WORDS BY JANET HARDING / IMAGES WARREN MILLAR
Reef ‘Shoot me your Ace’ tour with special guests ‘A’ and Gorilla Riot at the 02 Ritz, Manchester Reef ‘Shoot me your Ace’ tour with special guests ‘A’ and Gorilla Riot at the 02 Ritz, Manchester Saturday 9th April 2021
Reef, I think it’s pretty safe to say, are one of THE biggest rock bands to come out of the UK. I think it’s also safe to say they are gonna tear the house down. What could be better on this cold and windy Saturday night than a trip to the vibrant Manchester to visit the wonderful 02 Ritz for what promises to be an epic night of live music? I’ve been so looking forward to this one – epic rock kings, Reef. Of course it’s gonna go off! but we also have ‘A’…not to be missed, guaranteed a great performance, but also Gorilla Riot…nice! A solid choice for a headline of this calibre.
The 02 Ritz is a great venue, I like it a lot, sitting perfectly in situ for any city centre needs, it’s right near the train station and several bars/coffee shops. Its glorious, art deco facade is a familiar part of Manchester’s rich cultural and architectural heritage. It’s a mainly standing venue, which suits a headline like Reef – I’m guessing no one’s gonna be seated once those tunes start! You get a great atmosphere in here, real gig feels of excitement mounting, of a crowd building as the area fills up, then once at capacity it honestly feels like the entire place is a mosh pit…it’s great for the live band experience.
First support – Gorilla Riot
Arjun Bhishma (vocals/guitar)
Liam Henry (guitar/vocals)
Charly T. (guitar/vocals)
Deggy (bass)
Will Lewis (drums)
This is one hard hitting, razor edged gift from the rock gods…Gorilla Riot are everything you could ever want in a rock band! The sound and feel, the very essence of this band careers at us from on stage…it’s like a musical cannon being fired at us – definitive rock vibes, very reminiscent of that whole 80s American, classic rock feel. It’s the sound track of hot summers and road trips, of blockbuster movies – already feeling like anthems, these songs really hit us. It’s upbeat, it’s lively, it’s going down very well. Excellently performed, very tight instrumentally and really listenable.
The guys look so at home up on stage, very at ease and every inch the rock stars! Very cool vibes. Vocals are on point, very strong, that throaty edge, that real growl we love that comes with rock. I can detect a vast range of influences, and a real mixture of sounds: country, blues, soft rock, metal, even sometimes I get a hint of Americana along with alt rock and just a hint of psych. It all binds together brilliantly.
It’s a great set. We feel this sound, the vibrations travelling up through your feet, up into your body. It’s ‘want more’, ‘must see’. Such an endorphin filled, euphoric set, so much energy, power and passion goes into this. All band members are giving their all, bouncing around. There s great audience interaction and as a band they’re really likeable. Perfect start to the night. Brilliant, fast paced performance. Loved it. Thank you, Gorilla Riot.
Set List:
1/ Kerosene Clown.
2/ Most Wanted.
3/ Last Hymn.
4/ Blush.
5/ Bad Son.
6/ Dirty.
Second Support – A
Jason Perry (lead vocals)
Adam Perry (drums)
Giles Perry (keyboards, backing)
Now this is a good one. I must say when I heard that ‘A’ would be joining Reef on this tour I was genuinely made up! Known for their exuberant energy during performance, this is another fast set from the off. London based ‘A’ has an exciting sound, it’s something completely different, coming at us at 100 mph; it’s an energetic tornado of a sound/performance…fizzing, erupting, exploding on stage into a set that none of us is likely to forget in a hurry! The sound is brilliant, they capture our full attention – fascinating to watch – it’s no holds barred, hard rock, doom/dance, synth and electro…verging on dance and a punk stamp or edge, but with hip hop sections and shouted words. It all fits together and creates one epic sound… a whirlwind of vibrancy and luminosity bouncing around on stage before us. The vocals are free and easy, light and cheery, but then we have shouted punctuations, the effect is outstanding. The energy is fresh, raw, it’s high vibe all the way. It’s announced that a guitarist unfortunately has Covid so couldn’t perform, but that a sound tech has stood in last minute, learning 11 songs at super short notice – we would never know! Sound tech guy…you are a legend! You fit seamlessly into this performance, we honestly would never have known! Bouncing around and putting so much energy in, you honestly looked like part of the regular line up, and it sounded damn fine too.
‘A’ certainly brought the party feel tonight, it’s positively banging in here now. Thank you for a breathtaking set. As a crowd, we’ve loved every second…what a sound, what a band!
Set List:
1/ Took it Away.
2/ Something’s going on.
3/ Starbucks.
4/ Old Folks.
5/ I love Lake Tahoe.
6/ Foghorn. 7/ Nothing.
Reef – Headliner
Gary Stringer (vocals/guitar)
Jesse Woods (lead guitar)
Jack Bessant (bass)
In total darkness, in a raging sea of bouncing bodies, the chants of “Reef, Reef, Reef” are getting louder. Foot stamping on a massive level is now added into the mix, and when the guys (and gal) from Reef appear on stage and pick up their instruments this blistering energy soars and the noise level goes up! As the lights go on the screams are incomprehensible. The feel of excitement in here is one of contained energy about to be released. We’re on the edge of something and it’s about to go off.
As the first chords of ‘Shoot me your Ace’ are played, it indeed does go off…and it goes off big time! This band have poured musical accelerant onto this fire of unbridled excitement as this set begins. WOW! What presence, what sound, it’s really something else. Just the very stature of front man, Gary Stringer, is legendary, and he commands this stage! The sound, well, those jagged, rip roaring guitar lines, hammering drum beats like a machine gun being fired, that thunderous, thumping bass line…and the vocal…that voice! Unmistakeable, iconic, legendary. This sound gives us goose pimples…it’s primal, it’s loud, you feel it in your bones, it’s rock at its very best. This crowd are devouring it and are hungry for more. Honestly, we can’t take our eyes off this band, the stage presence is immense, it’s another level. Passionate, joyous, energetic, guitar swinging, horsing about the stage, gesticulating and signalling to the crowd, playing up to and posing for photographers and to fans filming on phones. These guys are cool, they ooze charisma, they’ve just ‘got it’ and that’s that..real rock stars.
Tonight is the 3rd date of the latest UK tour, to coincide with the release of the latest album ‘Shoot me your Ace’ produced by equally legendary Andy Taylor of Duran Duran. This is Reef’s 6th studio performance. It’s something special, it feels somewhat heavier, a slight change in direction…it’s bloody brilliant! This heavy/metal feeling edge works well with Reef’s famous, hard hitting, guitar driven style, and Gary’s famously edgy vocals are made for this…guttural, throaty, with a real grate, gravelly and deep with that amazing roar that comes from deep within. Live before us here, his voice is even more impressive – honestly it’s perfection. This guy sure can sing, and sing he does. It blows us away – loud, full, far reaching. strutting about on stage, batting the mic stand about, then leaving it centre stage, swinging to and fro like a pendulum while he stands behind it facing the drummer, shaking his butt and dancing around.
Singing directly to Zoe (crowd member standing next to me) …he’s squatting down, directly opposite her, dancing in time and waving at her as they sing to each other. It’s a moment she’ll treasure. Dancing with guitarists and swinging the mic around over the first few rows of the audience, it’s a real show! This is exactly why we came! It’s now an ocean of moshing, bobbing heads as far as can be seen and the screams are just another level.
But once the famous intro of that iconic track ‘Place your hands’ begins to play, it ups the ante and we go up another few notches…it’s a fan favourite, a real crowd pleaser (among many tonight). Everyone’s clapping in time as Gary belts out the lines, the entire venue are singing along and hands are up in the air for the hooks…put your hands on, put your hands on…it’s beyond amazing to be a part of this, words can’t describe the feels.. it’s iconic, the song of generations, life times…it’s explosive! Songs like ‘Wolf man’ and ‘Naked’ keep the feels up and before we know it, sadly, it’s over…but Reef are back on stage with an encore – an utterly heart stopping cover of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘The Chain’ – making this truly their own… it’s another that goes off the musical Richter scale…the guitar solo really showed off Jesse (Woods)’s skills as guitarist…not only a badass drummer ! and the bass from Jack Bessant… scorching…and he s gotta be THE coolest bassist ever (just saying). All in all I and the rest of this crowd am left feeling totally in awe, slightly bedraggled, covered in beer and bruised and battered…but amazing!! This is the stuff gigs are made of. What a band!
Breathtaking, inspiring, show-stopping, nonstop set from start to finish. Something very special, memorable and a true gift to treasure. Reef you ARE legends, rock gods, cool as fuck and can play like hell too!
SET LIST
1/ SHOOT ME YOUR ACE
2/ STONE FOR YOUR LOVE
3/ NAKED
4/ HIGHER VIBRATION
5/ CONSIDERATION
6/ RIGHT ON
7/ I’VE GOT SOMETHING TO SAY
8/ PLACE YOUR HANDS
9/ NEW BIRD
10/ BEST OF ME
11/ I WOULD HAVE LEFT YOU
12/ LUCKY NUMBER
13/ PRECIOUS METAL
14/ DON’T YOU LIKE IT
15/ SUMMER’S IN BLOOM
16/ REVELATION
17/ WOLFMAN
18/ YER OLD
19/ END
ENCORE
20/ THE CHAIN
21/ GOOD FEELING
22/ I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY WILL DO
FOLLOW REEF
FOLLOW GORILLA RIOT
A
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
