Neighbourhood Festival, Manchester, 6th October 2018

The Hubbards, The Refuge.

First review of the day, there’s gonna be a few of these, but don’t worry I’ll keep it short. The Hubbard’s knock out non-offensive, bouncy introspective indie pop. They’re alright, not a bad way to start the day and draw a pretty decent crowd for midday. A bit forgettable though, aside the very charismatic singer, who seems very comfortable chatting between songs, something that can’t be said for many even established bands.

The Asylums, Yes Basement.

A little bit punkier for today’s second band, in a happy melodic Cribs kinda way. The Asylums, lead by a crazed eyed singer with Sideshow Bob hair, who tells us a few songs in that this year the band have bought houses and had children, while he went through therapy. It’s not clear whether this helped, but he seems happy enough on stage as they bash out a short set in the basement of YES, one of Manchester’s ever increasing list of venues. It’s raw in places, more formulaic in others, definitely with a 90s lo-fi feel, but when they let rip they sound bloody good. The singer even braves a spot of crowd-surfing, ambitious with a venue capacity of 60!

The Lottery Winners, The Bread Shed.

This lot have one purpose, to make you smile! Singer Thom is a big ball of hysterical energy! The guy should be on, well on stage! He’s born for this. The music is super sweet infectious power pop, but crikey this lot are tight and the set is a lesson in the pure joy of playing. I suspect it’s all about the live performance and if your not smiling by the end check your pulse. Check your shoes on the way out of this venue too, the Bread Shed is a proper old school sticky floor gem.

Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly, Gorilla.

Bit of a filler set this one before the next gig (review for that in an hour or so), but Gorilla is a great venue and a convenient place to be. The best thing about Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly though is their name. It’s a bit of a weird funk fusion mess, overly ambitious and rarely coherent. It’s music aimed at 20 nothing’s soundtracking their first holiday abroad without Mum and Dad. Feel good tunes trying to sound deeper than they really are. Pretentious toss really.

The Slow Readers Club, The Ritz.

So have I mentioned The Slow Readers Club? They’re quite good. A surprise late announcement, this lot will be hard (let’s face it impossible) to beat today. I’m not sure what else I can say about this band at this point, but needless to say Readers ruled The Ritz. Fully electric after the acoustic set the other night, these songs really punch a hole in your chest. Readers remarkably just get better and better, growing with euphoric confidence. An afternoon set in The Ritz now seems small for them, this venue no longer able to contain them. A bangers heavy set designed to attract the newbies in the audience, gives the PA a real workout and The Ritz’s legendary spring-loaded dance floor fights to cope with the intensity. Just magnificent.

The Ks, The Bread Shed.

Hot footed back to the Bread Shed for The Ks, all sharp haircuts and straight up indie rock venom. Hell-for-leather teenage angst and attitude. There’s the slower one to prove they can write a melody, but it’s the ‘let’s just shred guitars and throw rockstar poses’ that’s the most fun. Bloody hell I feel old in here though and the place is packed with ironic (I think) 80s fashion.

No Hot Ashes, The Ritz.

Once more in The Ritz, where the heat has increased, due to be packed with kids for No Hot Ashes. They seem bang into it and it’s... okay. Scratchy indie guitars, funky baselines and one member in a full Adidas tracksuit (they’re from Stockport). Nothing new though and my stomach is telling me it’s nearly time to find some food. That said final song ‘Goose’ is pretty damn good. Mmmm goose.

Whenyoung, Deaf Institute.

The Deaf Institute always strikes me as the kind of venue Lynch would approve of, the stage always bathed in pink with a roadhouse vibe. This maybe partly due to the bands I’ve seen here, so it’s a little unusual to watch Whenyoung in here, who don’t quite fit the bill. There’s no menace, it’s all been replaced with a sugary sheen, the drummer smiling like an especially happy muppet (the furry kind). I like them though, even with the matching jumpsuits (seriously). I imagine they’d sound great driving down an open highway in the summer sunshine, maybe on the way to that Lynchian roadhouse.

Spector, Manchester Academy.

Spector. They seem a bit out of place. The band that indie forgot. Fred still looks like the kid bullied at school, but a lot of the original band have given up and left. They still bang out unashamed indie pop and it’s brilliant, but the gang mentality is lost. The old songs light the place up as it becomes a full on indie disco sweat box, but the new stuff... it’s not great. Fred is nothing if not persistent though and he gives it his all and Chevy Thunder alone appears to have taken on a new lease of life as an indie classic, the room going ballistic as they unleash its verses in teased stages. All the hits come toward to the end and it’s fun, but it still feels like the moment has passed. Poor Fred.

Pretty Vicious, Yes Pink Room.

I’m full of beer, getting tired and even Pretty Vicious’ deafening punk snarl is struggling to keep me bouncing. The Yes Pink Room is bloody cool though and I can’t wait to see Art Brut in here (although I hope they sort the sound by then). Back to Pretty Vicious though, four kids making a racket (that’s a compliment), the bass player with a haircut like a vileda mop (that’s not). They’re enjoying themselves, as are the 30 or so kids down the front, but the room is far from full which is telling. Neighbourhood has been great, 10 bands (I think) in 8 different venues, but there’s not really a clear finale headliner (unless you want to queue for an hour to watch Everything Everything) and Pretty Vicious can’t really fill that void. One to keep an eye on though. Right, time to sit down, my feet hurt.