By the time my favourite Brazilian/Irish/Norwegian and Liverpool based band All We Are took the stage at The Ritz, there was at least 50 or 60 of us watching. Thankfully, as their set progressed, the crowd and with it, enthusiasm did swell.
Playing songs from their self-titled recently released debut album, the band peddle a cool, rhythmic, harmonious style of music somewhere between The XX and Wild Beasts. Whilst the album itself can feel a little soporific, live the band are more animated than expected, including the drummer who plays standing up. Ebb/Flow, Feel Safe and Keep Me Alive get the crowd swaying, if not pogoing, and it’s a perfectly pleasant start to the evening. Even the girls from PINS next to me were enjoying it.
Obviously, the bulk of the crowd had come to see Mew (me for the first time actually), and it was a genuine mixed bag of ages and genders. Sadly, again the crowd wasn’t anywhere near capacity, with the upstairs and balcony actually closed, however those present were clearly determined to have a great time. All in black, the 5 members of the band arrived on stage individually, took to their instruments and launched into tracks 2 and 1 from new album +- (Plus Minus) Witness and Satellites, the latter to great applause as it is also a single.
What strikes already is lead Dane Jonas Bjerre’s extraordinary voice - falsetto or at least unusually high pitched, it has a fabulous clarity and power that I was hoping would carry the Mew sound in a live setting. What also strikes me is that I’m not sure I’ve seen a more unassuming (or even awkward) lead singer. He seemed almost overwhelmed by the support and love the crowd were giving the band, or as he is also a performance artist, was it an act ?
Either way, it didn’t make one iota of difference to everyone there who just seemed to go more bezerk at each passing song. More new tracks such as The Night Believer and Water Slides sat alongside older favourites such as Snow Brigade and Silas The Magic Car.
Next, and for the first time during the evening, Jonas strapped on a guitar and played the first riff of Amy I Wry ?, No from Frengers, and the sprung wooden floor of the old dancehall showed it’s fantastic flexibility , and again it was tested to its limits as they went straight into stadium friendly anthem 156. That was special, and couldn’t be topped…or so I thought.
The bass player and lead guitarist were the most verbose of the band, and again seemed to be genuinely moved by the adoration of the crowd, especially as they hadn’t played Manchester for nearly 10 years.
So after the final stripped down medley of Clinging to a Bad Dream/The Zookeepers Boy/Louisa Louisa, the main set was over and it was a short wait for the encores.
New track My Complications was first up, but it was almost instantly forgotten as the first guitar notes to Comforting Sounds rang out. This was a genuine moment in the midst of all the gigs this year and I’ve got goosebumps thinking about it and as I write this. If there’s a more euphoric, emphatic and blissful song to end a gig, then I’m not sure I know it.
What a fantastic night. Why has it taken me all this time to see Mew? It won’t take as long to see them again. Some people were in tears as we were leaving the venue (me nearly), and some people were on the pitch…. They think it's all over…it is now.
Keith
@kjsmith4082
