When In Manchester, one of Manchester’s most exciting and diverse multi-venue urban festivals taken place within the Northern Quarter. I caught Flood Manual, SAPHO, The RPMs, Faux Pas and Hey Charlie.
The day opened up with Manchester’s indie punk rock band Flood Manual over at The Peer Hat. With a mix of harsh, shoegazy guitar tones, the band performed a killer performance; certainly one to be proud of. One thing that stood out to me the most was how frontman Louis Johnson and bassist Lee Bond’s vocals compliment one another. A personal favourite of mine ‘Fooled Us’ shows a great example of this. The band provided great stage presence and professionalism all throughout, these guys are bound to go far.
Next up, I took a walk over to Gullivers to catch St. Helens’ 3 piece rock band SAPHO. Founded in January 2017, the band have achieved great opportunities such as a slot at Tramlines and supporting the well-known upcoming band, No Hot Ashes. Back for their second year of WIM, the band set their standards high with raw energy and harsh, heavy guitar tones giving us a stellar performance and providing tasteful, memorable songs all which really got the audience moving.
Moving over to Jimmy’s for the rest of the evening, Brighton’s finest alt-pop band The RPMs were next up. Having only been together a few years, the band have made short work of grabbing people’s attention. Making waves on Huw Stephen’s BBC Introducing, tipped by 6 Music taste-makers Steve Lamacq and Tom Robinson as well as taking up invitations to Glastonbury two years in a row. The RPMs brought a high amount of energy to their seriously catchy pop rhythms and frontman Jack Valero knew exactly how to engage with his audience and stayed professional throughout the minor technical difficulties. The bond between the band also stood out for me, especially between Jack and bassist Miguel Cosme, always smiling and dancing with one another. So much enthusiasm and passion was put into their set, these guys are ones to look out for.
Next up we had Faux Pas, championed by BBC Introducing, they have performed at a number of festivals including Leeds and Reading Festival, Kendal Calling, Dot To Dot and have been featured on Radio 1. Alongside of this, the band have achieved great success on their UK tours and have gathered a following of fans all over the country. Mixing grunge gloom with upbeat slacker indie sets an unbelievable amount of energy and an incredible stage performance from them all, I’ve never seen a band go so wild. 2018 is shaping up to be a huge year for the band who are destined for great things.
Finally, imagine Nirvana but a group of blonde haired British girls and you get 90s grunge pop band Hey Charlie. Formed in June 2016, the band have been making a name for themselves by playing at various festivals such as BST Hyde Park, The Great Escape, Neighbourhood Festival and have recently come off tour with All Time Low. Dressed in their trademark matching pleated red skirts, knee high socks and plain back t-shirts, the girls had an instantly recognisable look. The passionate trio mix grungy, catchy guitar riffs with a hint of pop and memorable choruses to create their powerful, bass heavy songs. Their set was full of energy and chemistry between one another and as they stated towards the beginning of their performance, this was their first time playing in Manchester. In my opinion, they certainly stood their ground and marked their territory; definitely ones to keep an eye on.
Written by Megan Andrew
Northern Radar 