The Front Bottoms have no time to waste. There’s a club night due to start immediately after they finished tonight’s set but instead of putting a dampner on things it’s added an intensity to proceedings that’s hard to ignore. After all, this evening’s show marks the band’s largest headline Manchester gig to date and while they can’t stop to smell the roses that doesn’t mean they’re going go quietly into the night. Hitting the Albert Hall’s stage at 8.20pm, the New Jersey folk-punk outfit jump straight into “You Use To Say (Holy Fuck)”, the plodding debut track of their mature (both in name, and sound) new record Going Gray and immediately get moving. The clock’s ticking and time is of the essence.
That said, the band (filled out with a few extra tour members to suit their fuller sound) do stop for the occasional chit chat. Frontman Brian Sellar invites an out-of-breath crowd to serenade a fan with a “Happy Birthday” singalong following frantic renditions of older tracks “Skeleton”, “Swimming Pool”, “Maps” and “Au Revoir (Adios)”. Reaction to these older tracks is a testament to not only the songwriting skills of core members Sellar and drummer Mathew Uychich but also to just how far this little big band have come since arriving on the scene in 2006.
It’s not all deep cuts though. New releases from last year’s Going Grey get an impressive welcome, with the Albert Hall transforming into a sea of peace signs and middle fingers during an airing of arguably the record’s most popular track. Even tunes from 2015’s slow burner album Back On Top get a warm reception, like the melancholic yet hopeful “West Virginia”, nostalgic “Cough It Out” and weirdly empowering “The Plan (Fuck Jobs)”. EP release “Wolfman” sees Sellars howling at the crowd before “Twin Size Mattress” – the band’s usual end-of-night closer – brings the lights down on their main set.
“See you at Satans Hollow?” smiles Sellar, nearing tonight’s 10pm curfew. The crowd cheer in response as the opening notes of “Twelve Feet Deep” take us into a brief encore and the addictive “Flashlight” signals the home stretch. Here’s a band that always seem to have had a soft spot for Manchester and as the calming sea sounds of Going Grey’s “Ocean” whisk The Front Bottoms away, it’s clear the feeling’s mutual.
Words by Simon Bland (@SiTweetsToo).
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