– THE WAREHOUSE PROJECT, MANCHESTER –
I enter the Warehouse Project’s Store Street venue a little late, and on my own and so have to somehow find my friends- this is no easy task in the refurbished car park, which looks as much like a done up archaeological dig as it does a music venue. The neon lights and futuristic sound equipment are a strange contrast against the dusty bricks and concrete walls. I call one of my friends – “We’re on the left!” they say. “Oh no wait, the right.”
“Right or left?”
“Go in and turn left, and we’re on the right.” I follow their instructions to the best of my ability and find myself face to face with a huge group of portaloos. “Which way did you go? Left? Do you mean your left or my left?” they ask.
“‘It doesn’t work like that, we’re on the phone” I reply, but by now the music filling the cavernous rooms is drowning them out. The bass is nearly vibrating the phone out of my hand anyway, so I decide I’ll go it alone and hope for the best. I try to spot them in the darkness under the constantly shifting lights. The projectors against some of the walls offer a consistent light source- they’re showing a range of odd videos, currently a time lapse of one of the queues entering the venue from Store Street. This is a sight that’ll be gone soon, as this is the final live event at the current venue, and one of the last Warehouse Project events here ever before it finds a new venue next year.
Finally having found my friends in the bar at the back after much wandering (I see what they mean about on the right now) we take a seat for a while. Not for long though, it’s freezing in here- one of the few music venues I’ve been able to see my own breath in. On our way to the main floor we drop in to the second floor at the back, an alternative floor with a constant DJ rather than the live music at the front. We stay long enough to appreciate the dancing of people who’ve had far more to drink than us (pretty sure there was a Michael Jackson impersonator in there) and head on.
We enter the main stage mid-way through Chad Valley’s set and make our way forward through the building crowd. Hugo Manuel, sole member of Chad Valley’s live act, is layering his own truly impressive voice over ambient chillwave sounds from his array of synths and equipment. By now the audience is packed enough that any ideas of being able to see my own breath are long gone.
Next on is Tom Vek – he begins his set playing a row of percussion pads for opener ‘Aroused’. His music shows as much influence from dance music as it does rock, characterised by breakbeats and electronic sounds mixed with live instrumentation; this seems a fitting bridge between previous act Chad Valley and Foals still to come. Vek shows his talent as a multi-instrumentalist as well as a singer through the set, playing percussion pads, guitar, and at one point picking up a bass guitar to join his already present bassist for a duet.
By the end of Tom’s set the crowd is sweltering and completely crammed. The stage crew are casually moving equipment on and off with an ease and collected calm that directly contrasts the sweaty mass in front of them. There’s a single desk fan sitting at the back of the stage, looking like a token effort to cool the place down. The anticipation for Foals is however a far more pressing matter than the heat.
The stage is filled with smoke and a wash of light as Foals enter- the band looks oddly like the cover of Foals’ latest album Total Life Forever. They open with ‘Blue Blood’, sounding just as tight and powerful as they do on the recording, which can be no mean feat considering the huge amount of work they appear to have put into the new album (see video below). Foals are masters at repeating the same phrase and building the tension each time, injecting more and more energy and then releasing it all just short of breaking point. As the set goes on the smoke clears and the lights get more and more striking to mirror the music, building to a huge laser show by the end of the set. For the last song singer Yannis takes off his guitar and picks up a pair of drumsticks; starting off on percussion, he pulls out all the stops as a front man, climbing up the amp stack, crowd surfing and tossing his sticks into the crowd before the rest of the band literally throw their guitars to the ground and leave the stage in a flood of feedback. This is Foals’ final show before going to record their third album as well as the last live Store Street show, and such a strong performance seems a fitting tribute to both.
