As we are all aware, fashion pop rock is all the rage at the moment as bands compete to be ‘cooler’ than the next.  At the front of the queue is the good old rock’n’roll bitchin match between The Killers and the latest contenders to burst their icon bubble, The Bravery.  So can the New Yorkers cut the mustard to overtake the Las Vegas limelighters...?  Oh my word they can!

 

Tonight the support was provided by US rockers The Colour and Swedish punk rock outfit Mando Diao, who certainly delivered a kick arse live set despite sounding a little distorted compared to their excellent studio album ‘Hurricane Bar’. 

 

But hey lets not waste any more time and get straight to the real subject matter – The Bravery.  The hype in the Manchester venue was immense as we eagerly await the band who have received such critical acclaim in recent months that it now seems pretty bog-standard to see a Danny Zucco ‘Greece Lightening’ barnet walking down the street.

 

This band can seriously rock your tits off, and the best thing about it is they have such a wealth of hits in their locker that the gig never wavers in quality.  As The Bravery’s rhythm stick is wopped out on the adoring crowd, we were treated to the summer disco numbers ‘Public Service Announcement’ and ‘No Ring On His Fingers’ to intensify the already humid atmosphere.  This is soon followed by the climax of the evening as The Bravery unleash their masterpieces ‘Unconditional’ and ‘Honest Mistake’ to send the crowd delirious.

 

Lead singer Sam Endicott completely owns the stage moving from left to right with the occasional leap into the crowd to keep the die-hards at the front sweating like beasts.  And the other members are not afraid of to miss out on the action either as half naked bassist Mike H performs a first class stage dive before climbing back up to shower everyone in beer.  If this isn’t enough the band return for a powerful encore to perform latest single ‘Fearless’, a classic Bravery track reminiscent of Duran Duran’s glory days, with an added spice of soaring guitar riffs from Michael Zakarin.  Excellent.

 

Photo by Shirlaine Forrest