The Broadcast,The Tides,The Tender Machine,No Computer Live Review @ Academy [1, 2, 3 and Club Academy] (Manchester) - 28 Mar 2008

The Broadcast,The Tides,The Tender Machine,No Computer Live Review @ Academy [1, 2, 3 and Club Academy] (Manchester) - 28 Mar 2008

The Broadcast

Live Review

You can watch an unsigned band every night in Manchester, should you so wish and it isn't easy to know what is happening and what really shouldn't be. Fortunately, I stumbled across The Broadcast in November of last year, as they were supporting The Reason (now sadly defunct) and I remember leaving that night, a little 'tired and emotional' but convinced that I had just seen a truly exciting prospect. There has been a line-up change in the last few weeks which has resulted in the loss of keyboards. Will they still cut it in the live arena? Before that can be answered, there are three other hopefuls vying for Manchester's attention.

I can't decide whether No Computer are under-prepared or just not very good. They announce one of their songs as being 'better than Wonderwall'. Inevitably, it isn't. In fairness to them, their fifth song isn't as bad as the fourth. The Tender Machine are nice, in a jazz kinda way. Imagine Portishead, with a funky bass and guest vocals from Bjork and you'll be starting to get close to the sound they make. They will never headline Glastonbury but I bet they'd sound great in a dimly lit, bohemian café.

The Tides make it a hat-trick of five-piece bands and are the first band of the night to encourage me to move away from the 'come on then, impress us' bunch at the back to have a closer look. This band have been around a while now and have landed themselves some decent support slots over the years (Puressence, The Bluetones). They already have a debut single under their belts and it is therefore slightly surprising that they are still only second on the bill on a night like this. Liam Pennington is a genuine front man and, unconstrained by guitar, he is free to make the stage his own. His energy is alluring and fortunately, he has a voice to match the stage presence. In fact, everything about The Tides is big and it is no surprise that they cite Oceansize and Pink Floyd amongst their influences. For me though, there is just not enough coming from the wall of guitars and by song five, I am getting a little weary of them. I wouldn't bet against Pennington making a name for himself in the industry. As to whether that is with The Tides, the jury is still well and truly out.

The Broadcast are the night's first four-piece band and prove that less is more, eventually. Twenty-four hours ago, I watched John Mackie, the charismatic lead singer of The Broadcast play a seated, solo, acoustic show in a small café-bar in Stockport. The power in his voice was captivating and the half-hour set simply wasn't long enough. I found myself wondering whether he could be as arresting again tonight, fronting an electric band. For a while it seems that the answer to that will be simply 'no'. 'Hold On' and 'All That's Been Forgotten' fail to grasp the moment and when Mackie screams "Come On" before the solid drum intro to 'In The Sun', you sense that he knows it too. The call to arms that is 'Something Stirring' finally ignites the set and this would have made a great opener tonight. From here on in it is truly epic. 'I Do Hope' is a brand new song and it builds to a deafening crescendo, with the power of Mackie's voice finally to the fore. The influence of Manchester heavyweights Doves is most evident on 'The Great Divide', a track that the band have chosen to record for their recent demo. The other song on that demo is 'Catch The Fever' and this has future single written all over it. When Mackie sings "Everything's gonna be alright" you just know that it is. Segueing straight into 'Lies', with its squall of guitars, The Broadcast bring the night to a close and not only claim victory from the jaws of defeat, but prove that Mackie was born to front a band, rather than ploughing the lonely furrow of a solo artist. Expect to hear a lot more from The Broadcast because something is most definitely stirring.

Mike Nuttall

Gigs for Academy [1, 2, 3 and Club Academy]

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