Manchester’s New Century Hall played host to one of the city’s own on Saturday night with A Certain Ratio taking to the stage.
Originally forming back in the late 70s, the band have a number of line-up changes this evening but still going strong are original members and multi-instrumentalists Martin Moscrop, Donald Johnson and Jez Kerr. Straight down to business with an instrumental opening track, the band continues to grow, as two of their latest recruits join the stage, with 21 year old Viv Griffin taking over bass playing duties, followed by vocalist Ellen Beth Abdi.
The band mix the nostalgia of the finest nineties Britpop influences with more old funk and soul sounds, which features heavily in their latest release ‘1982’. The album has a bit of everything, showcasing the ensembles numerous talents and abilities to play so many different instruments, yet it does not sound cluttered, it sounds polished and genre bending by combining so many different elements, perhaps if New Order went ‘jazz’?
Still proving to be immensely popular, the success of this tour is clearly down the dynamic stage presence of each member, which is a joy to behold. The audience, clearly excited to see the band on home turf are also treated to some of the bands earlier material including the Banbarra cover ‘Shack up’ and finishing with Si Fermir O Grido from their 2019 release ‘acr.box’.
The band continue their tour, playing in Nottingham, Birmingham, London and Brighton, before heading overseas to play Luna Fest in Portugal, and later in the year one of the UK’s top indie festivals ‘Shiiine On’ at Butlins Minehead. All further information can be found here https://www.acrmcr.com/.
Set-List
- Winter Hill
- 1982
- Get a Grip
- Emperor Machine
- Lucinda
- Flight
- Afro Dizzy
- Samo
- Constant Curve
- Yo Yo Gi
- Berlin
- Mickey Way
- The Big E
- Good Together
- Shack Up (Banbarra Cover)
- Knife Slits Water
- Si Fermir O Grido
