WORDS JANET HARDING / IMAGES WARREN MILAR
A drizzling, grey Manchester tonight. but the venue compensates for the weather, we’re in the stunning Albert Hall tonight, with the equally stunning Japanese Breakfast headlining. A former Methodist church and art nouveau treasure, it’s one amazing, atmospheric and acoustically brilliant venue to enjoy live music and I fully expect the dreamy, electro pop vibes of this stand out band to be exceptional! It’s vibrant in Manchester whatever the weather, and even through the drizzle it’s a joy to walk along these architecturally rich and varied streets, passing the famous Midland Hotel and the impressive Central Library en route to our destination, which sits discreetly between the organic ‘New Art’ era buildings. Although impressive on the outside, it’s upon entering that you realise its beauty: the performance hall is stunning, with 2 storeys high, arched, stained glass windows and original green tiling on the stairwells. Tonight’s event is not surprisingly a sell-out, and the queues already stretch right down Peter Street, so the crowd feels tonight will be abundant!
Barrie – Support
Opening proceedings tonight is New York city based Barrie. It’s really busy within our venue already and when our support act take to the stage they are met with a truly enthusiastic welcome. It’s a very conceptual act, all 4 members wear co-coordinating, monochrome, customised outfits that are very stylised and look amazing up on stage with the lights strobing on them. The sound is dream pop, with a very retro 80s feel, created with backing tracks, synth, keys and vocal; it’s very, very atmospheric. All 4 band members perform choreographed contemporary dance moves throughout the set, which is really quite something to watch – we even have acrobatic type moves during the first song, which is a real crowd pleaser! I don’t think any of us were expecting that, but we welcome it! The vocal is quite incredible, sung with a slight American accent (which we Brits do love), in the dreamiest way, towards higher ends of the vocal scale. It’s very uplifting, and the harmonies created when all 4 voices come together are very special indeed. Stage presence is huge, very individual, quirky and quite fascinating to watch. The feels for me are undoubtedly 80s, it’s very retro, early 80s new wave/post punk electro/synth era. Very ‘Stranger Things’ feeling… Although uplifting, there’s an undertone of eeriness, danger almost. It conjures up images of frizzy perms, BMX‘s, coca cola and white t-shirts, of the kids who don’t quite fit in, exploring in dark woodland settings on the verge of finding adventure, but there’s also a fantasy type feel. It’s like a soundtrack from ‘The Gremlins’ meets ‘Blade Runner’ meets ‘Labyrinth’. It’s brilliant and so nostalgia fuelling, but manages to be fresh and new at the same time. You do get a New York cool vibe coming through, no more so than when piano is introduced, I’m reminded of early Madonna stuff, ‘Get into the Groove’ type sounds.
Peter, from Japanese Breakfast joins the band on stage for one song, The addition of lead guitar brings another facet to the sound and it works really well, it brings another level of sound to this already brilliant concept. It’s been one excellent set, very individual, Barrie not only creates sound, but an entire concept, and brings a whole feel with it. I’ve certainly been transported musically to somewhere amazing, and thoroughly enjoyed this set!
SET LIST
1/ Nocturne
2/ Frankie
3/ Darjeeling
4/ Dig
5/ Jenny
6/ Concrete
7/ Clovers
8/ Quarry
9/ Harp 2
10/ Tal Uno
11/ Geology
12/ Jersey
Japanese Breakfast – Headline
A complete hush fills Albert hall, and I mean you literally could hear a pin drop right now, it’s that silent! As a backing track plays our band arrive on stage and the cheers go off. As the set begins with ‘Paprika’ everyone is soon dancing. The sound is immense. It’s loud, very atmospheric, melodic with a pulsating beat beneath it, electro and synth, then violin and saxophone, gentle bass lines and a Japanese gong is struck by our front woman, Michelle Zauner, as she gracefully glides about the stage. Floating about, she does not stop smiling and, dressed in a floaty white smock dress, she looks like a magical fairy, dancing about on stage to these hazy dreamlike sounds, with the huge drum stick as her wand. The vibe is of pure uplift, joy making, the highest vibrational energy, it genuinely is dreamlike, or visionary or altered state like – very, very bewitching and totally hypnotic.
Michelle’s vocal is exquisite, very sweet, sunny and blissful, dreamy, high and light ,the perfect fit for this dream state genre. The tracks tend to start off very gently, soothing musical waves lapping at our feet, then building, washing over us, more sounds added, layering, more textured until its identity is reached, It stays steady but fascinating, repeats, then swirls around us culminating in epic and rousing instrumentals. The guitars scream, the drumming goes wild, experimental sounds go full on and crescendo is reached, then….stop, it’s over abruptly. It’s very clever, keeps us wanting more, we’re hanging on a thread. It’s edge of seat stuff! I get club feels at times, more so with the throbbing beats, we can feel that bass drum in our chests. It’s like that feeling of being early hours lost in the dance floor of some club somewhere, lost in that moment, of soaking up every part of that sound and feeling the music with your soul, but just for that moment. As a front woman Michelle is instantly likeable and is completely captivating. It’s like an aura of musicality and creativity surrounds her and it shines from within her too. She has such an elfin charm, a magical quality.
The band are playing like their lives depend on it, Guitarists leap about, every one of them is swaying, dancing or jumping and the entire band are smiling constantly. During the performance of songs, we are transfixed, it’s pretty much silent, every one of us taking this sound on board in its entirety. although obviously there’s singing along. During instrumentals it’s quite special, the hush that befalls this enthralled crowd. nowhere more so than when we venture up to the balcony. It’s packed to the rafters but everyone is seated on the tiered flooring or cross legged, mesmerized! But it’s not eerie or uncomfortable, it feels amazing, very spiritual, especially given the surrounding in this former church with the twinkling LED lighting up here like candles flickering. It’s like a mass meditation or gathering of a sound therapy group. It’s truly magical, it honestly makes me feel light, airy and really peaceful. It’s good for the soul!
Very lullaby-like vocals, like a delicate flower being blown by a gentle summer breeze, it all feels fuzzy and warm and comforting, kind and good, pink and fluffy, sparkly and magical. It’s all so transcending… rainbows and unicorns. To me the feels are reminiscent of an epic ‘manga’ type cartoon film, very surreal and technicolor, but not of this world.
Another very conceptual sound and feel, very well executed and performed. To be so uplifted, put at ease, kept mindful but transported to another time/place/world ,with diverting, rousing yet soothing sounds and fascinating performance in wonderful surroundings in such a peaceful but joyous and enthusiastic crowd has been a real experience and one that will stay with me. It’s been like medicine to be honest. This band are a must see. Dream pop and makers of magic, Japanese breakfast managed to create some kind of musical awakening en masse tonight! Bloody loved it…floating back to catch the train now!
SET LIST
1/ Paprika
2/ Be Sweet
3/ In Heaven
4/ The Woman who Loves You
5/ Kokomo, IN
6/ Tactics
7/ Heft
8/ Road Head
9/ Savage Good Boy
10/ Glider
11/ Boyish (Cover)
12/ The Body is a Blade
13/ Posing in Bondage
14/ Slide Tackle
15/ Everybody wants to Love You
Encore
16/ Posing for Cars
17/ Diving Woman
FOLLOW JAPANESE BREAKFAST
FOLLOW BARRIE
Warren is a live music and festival photographer based in Cheshire and covers gigs/festivals mostly in the North West of England. He has been photographing live music for over 10 years and has covered major artists and festivals
