Rudimental Live in Manchester
Kirstie Newman checks out Rudimental Live in Manchester and attempts to fashion a one-handed hand-heart:
Arriving at the venue half-an-hour after doors opened, I was surprised to see how empty the front of the Manchester 02 Apollo was. Walking in, we were warned to keep things safe as thieves operate in the area. I wasn’t worried; after all, I live in Stoke-On-Trent, where like 11 out of 10 people get mugged every minute.
Despite it being almost an hour after doors opened, the Apollo was not even half full and we managed to be only ten or so rows back. It being his home town, Bipolar Sunshine happily took to the stage first. As he set up the crowd with his soulful vocals, the venue packed out. Bipolar Sunshine was an obvious choice for the tour. Back last Summer he joined Rudimental underneath Waterloo train station for a one-off gig. They spent the day mixing a new track and then performed it that evening.
Next up was Redlight and Dread MC. Finding support artists that will suffice a crowd’s hunger for the main artist isn’t always easy but, Rudimental seem to have chosen correctly. The pair had the whole crowd dancing, jumping and singing along getting everyone hyped up for the rest of night.
Rudimental started as shadows banging drums, hidden behind a curtain. Dropping the curtain to reveal themselves, three vocalists and the band, they started the well anticipated set with Give You Up. Full of energy from the beginning and wanting to make their set “original”, Leon made the crowd crouch down before the drop. This was a problem for some of the crowd, but not for me, those four squats I did in the gym last Summer must have paid off.
Before ending the set with the highly appraised Feel The Love, Rudimental performed many of the chart toppers from debut album Home. After experiencing Feel The Love on a bigger scale at V Festival last summer, albeit, slightly intoxicated, I was disappointed that the dodgy hand-hearts had been replaced by a sea of iPhone’s. Okay, I did have my phone up as well, but I made an attempt to make a hand-heart one-handed.
Leaving the crowd singing the ending lyrics, all ten of them departed from the stage. This wasn’t the end, it couldn’t be the end. I’d been waiting all night for Waiting All Night… After the, oh so familiar “we want more” chant, Leon called the rest of the band on one by one. Before performing Now, Hide and finally Waiting All Night he thanked the fans as well as explaining that “Rudimental are not just about the music, it’s about the culture, the ‘Rudimental Culture’.”
Seeing how the crowd reacts to Rudimental, or any band in fact, makes me want to be on stage. I’m sure I can still play the recorder – anyone want to start a band? No?
Rudimental Live in Manchester review by Kirstie Newman.
