Last night I was given the opportunity to attend one of the gigs put on for the Manchester International Festival ‘09 at the Pavilion Theatre in Manchester’s Albert Square. The gig, put on by Same Teens and headlined by Mystery Jets, was exclusively for teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19, making for quite an intimate crowd.
The venue, a marquee put up for the Festival in Albert Square, was great. With room for a crowd of 400, a large stage area, DJ stall and fantastic lighting and acoustics, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in Academy Two or another specialist gig venue rather than a temporary tent. The only downside of the venue was the sauna-like heat that grew as the evening wore on – more fans or air-vents in the tent would have been welcome. In fairness, free water was offered all night inside the tent in a thoughtful and much-needed effort to counter the heat. However, the sound and lighting in the tent were brilliant, and all things taken into account the venue was a very good one.
The support band for the night was Televised Crimewave, an alternative rock group. The band had charisma, and the lead singer Daniel Wilson did a fantastic job in waking up all the lazy teenagers who initially looked intent on not moving a muscle throughout the night – at one point Wilson jumped off the stage so that he was amongst the crowd and jumped around with them for a while. While the band had good energy, their songs were too repetitive and a little boring. The band relied almost too heavily on their excellent drummer Craig Bowers to give their music any drive. However, the dynamism that the band brought with them resulted in a good start to the night for the Manchester teenagers in the crowd. This was followed by a fairly innocuous DJ set whilst the stage crew prepared for the headlining act of the night, the Mystery Jets.
Having personally never heard of the Mystery Jets before, I was eager to see what they would be like. The tent had busied up by the time they came on stage, and the atmosphere was noticeably more excited than earlier in the night. Immediately I became a fan of the Mystery Jets. Their music was interesting, their songs all had a sense of direction and, perhaps most importantly, the band looked like they believed in and enjoyed the music they were performing. Their set was relaxed, they were willing to talk to the crowd, and their music was really cool. Fans of Orson or The Kooks would like their music, but in truth it would be hard to find someone who didn’t think their songs were catchy. The versatility of the band, with band members singing, playing electric guitars, acoustic guitars and synthesizers when needed in different songs, added to their impressiveness. The crowd loved their set.
All in all, yesterday’s gig proved to be a very enjoyable evening out. Mystery Jets stole the show, but the intimate atmosphere and impressive sound in the marquee suggests that any of the gigs that will be hosted in the Pavilion Theatre in this year’s Manchester International Festival will be worth checking out. Below is a list of the scheduled gigs:
Same Teens – Mystery Jets
Tonight (Sat 4th), 7pm, 15 – 19 year olds only, £5 tickets
Amadou & Mariam and the Beating Wing Orchestra
Tue 7th & Wed 8th, 8pm
The Durutti Column – A Paean to Wilson
Wed 15th, Thu 16th & Fri 17th, 8pm, £16.50 tickets (£9 concessions)
Manchester Jazz Festival
Sat 18th, 1pm, £5 tickets
There are also free DJ sets every night in the Theatre from now until the 18th of July, 9.30pm ’til late. Have fun!
