Gig: Blossoms @ Wythenshawe Park, Manchester
Blossoms by Isla Kerr
If fading into the ether like so many other great British Indie bands before them was ever a worry for Blossoms they firmly stamped it out on Sunday evening. The four-piece took to the stage at Wythenshawe Park to follow on from New Order’s headline slot the day before. With support from local sensations as well as Dublin’s famed Inhaler, it was a jam-packed day of great music.
Blossoms are at the top of their game ahead of their upcoming album release and UK tour later in the year and their performance was a testament to this.
TTRRUUCES
The psych-rock duo battled grating sound issues at the beginning of their set but did not scare easily as they traversed hits from their catalogue. With only four years of music to draw from they delivered a beautifully varied and enticing set. They definitely found some new fans in the Park today.
Seb Lowe
Manchester local Seb Lowe was up next and with the stir he and his band have been causing recently, it was no surprise to see so many of the crowd singing along to their tracks. Seb (vocals, guitar), Kate (violin), Joel (drums) and Sam (bass) have an electric energy on stage and everyone in the park was in their grasp from the get-go.
With tracks that call out the discrepancies of modern life and poke fun at those who hoard power, they make for a refreshing shake-up in the current indie scene.
Ending the set with a quick statement was Seb, “F-ck all the people that these songs are about” “we should never, ever step in line”.
The K’s
It was a busy weekend for the Merseyside boys. Fresh off the back of playing Reading on Friday and Leeds yesterday. Jamie (vocals, guitar) claimed “Tonight is the first one I’m drinking”
We were crowned “Best crowd of the weekend” and with the cheers let out throughout the set it was easy to see why.
The four-piece even broke into a short rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ before rounding things out with their smash hit from 2017, ‘Sarajevo’. As they swung guitars in the air and threw picks into the crowd it was safe to say they had left a lasting good impression for the Manchester crowd.
Inhaler
It took one look at all the bodies gathered around Wythenshawe Park to guess who had made the trip to catch the Dublin band's only UK/Ireland show this year. They had signs, Irish flags, painted faces, balloons…the list goes on.
Ever the gentleman, Eli (vocals, guitar) thanked Blossoms for having the band play tonight and shared they were all “Very excited to watch” the local heroes later on.
With a relatively short set time, they wasted no time diving into their hits ‘Who’s Your Money On’ was an early high point and the crowd bounced up and down with delight during the track.
Eli encouraged the crowd to whistle for their keys player Louis Lambert as he stated “He’s looking so cool ain’t he”.
A quick yet fulfilling set, here's to hoping the rising stars announce some more dates close to home soon.
Blossoms
Judging by the cheers of “Gary, Gary, Gary” before Blossoms took to the stage the early release and title track ‘Gary’ from the new album has gone down a treat and will be a hallmark of this era of the band.
From the minute the Stockport-born indie sensations took to the stage energy was at an all-time high both from the crowd and from them. Tom moved around as if he had emerged directly from a time machine to the 70’s. He, Charlie, Joe, Josh and Myles have spent most of their adult life touring together and this translates into a polished performance where each of them shines tonight.
‘Oh No (I Think I’m In Love)’ was an early crowd-pleaser and was belted out word for word by the dancing and jumping hoard.
The band were joined on stage by Findlay from TTRRUUCES for ‘To Do List After The Breakup’ with whom the song was recorded.
In between tracks Tom addressed the Park “We grew up going to shows like this in Manchester. Oasis…Stone Roses”.
Reflecting on how far the band have come he spoke of their beginnings playing the famed Manchester Night and Day Cafe to “having you all if you infront of me here tonight”.
What would come next but ‘Blow’ the band’s first ever single. It was fittingly followed by their latest single ‘Perfect Me’ and as the audience sang along it was hard not to be struck by their plain and true love for this band. They have evolved with them over the last 11 years and still learn every lyric as if it's day one.
A quick “Dancing Queen” cover transitioned into ‘If You Think This Is Real Life’ and had everyone moving as if they too had come straight from the 70’s with Tom.
Blossoms are here to stay. They are true performers and incredible musicians. Tonight was a beautiful snippet of what is to come from the band in the following months and years. This new era of Blossoms is an exciting one in which they seem to be carving a very clear picture of who they are, who they have been and who they want to be.
