Sweaty passion underpins the songs of Atlanta, Ga., act Manchester Orchestra. Photo from MySpace.com.
When the houses a sell-out show, you can literally feel it. Personal space is virtually eliminated. Huge “Xs” marking the mainly underaged crowd keep the kids in the sweltering venue for several hours until the headliner emerges (“No re-entry under 21, NO EXCEPTIONS.”) But somehow, if you’re a fan in Denver, this scene of discomfort is worth enduring, and then some.
The energetic quintet has toured enough to know what they have to live up to in concert. Not even a month has passed since the release of their second full-length, “Mean Everything to Nothing,” but you wouldn’t have guessed it based on the screaming fans replicating the set openers in a sing-along fashion. Despite the pressure, the band projects an air of five guys jamming in a garage on the weekend after knocking back a few cold ones. Total ease.
Distorted guitar riffs and the bluesy undertones gave the set an interesting, slightly-muted Southern rock-meets-indie vibe. Keyboardist Chris Freeman specifically caught my attention as he spent the night pounding on not only his keyboards, but also a partially-complete makeshift drum kit — separate from the kit handled by drummer Jeremiah Edmond. Fortunately, the result of the two kits being pounded in unison wasn’t overpowering.
Manchester spent the evening performing not only new material but old favorites such as “Wolves at Night” and “I Can Barely Breathe.” Andy Hull’s vocals toned down the “jam band” side to Manchester and instead painted them as “youth friendly.” At times, Hull opted to trade his rich, melodic tenor gymnastics for an abrasive rooster-crow wail. But this “flaw” of unapologetic bellowing is part of what makes the so impacting.
As the set came to a close after nine songs and less than an hour, my eyes widened and I was ready to raise hell. The extended version of set closer “Where Have You Been?” wasn’t giving off any encore vibes, especially when post-show house music started blaring over the venue sound system. It looked as though the show was, disappointingly, over. But then I realized the lights were still dim and, less than a minute later, the band graced the stage and went on to perform three lengthy encores, including “Everything to Nothing,” the track that inspired the new album title.
Manchester Orchestra has an almost gravitational pull, and if you hadn’t previously deemed the band phenomenal, you might be taken aback by the worshipping fans hanging on Hull’s every word. You might not see what the big deal is. You might not relate to what they band conveys through each pulsing note and sweet harmony. But take one look at the sweat dripping down Andy Hurley’s pensive mug and the men who stand behind him. From the depths of their souls, and with every bone in their body, they mean it.
Lauren Chavarria is a Denver-based writer and a regular contributor to Reverb. She attends school at CU Denver, where she spends most of her class time updating her Twitter (http://twitter.com/LaurenChavarria).
