Manchester. The richest music history in the country, my favourite place. One of the most explosive grassroots circuits you can be involved in and Spangled offered a brilliant show case of this last Saturday night. They’ve come a long way to reach the stage of the O2 Ritz with a 1,500 capacity with no album released, no label and have more than doubled their backing since their last headliner at Band On The Wall last April. It’s been wonderful to see their social media series as they reflected on their road to the Ritz with old photos and descriptions into how they were feeling at the time. Spangled have accumulated one of the most loyal followings I’ve ever seen with fans travelling all over the country for this special night.
This affair featured an all-Manchester star-studded line up and first on the bill was 6-piece Venkappa. This was their second gig together as a band and what a venue to play! We have a future leading lady in the making with vocalist Abbie. You wouldn’t think it was her second gig at all the way her vocals soared with power throughout the room. The band were so professionally put together it felt like they’d been playing for years, they will definitely be ones to watch.
Keeping up the high standards were Montello, a band that keep cropping up on the airwaves and with good reason. Frontman Jacob Knowles’ vocals sliced through gliding distorted guitar riffs from Liam Conway and bouncing drum rhythms from Toby Devereux. Each song felt so unique and like you couldn’t pin them to a specific style but more of a blend of influences that was clearly working well for them as the crowd danced about and cheered along. Each break between songs was met with Montello chants and two fans had brought along a custom flag that they draped over the balcony on the left to the stage. It was so sweet to see how excited and appreciative the band were as they reacted to that flag. Their newest single ‘Suit & Tie’ got its first outing and the reception was hysterical; it was a great end to the set and Montello left their mark on the night.
The final support act came in the form of one of Manchester’s best band The Cavs. Making their Ritz debut they showed how tight they were collectively but each with a commanding individual presence. What has become a new edition to their sets which I never would’ve predicted a few years ago was the use of synthesisers in their newer unreleased tracks. It has added such an exciting element to their set alongside their classic indie rock anthems including newer releases ‘Headshot’ and ‘Hallowed Ground’, the latter only being released the week before. The dominating guitars from Chris Terry, vocal blends between frontman Elliot Craven and guitarist James McCauley, and groovy basslines from Michael Carney all tied together by the maestro Arthur Thomas made for an unforgettable but all too short set which the fans lapped up. They took their opportunity to announce they would be playing their own hometown show just across the road at Gorilla this October so make sure you grab your tickets when they come out!
All the support acts did a wonderful job warming up the crowd but now it was time to get fucking Spangled. Their classic “let’s get fucking spangled” chants echoed throughout the room, but the band weren’t even on stage yet. Rather than just playing a typical walk on song, they opted for a classic football rant from the iconic Neil Warnock before swaggering out on stage all looking very stylish and ready for action. As Jamie Halliday, Niall McGovern and Joe Kilroy powered up the music, frontman Ben Johnson hit everyone with random yoga poses as the music rose in trajectory. Chaos exploded in the pit as the band launched into the chorus of ‘B-line to Bruges’ and every word was shouted back at the stage.
A personal highlight of the set for me was their second song ‘Swordfish Trauma’ as Johnson belted out lyrics about musical gravy, Mary Jane and California. Everyone cheered to the funky basslines and that addictive drumline as a monologue about living your own life reverberated out of the speakers. The song is so nonsensical but so unforgettable with that brilliant chorus. The music video for ‘Perfect Recluse’ features a scarecrow which some fans took it in their stride to dress like for the occasion when this was played. On a night of singles that got their live debuts, Spangled played their newest single ‘Whirlwind’ which everyone went absolutely mental for. Distorted guitar riffs and bouncing drum and bass lines characterised this track and the band really looked like they enjoyed playing that one.
‘Drift Away’ and ‘That Farm In Dunham’ brought a slower change in pace amidst the chaos of the set as Johnson adopted a more sensitive vocal delivery and sparkly guitars floated across the speakers. The crowd swayed back and forth, joyously holding each other, soaking in every note. ‘Maggie’ and ‘Barracuda Cadillac’ welcomed back the high energy and chaos as Johnson manically danced around the stage and took on the role of conductor as he guided the crowd to sing. It’s a real wonder where he gets all the energy he has to move around as much as he does. This gig was a night full of treats for Spangled fans with the first 100 fans getting free Spangled tattoos, mine’s still in my phone case! The debut of ‘Whirlwind’ and for the eagle-eyed fans near the front they would’ve noticed a qr code attached to the barrier that gave you a link to a secret new song.
The song in question is ‘Made for gold’ which is another to add to the list of live debuts and it was very well received by the crowd. Until the next outing, there is always the snippet to listen to from the qr code! Johnson dedicated ‘We’ll Always Have Neptune’ to Mani out of The Stone Roses which was very touching and felt appropriate given the jangly nature of the guitars and the funky basslines in this track. Keeping in with the Stones Roses theme they played a shortened cover of ‘I Am The Resurrection’ which was absolutely brilliant. ‘Crank Up The Splendour’ soundtracked the end of the set before their walk off which was the quickest walk off I’d seen.
The final two songs they played were the best possible way they could’ve ended the encore with with the gorgeous ‘Good Life Better’ as Halliday sat down to play the forlorn guitar riffs, Johnson’s vocals reverberated throughout the room and many fans with tears in their eyes. The iconic ‘Little Tom’ had to be the closing track, what an amazing record it is. And they know it too with the inclusion of a voicemail recording saying about how it’s ridiculously sick. This anthem detonated mosh pits as Johnson came to the barrier to encourage everyone to make the circle bigger. With rap elements, swaggering guitars and booming basslines they put on a final blinding performance with an extended bridge to introduce the band and start ‘here we fucking go’ and ‘Barracuda Cadillac’ chorus chants.
What a performance and what a victory lap for Spangled. And as Ben Johnson put it, this is only the beginning for them and so it is, they will go on to conquer even bigger venues and deservedly so. A little old event called The Brits may have come to Manchester but that was no bother to all the fans that packed out the room. With incredible support acts and Spangled doing what they do best, the road to the Ritz has been a worthwhile one with a gig that will long last in all fans’ memories.
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