I’ve seen some pretty strange things in
my twenty one years upon this earth. So you would
think that a Scottish man dancing around with
a stuffed lion on his head wouldn’t faze
me – right? Wrong. Unicorn Kid is Scotland’s
answer to America’s recent chart hoggers
Owl City; synth-pop seems to be 2010’s big
thing. Whether this is up your street is irrelevant,
Unicorn Kid is jolly good fun. Armed with only
his MacBook, a keyboard or two and a synthesiser,
teenager Oli Sabin whips the young crowd into
chaos. The real reason behind the “lion
head” remains a mystery to me, but look
beyond the crazy headwear and this guy is good.
Next up are the somewhat oddly billed This City.
The Brighton quintet are two members down this
evening, but have acquired a bassist and drummer
to fulfil the absent parties duties. So the real
question is: How do This City cope without their
usual line-up? The answer is simple; they are
fantastic. Unfazed by the shuffling amongst their
ranks, Chris Purr and co. do what they do best
– deliver their disco-pop-rock anthems with
as much drive and enthusiasm as they can muster.
Singles such as Black and Blue and With Loaded
Guns bear witness to the first circle pit of the
evening and while This City may only appeal to
the heavier spectrums of the audience, but it
is safe to say that This City will have won themselves
a new score of fans tonight.
The band everybody is here to see tonight is
Hadouken! Since their formation in 2006, the Leeds
quintet has created quite a stir amongst Radio
1 listeners and “grindie” fans alike.
Tonight, the anticipation seems all too much for
some, as hoards of half dead teenagers are whisked
to the back. One can only presume this is due
to excitement, not the half bottles of vodka they
downed before entering the venue.
By the time Hadouken! are five minutes into their
set, all seem to have made a miraculous recovery,
and the show begins. The sporadic tempo of their
music has met its match with the exuberant Manchester
audience and neither shows any sign of giving
up, this continues throughout proceedings and
the relentless energy Hadouken! show is only trumped
by those in the audience. Tonight, Hadouken! have
displayed that they are more than capable of throwing
a good party. They feed off their audience who
are more than willing to cater to their every
taste. Memories of a Scotsman dancing around in
a lion hat are quickly dismissed, tonight Hadouken!
are Kings (and Queen) of the jungle.
Unicorn Kid 3/5
This City 5/5
Hadouken! 4/5
Review By Ben Connell
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