By Megan James
The atmosphere in the bowels of Manchester’s grungy Soup Kitchen is euphoric as the four-piece Dundonian band signed by Island records scatters around the stage.
After a friendly “Hi Manchester,” from frontman Rory Fleming-Stuart, the band kicks off their set with brand new single ‘Fever’. The infectious tune takes a more psychedelic funk path than their usual indie-pop genre, and with the crowds’ feet stomping on the cracked concrete floor it’s clear it’s an instant hit.
Adjusting his hair while taking a sip of Heineken, Fleming-Stuart asks, “Have any of you ever been to Dundee before?”, with patriotic lead guitarist Grant Irvine adding: “It’s the best place in the world,” gaining a huge lion-like roar from the audience.
When ‘Electricity’ comes on the crowd reacts as if they have been hot-wired taking their moves up a notch with some head banging. The band’s childhood friendship is obvious as they laugh and dance around the stage with each other, adding quick jibes in between songs.
In such an intimate venue the band can’t resist a playful sing along to crowd pleaser ‘Ms. Jackson’ by Outkast, although intended to be a bit of fun to fire up the crowd, Fleming-Stuarts stripped down rendition of the top hit is mesmerising.
Instantly catchy ‘Deep In The Pool’ is next, with its memorable rifts and its stylish hooks, it’s easy to understand why these lads are referred to as a young Bombay Bicycle Club, who they currently share their label with.
Interacting with the audience again, Fleming-Stuart asks the crowd to fill the empty space in front of the stage, with Irvine jokingly adding, “I know we’re Scottish but we’re not that violent.” When the audience starts to shuffle towards them, they carry on the set with their bestselling hit ‘Lover’, immediately addictive the songs electric pop feel ripples through the already grinning audience.
‘Cold Killer’ is next, with no drums or guitar, it adds another dimension to the band, providing a mellow atmosphere throughout the dark basement. It is impressive to see a band blurring the lines between so many genres in one performance.
Finishing their set with ‘Innocent Love’ the indie heartthrobs give their all to the single, which was one of their first, adding a huge dose of passion into the crowd, resulting in an explosion of cheers across the room.
Although a small gig compared to the crowds they’ve previously had at festivals like T in the Park, Model Aeroplanes didn’t let that affect their time in Manchester.
Their passion and love for what they do seeps into every single one of their songs, and their fun interactions with the audience made them feel like old friends.
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