By Jack Holmes
Yesterday the Star and Garter played host to yet another great lineup of musicians, all loosely linked to the Manchester hard rock scene.
Starting the night are Arbourdecks, who offer up an entertaining set and bring an impressive crowd considering they’re the openers of the night. Their musical style ranges somewhat, but is largely routed in a classic indie rock format, from the Smiths to Joy Division. Tracks like Darcy stand out from the set, but so do the outfits. It’s important to focus on the music when it comes to any band, signed or not, but as commented by the other supports later in the evening, it was pretty warm. Was a scarf and fedora really necessary?
They’re followed by Sly Antics, who would likely have melted into a puddle on the floor had they donned the leather jackets and winter wear that Arbourdecks members did. Having some technical issues with a broken drum pedal in their second song, singer Sam Hudson manages to easily entertain a crowd whilst maintaining an air of friendly approachability. Their set is talked about by the crowd throughout the night, with praise going to their catchy riffs and gruff vocals, aspects of a Sly Antics show their fans have now come to expect. With a headline spot at the Ritz on the horizon, Sly Antics continue to smash expectations and seem dead set on complete domination of the local scene, and again after tonight, it’s difficult to argue why not.
Peur follow and offer an interesting kind of hard rock grunge sound, which they play continuously from the start of their set time to the finish. It’s an interesting approach and although it doesn’t offer the energy or involvement of the previous two bands, allows Peur to present their sound as a show in itself, rather than track by track.
Closing the night are headliners Mohawk Radio, who’ve recently returned to Manchester after a tour in the US. Featuring an American singer, Mia Page, and Mancunian, well, everything else, there’s an interesting dynamic to their songs. Sounding like a warped Halestorm, Mohawk Radio’s set is packed with energy from hair flicking to throwing themselves around the stage. Page is especially adept at this aspect of performing and makes even the tamer songs feel rich and involving, causing the crowd to slowly move towards the front throughout the set. With only two EP’s to date, it’s an impressive set, and we’re all excited to see what they have to offer next.
We took a couple of pictures of the night as well if you want to take a look at the Humanity Hallows Flickr.
Did you attend Mohawk Radios headline show? Who did you feel gave a stand out performance on the night? Let us know @Holmesblogs and @HumanityHallows
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