Happy Mondays
-ACADEMY, MANCHESTER-
Happy Mondays played the Manchester Academy on Thursday evening. For me, the only thing that overshadowed their performance were the disabled facilities. The gig took place in Manchester Academy – a venue that is not altogether unfamiliar to a Happy Mondays gig, with them having played there on greatest hits tours for the last two years at least.
The band themselves were very good. They played for just over an hour. The majority of the audience were over the age of 30, but they proved that you don’t have to be 18 to rave along to your favourite music. The Hacienda seemed to come alive again, as more and more people joined in to dance to the music. From where I was sat, you couldn’t really see the band, because I was so far away, but you could definitely hear them as well as the audience.
At first, it seemed promising – a nice man comes to collect me in my little wheelchair and takes me to the second level, even allowing me to stop at the bar to get a drink. At the end of the concert, I am passed to another member of staff and put in a lift on my own and told that ‘someone would meet me down there’. No one actually did. Luckily I had someone to get me but if I didn’t, then I would be on my own – in a wheelchair, this is slightly terrifying, I think this is the general opinion about disability rather than the venue being at fault. However, they do need a better disability procedure because I will not be going back on my own anytime soon even if the advertised gig sounds really good.
The crowd that gathered in front of the stage swelled into a sea of people as it got nearer and nearer to the start time of the gig. They played some of their classic hits such as ‘Loose Fit’ and ‘Step On’ – with pretty much the entire crowd singing along. As each member played their various instruments, the lights around the stage flashed in sync with the song. This created a sort of club atmosphere, similar to the idea of the Hacienda which I mentioned previously. Hopefully, they will be visiting the Manchester Academy again soon because I will definitely be buying a ticket.
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Hello! I am Sophie! Previously Head of Music at Fuse FM, I review gigs and occasionally talk rubbish on the radio. Guy Garvey and Alex Turner are my idols. I have no idea what I am doing most of the time but I once met three members of The 1975 outside Manchester Academy at one in the morning so that’s okay I guess.
