The Drums @ Manchester Academy
The typical New Yorker band The Drums are not as typical as they might appear. There’s an unusual mix of beach tunes, extreme preppy pop and that better side of the 80’s. I’ll have you know decent pop is hard to come by that’s not in the form of Britney Spears. (Questionable) I really got into the Drums at the start of 2010 and have so far seen them twice!!! It was a warm festival evening when we first met, in Leeds to be exact. When I heard their effervescent notes I bounced to the stage. Our second date was a wonderful Monday night. Safe to say it was one of the best gigs I have ever been too. They played their usual set which I’m now familiar with including ‘Lets go Surfing’! Their iconic song that parachuted them into the hipster world. It’s the song that made me fall in love with them and the one song that left me and half of Leeds festival heartbroken when they didn’t play it.
In all my gigging/festival experiences I have never seen sober crowd go so manic! I have seen bands such as the Courteeners, Arctic Monkeys even the Jonas Brothers. None of them were as high spirited than when at the Drums, perhaps the Jonas Brothers, but they’re practically Disney itself so what do you expect. To not be squished at the barrier by drunken adults for once or being leant on before a mosh pit breaks loose then I’m then carried over the barrier to safety, true story, Blink 182, was a welcome change. Perhaps it was because everyone was underage and the adults remained at the back, as they do, or perhaps it’s their poppy melodies casting a Florida charm over us, subliminally telling us that we don’t have to be intoxicated to enjoy music? I wasn't covered in any beer/water/human fluid which was a lovely surprise but the best part was catching, the lead, Johnny's eye as he sang away. He has a habit of focusing on the crowd like this, it’s his thing. Girls, I’d just go for that reason alone. One of my friends swears I swooned a little but let’s not talk about that…
Seeing The Drums play twice in the space of one tour feels very personal to me. I know all of the words to most of their songs and that’s without being a religious listener or memorising the lyrics the night before their gig, don't you just hate people who do that.
They’re resting now, but they’ll be touring no doubt next festival season and when they do they’re the ones to watch, you'll not regret it.
In all my gigging/festival experiences I have never seen sober crowd go so manic! I have seen bands such as the Courteeners, Arctic Monkeys even the Jonas Brothers. None of them were as high spirited than when at the Drums, perhaps the Jonas Brothers, but they’re practically Disney itself so what do you expect. To not be squished at the barrier by drunken adults for once or being leant on before a mosh pit breaks loose then I’m then carried over the barrier to safety, true story, Blink 182, was a welcome change. Perhaps it was because everyone was underage and the adults remained at the back, as they do, or perhaps it’s their poppy melodies casting a Florida charm over us, subliminally telling us that we don’t have to be intoxicated to enjoy music? I wasn't covered in any beer/water/human fluid which was a lovely surprise but the best part was catching, the lead, Johnny's eye as he sang away. He has a habit of focusing on the crowd like this, it’s his thing. Girls, I’d just go for that reason alone. One of my friends swears I swooned a little but let’s not talk about that…
Seeing The Drums play twice in the space of one tour feels very personal to me. I know all of the words to most of their songs and that’s without being a religious listener or memorising the lyrics the night before their gig, don't you just hate people who do that.
They’re resting now, but they’ll be touring no doubt next festival season and when they do they’re the ones to watch, you'll not regret it.
No comments:
Post a Comment