Manchester Orchestra brings a huge energy and presence to the stage. They feel uplifting and yet contemplative, celebratory and yet dark. Knowing the subject matter of many of the songs, one isn’t sure whether to scream joy, or feel the inner grind of standing there have a mega-catharsis. Either way, the fans came out in droves to do just that, and they packed the Riv clear up to the rafters.
As per usual, the arrival of the 4th song in the set brought out the “good” lighting and the lasers. And lasers were a plenty…cover yer eyeballs…as Manchester Orchestra Orchestra delivered the track Bed Head. Front man Andy Hull bonded with the peoples as he reminisced about M.O.’s first show in Chicago being some small little gig called Lollapalooza or something, before leading the band into I Can Barely Breathe. The set was filled with nice ebbs and flows of elevating melodies, slow grinders, and drop d sludgers. The Gold from 2017s A Black Mile To The Surface always seems to be a fan favorite, which was evident in the energy lift that filled the space, the crowd’s sing back almost matching the stage vocals in decibels.
Enjoy the photos, friends. I’m off to put on The Gold, close my eyes, and try to get back to that goosebumps live show moment.
Peace.
