WATERPARKS // MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER
Tonight’s show saw American pop band Waterparks play to a sold-out Manchester Academy 2.
WATERPARKS PERFORMING AT MANCHESTER’S ACADEMY 2 - 29.01.20
PICTURE BY: | KIRSTY LEANNE PHOTOGRAPHY
★★★★★ (5/5)
Having seen Waterparks previously I was intrigued to see how their performance would differ from the previous times. I was intrigued to see them again. They were joined by fellow American De’Wayne who warmed up the crowd shortly after doors opened. The frontman’s contagious energy was a definite crowd pleaser shown by the unmissable jumping from the audience. The crowd could frequently be seen jumping with him much to his delight which only spurred him on more. The neon haired audience members are unmissable when jumping along to the well-received support set. As he stands on the barriers in front of the crowd, he spurs them on once more. He was a definite crowd pleaser and the room can be heard echoing in applause as he exits the stage.
The interval between bands sees the crowd sing along loudly to the show playlist, playing everything from the likes of My Chemical Romance to alternate popular tracks.
Waterparks take to the stage and are met by a sea of screams as they begin their night ½ stint in Manchester Academy 2. The energy the from get go can only be described as electric. Fans across the front row can be seen matching frontman Awsten Knight’s hair, a key indicator of the show I’m attending. His neon hair glows in the stage lights which made him unmissable as he flew about the stage. “Manchester get the fuck up” encourages the audience to jump about even more, if that was even possible! The crowd erupts in screams and continues to jump with him, the audience was always truly one with the band! The double dare medley sees fans sing and dance along even louder than before, a definite favourite in album terms! The entire room always jumps with Knight, it’s impressive.
“I wish I was royal but I’m not” echoes across the room and sees the crowd jump around once more. The crowd claps along when instructed and in sync. Knights charisma is undoubtedly the drive of the energy within the room, he spurs the crowd on, and they spur him on too. The bond is visible. He asks the crowd to open pits for him which they happily oblige, a giant circle pit opens in the middle of the floor which only pleases Knight more. The crowd are then encouraged to give it up for support in which they happily oblige. War Crimes sees De’Wayne join Waterparks on stage to sing with Awsten, this is well received by the crowd and spurs them on to jump around once again. Knight can frequently be heard cracking jokes and interacting with the crowd, this always maintains the bond mentioned earlier.
Awsten then invites their tour photographer Jawn to the stage and announces it’s his birthday, this spurs on a singalong. A truly intimate moment within a large setting. The chanting of Wonderwall sees a spontaneous full band cover of the popular Oasis track, much to the delight of the audience. “Now we have to play one of our songs after the best song of all time? Fuck you” he shouts as they carry on with the show. Awsten can frequently be heard cussing the crowd playfully, this only spurs the interaction on. Knight acknowledges the frequent and persistent crowd surfers by instructing the fans not to drop them. As the acoustic segment of the set begins Awsten says goodbye to both guitarist Geoff and drummer Otto and stands alone on the stage with his acoustic guitar. The acoustic segment sees all members of the audience singalong with Knight, once again creating intimacy within the large-scale venue. A truly special moment. Lucky people echoes across the room as the packed Academy 2 singalong with him. As the acoustic segment continues, he asks every audience member to hold up a phone light and is shocked by how many are in the room. The sea of lights illuminates the room and create an intimate aesthetic once more.
As the full band set kicks back in crowd surfers can be seen flying over once again. As I Miss Having Sex But At Least I Don’t Want to Die Anymore begins the room erupts in screams as the crowd jump along with knight once more. Energy can be seen radiating from the middle where the consistent pits open. Knight thanks the fans for being there with them as they exit the stage promptly to begin their encore.
The encore begins with a medley from their Entertainment album, much to their fans delight. The crowd can always be heard chanting along loudly. “I think you saved my life” echoes across the room by the hundreds of voices screaming along to every line with Knight. The audience can frequently be heard mimicking the band. Knight thanks fans for coming to the show and selling it out for them just as Stupid for You begins. This sees the room erupt in noise once again, the room feels like it’s shaking as the fans jump about with Knight. A clear fan favourite within the setlist. The energy levels can only be described as electric. As they begin their final track Awsten asks they open the most pits they have all night and jump around even more than they already had been, if that was even possible. The set ends with popular track Turbulent.
Waterparks put on an incredibly show complete with catchy lyrics and electric energy levels. They’re a band that keep getting better. One to see if you ever get the chance.
SETLIST: | WATERPARKS : MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER - 29.01.2020
Cherry Red
Watch What Happens Next
Blonde
Dream Boy
Double Dare 2019
High Definition
Worst
War Crimes - (with De’Wayne Jackson on Stage)
[Reboot]
Group Chat - (Sung by Crowd)
Group Chat - (Sung by Crowd in American Accents)
Group Chat
Easy to Hate
Lucky People
Tantrum - (Acoustic, Sung by Crowd)
Not Warriors - (Acoustic, Sung by Crowd)
Telephone - (Live Debut, Acoustic, Sung by Crowd)
21 Questions
I Miss Having Sex But a Least I Don’t Wanna Die Anymore
Zone Out
I Felt Younger When We Met
ENCORE:
Entertainment 2019
Stupid for You
Turbulent