Ah Manchester, you've done it again. I haven't enjoyed a gig as much as this one in quite some time and will be surprised if any of the ones I've got left to do on the tour surpass it (although they are free to try).
I don't know what it was about last night, but the crowd and James in particular seemed very up for it, particularly in the second half. I think Sleepflower has been injecting some much needed energy after the more subdued album tracks of Truth. That and Motorcycle Emptiness have gone down very well. I enjoyed all the GATS as well, especially as James also briefly teased the intro to Symphony of Tourette
I also seem to remember him singing Frank Sinatra and encorporating telling a heckler to shut the fuck up into the lyrics. So yeah, I think the band were enjoying themselves last night. It's nice that Nicky has been more vocal and a bit happier as well. I wish all of their gigs could be like that, but for some reason Manchester tends to bring it out of them.
There were a few crazy drunk people being pains in the arses (of course), but thankfully the woman behind near where we were disappeared after the first half. For the first few songs she just kept shouting "CYMRU!!!!" over and over again...just in case it was in any doubt about where the Manics are from
A few not-that-great photos:
