Anthony Szmierek. Photo by Martin Bush
Unlike comedian Louis CK (CK for “Székely”), Anthony Szmierek has the chutzpah to stick with his given name, and also the confidence to almost single-handedly bring back the faded-in perm and banging ‘tache combo. It shouldn’t really work, but boy does it. Just like an English teacher from Hyde mixing spoken word delivery with phat round beats… and even rave vibes … possibly shouldn’t work. But try telling that to Anthony Szmierek… or indeed any of the sold-out crowd at Albert Hall on this warm spring Friday night in the city.
Szmierek comes on to ‘Service Station at the End of the Universe’, the titular track of his newly released debut album and the gig starts in a deliberate low gear, Szmierek working the clutch to get the engine of the evening purring nicely. Gears start to crunch however with one of my favourite tracks of his – ‘The Great Pyramid of Stockport’ – Szmierek proving his credentials once again by managing to rap about the old Co-Op building on the M60 (soon to become an Indian restaurant) and include a line about Stockport Council. A pyramid structure stands centre stage and Szmierek climbs it to sing with the audience, and the evening takes lifts as we realise this is a flying car and we are all of us galaxy-bound hitchhikers along for the ride.
The band consists of Anthony’s brother on guitar, a suitably big funky bass player in a bucket hat, and the beats programmed from the back. “Take it to church,” Szmierek instructs, which works, I guess, because with Albert Hall we’re kind of already in one. What a space, what a room. ‘Yoga Teacher’ provides a good chance for us passengers to join in the singing, while the fractured beats of ‘Crashing Up’ and retro-rave keys on ‘Angie’s Wedding’ provide space for Szmierek to bust some moves. And he’s got some. What’s a real diversion, in our current age of irony, is Szmierek’s cover of ‘Feel’, by one Robbie Williams. Yep, ironic Robbie is a thing.
I first saw Anthony Szmierek at BBC Introducing last year when he came on to the stage at Band on the Wall during a Porij gig. I was already aware of a few tracks but this album, and the serious marketing that seems to be behind it, suggest Manchester has found its poet laureate, its bard of the dancefloor. Szmierek’s utter and honest joy at where his short career has taken him (he is just back from SXSW in Austin, Texas) is clear to see. This is hometown gig, with Szmierek checking old school friends in the crowd. “It’s good to home and it’s good to be alive,” he says, thanking the people who helped him.
Szmierek also sees himself as a man of the people. He goes down to the crowd and then into the crowd. Myself and my buddy are backseat drivers, up
Photo – Martin Bush
on the balcony, and at one point everyone turns around to look in our direction which throws me somewhat, until I realise Anthony Szmierek is standing right next to me, not breaking a line from his song. He proceeds to circulate around the whole balcony, then back down to the stage at the other end… there’s working the room and there’s working the room. Manchester… I am in you.
The set-list includes the first song Szmierek ever wrote – ‘Fortune Cookies’ – slow songs sung solo, phone lights like fireflies in the sky, and upbeat dance tracks sung with the crowd. He’s in an Umbro top and there is indeed a football terrace energy to proceedings, Szmierek even conducting the crowd to chant “Manchester / La la la”.
Some gigs have you clock watching by the end but not tonight. This is life-affirming: Rave plus 80s plus rap plus spoken word plus energy plus moustaches plus perms… these are rave poems, poems from the street and what lies beneath the street, late-night city music. Even if some of it is about Stockport.
Simon is a writer, broadcaster and countercultural investigator. Over the last 15 years he has written for everyone from The Guardian to Loaded magazine, presented television for Rapture TV and hosted radio programs for the likes of Galaxy. He has also found time to earn a Masters Degree in Novel Writing and write three books (a collection of journalism, a guidebook to Ibiza and one on financial planning for young people – the most varied publishing career it’s possible to have) and establish and run a PR company, Pad Communications, looking after a range of leisure and lifestyle clients.He currently splits his time between researching his PhD at Leeds University, looking into various countercultural movements; consulting freelance for PR clients; writing for the likes of Marie Claire in Australia, The Big Issue and the Manchester Evening News, where he reviews concerts, theatre and is their Pub & Bar Editor. He is also broadcaster, appearing regularly on Tony Livesey’s late night 5Live show for the BBC, and also for BBC Radio Manchester Gourmet Night food and drink show.Simon’s main focus has been music and travel. His career has included editing Ministry of Sound’s magazine in Ibiza for two summers and also writing two long-running columns for DJmagazine – ”Around The World in 80 Clubs” (which took him everywhere from Beijing to Brazil, Moscow to Marrakech) and “Dispatches From The Wrong Side”. A collection of the latter was published in the UK and US as the book Discombobulated, including tales as varied as gatecrashing Kylie Minogue’s birthday party, getting deported from Russia, having a gun held to his head by celebrity gangster Dave Courtney and going raving in Ibiza with Judith Chalmers. He has recently written for the likes of Red magazine, Hotline, Clash, Tilllate, Shortlist and the Manchester Evening News. Pad Communications has recently consulted for clients as varied as Manchester nightclubs and New Zealand toy companies.On a personal note, Simon is a Londoner who left the capital at the age of 18 and never looked back. He sees himself as a citizen of the global dancefloor having lived in Sydney, Los Angeles, Ibiza and Amsterdam. However his life is now rather more sedentary. After all his adventures he bumped into and subsequently married his highschool sweetheart from their North London Grammar. They now live in Stockport with their four children and four chickens, trying to live the good life. Simon recently turned 40 and is steadfastly refusing to have a midlife crisis – as in, growing a ponytail and buying a shiny red sports car.OK, maybe he’ll buy the sports car…
