SLEEPER + THE BLUETONES // O2 RITZ, MANCHESTER
SLEEPER + THE BLUETONES BRING JOY TO MANCHESTER’S O2 RITZ AS PUNTERS RETURN TO THE VENUE FOR FIRST TIME IN EIGHTEEN MONTHS
★★★★☆ (4/5)
SLEEPER PERFORMING AT MANCHESTER’S O2 RITZ ALONGSIDE THE BLUETONES - 13.08.2021
PICTURE BY: | IAIN FOX PHOTOGRAPHY
For many in attendance, this was the first evening of live music for seventeen months. Although the process of finding covid passes, negative test results and tickets was an expected hassle for venue and punter alike, this retro-inspired evening of entertainment promised to transport us back to a more innocent time.
The tour, which was supposed to run back in 2020, is a double-header with Sleeper and The Bluetones sharing the support slot on alternate nights as they criss-cross the country. Tonight is Sleeper's turn to go first. The run of shows is a celebration of twenty-five years +1 since the release of debut album Smart and the band play the record in full, along with a few choice cuts from elsewhere. Unlike The Bluetones, who are also honouring twenty-five years since the release of Expecting to Fly, Sleeper's debut is not as jam-packed with memorable hits as their next album, but the jangly groove of 'Inbetweener' certainly starts us off in 90s style.
The band have been fleshed out to a six piece for this tour but the more grungy elements of Smart don't really require these more complex textures just yet. 'Swallow' and 'Delicious' follow demonstrating a wicked verve and a crunchy panache that has been passed down to more contemporary bands like Wolf Alice. 'Amuse' is more stripped back and it reveals the recently reformed band's weakness. Louise Wener's vocals had a deliciously throaty tone to them back in 1995 but the range is not what it once was and the higher notes are just out of reach at times. Enjoying these tracks once again though, it's a wonderful reminder of where Wener and co's other skills lie; the album is littered with astute observational lyrics and songs possess a wonderful narrative structure to them which many contemporary bands can only dream of. 'Lady Love Your Countryside' and the fabulous 'Vegas' are cases in point.
They promise more from the Britpop era after the brief interlude and this is where their slot really takes off, with many tracks coming from the iconic The It Girl album generating a more sing-a-long atmosphere with classics such the wonderfully cool 'Nice Guy Eddie'. A seminal Trainspotting moment is recalled with Blondie cover 'Atomic', which manages to expertly shoehorn in a chorus from 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' raising the temperature even further before the band climax with their most famous track, 'Sale of the Century'. There is a carefree, party atmosphere by this point and this is enhanced by the band's children sneaking on stage to join in with one of the most memorable choruses of the 90s.
For many in attendance, they have well and truly been taken back in time and The Bluetones arrive to reinforce this with one of the most significant records of the era. "Do we have any roofing contractors in tonight, because you'll have some work on tomorrow because we're gonna raise this one", claims the band's wonderfully affable frontman Mark Morris. What follows is a thrilling example of perfectly crafted British guitar-based indie-pop. This era was littered with bands who attempted to take this mantle, but on this record The Bluetones claimed the crown. Just listen to 'Bluetonic', 'Cut Some Rug' and the slow-burning groove of 'Things Change' if you need reminding.
Time has been very kind indeed on Morris' vocals and the richness he demonstrates on record is still there to be enjoyed twenty five years later. The self-deprecating claim that "Slight Return is the song your mum likes, but we've always quite liked your mum" introduces the band's most famous song before the rest of the album runs its course, before a return to the stage and some rollicking performances of lesser-known moments from their discography demonstrate their perhaps unheralded status as one of the best British guitar band from this period. Indeed, tracks like 'Solomon Bites the Worm' have the crowd even more energised than the Expecting to Fly set. After a brief version of 'Every Breath You Take' the band end on the high of 'If...' and Morris and co. prove on this thrilling conclusion to the show that they have more than enough hits twenty five years after their debut to keep an audience thrilled.
