With many peoples minds - and bodies for that matter - focused on the more important things in life – for instance; the highly anticipated album from Girls Aloud star Nadine Coyle, the crowd could be forgiven for being a little thin on the ground tonight.
The Deaf Institute has built up a cult reputation for being one of the coolest and kookiest bars in Manchester, playing host to some of the best new bands on the music scene. Tonight is no exception. With Wild Nothing coming to town, it could be said that they are a little new to the UK music scene (this being only there second tour here) despite this they are already warming to certain venues “We’re happy to be back here, this is our second show at The Deaf Institute, and it’s one of our favourite venues”.
Alas, as I stumbled through copious amounts of dry ice entering the venue, I caught a glimpse of the first band, The ABC Club. Wearing what can only be described as the contents of their dads’ wardrobe, you can understand why I was a little sceptical. Nonetheless, once the highly charged indie influenced rhythms kicked in I was soon backtracking on my original thoughts. Although stage presence and crowd interaction were not their forte, they played a tight and professional set, that impressed me, and it seemed only me.
Milk Maid were next to try and please this challenging crowd. With unkempt facial hair, ripped jeans and each sporting long locks there were two genres that came to mind; Grunge and Metal – thankfully they didn’t play metal. So, launching with some gusto into their first song the crowd remained very much understated, making the bar first port of call rather than the music. This remained a constant theme throughout their set. The efforts to reinvent Nirvana and the grunge era wasn’t working whatsoever, despite their best attempts.
The arrival of Jack Tatum a.k.a Wild Nothing was imminent, and for the first time throughout the whole evening I could sense an air of excitement around the venue. With an echo of the addictive melodies that made Bombay Bicycle Club so successful, coupled with the raw emotion and strength of Jack’s voice makes for a strong set. As so many bands in this current day and age love the sound of their own voice, it is somewhat refreshing to hear ‘Thank You Guys” once every couple of songs, a band that is fully concentrated on their music rather than the sound of there voice is a rare occurrence these days. What made this performance special is the banter between the band-mates and the sheer enjoyment they were having, it was visible for everyone to see. The crowd had now taken their eyes of the bar and were fully concentrated on the lively performance that graced them, and appeared to be enjoying every minute. Wild Nothing had certainly lived up to the hype they have been receiving, and gave everyone something to smile about with a fantastic and unique performance tonight.
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