anyway, if this is anything to go by, I’ll be looking back nostalgically at ‘You! Me! Dancing!’ somewhen about next month. I don’t care whether you can maybe state a case for its ubiquity or not, it’s a really special song that basically sums up perfectly everything about the indie clubnight experience. But hey, haha, when Los Campesinos play it tonight I’m not one of the kids at the front bouncing about so alive, I’m slightly detached, jerking about, appreciating it myself in my own little bubble of “yes, this is personally significant”-ince.

Manchester never, especially not in the grotty, grotesquely decorated (urgh, so dull and dim), overpriced Academy venues (and this time its Academy 3, its not even the Club Academy, which is at least vaguely acceptable because the merch stall is in the venue proper and the bands often wander around outside, despite of course the massive pillar which blocks off part of the stage if you’re stood in the wrong place), has all that great an atmosphere, or seems to… great city I adore of course but its audiences are routinely rubbish, but tonight at least there is a vague- or the best you’re going to get at least- sense that something special is taking place here, because when you think about it the Shred Yr Face tour really is quite special, as any tour with three fucking incredible pop bands ought to be, I guess. I would say “three fucking incredible noise-pop bands” but then Los Campesinos themselves aren’t really that noisy. But anyway.

Times New Viking are probably the world’s ‘Most Improved When Live Band’. What sounds promising but sooooooo overwrought production-wise (seriously, I like lo-fi, but usually lo-fi = “charm”… does it have to be that achingly deliberate) on record is just really great, simple, energetic, shouty pop when live. They were probably very easy to miss too, as any band on at 8:10 would be, but if you did miss them, big mistake. Tonight is a great night for singing drummers, btw. If only Ollie Campesinos sang too, then they would have been able to call it the ‘Keep Time Whilst Shouting Tour’. Or something better than that.

Also, No Age are really good live and so are Los Campesinos. I probably should elaborate on that, because this is a live review. But I don’t really feel it would add much. Oh no wait here’s something- the new song No Age did which I think is probably the one they said in the interview I did with them sounded like The Kinks but might have been the other one is really really good- the guitar is much cleaner but it really works. Yeah. That’s something. You know No Age are basically a top pop band? They just have a pretty unique aesthetic that they tend to stick to. Like all the times ever I’ve seen a noise band and thought: “hey this has a pretty good sound to it, they just ought to write some songs.” Well, No Age are pretty much a vindication of that. That’s actually technically some elaboration, only its really more my thoughts on No Age themselves, it doesn’t say anything much about them at the actual gig. But anyway it was really good.

At the end of their set, Los Campesinos are all like: “hey everyone we’re going to The Deaf Institute to see These Dancing Days and then Big Hands, come hang out with us.” This is the thing that really got me feeling old. Why didn’t I go and hang out with the bands? Why did none of my friends want to? Why didn’t I? Why didn’t I want to go and drunkenly, overexcitedly accost musicians I like and be all like: “I’ve interviewed you, I’ve interviewed you, Times New Viking I’ve never interviewed you but hey maybe someday I will…” I see all the bands doing their joyous end-of-tour celebrations on the stage as they all rush up at the end of Los Campesinos’ set during ‘Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks’ and its just like: “wow, that looks really fun. Why can’t me and my band be four of the ones up there?” So hmmmm. Maybe I’m not so prematurely old and content after all.