Mongol Horde and special guests, Manchester Academy - Live Review

As soon as I learned of this year’s 4-show Mongol Horde UK tour I made a promise to go, no matter the expense. As it turned out - expenses had to be made. This involved a 2-hour wait in Turing Tap bar for two no-show buddies, one of which had bought tickets for us all. I don’t own a phone so my best hope of getting in contact with the flaked mates was to get the bus home and fire up my relic of a laptop. Would have likely been more efficient to send out a carrier pigeon. I had seen the band play once before at Reading Festival 2014 – during what Frank Turner jokingly nicknamed their “Second reunion tour”. I had to sacrifice half of their set to catch Blink 182 perform what was to be their final show with frontman, Tom Delonge - so the compromise was worth it! This time around, however – my anticipation to catch these guys while I could, took command. I decided to go pound instead of penny. I forked out 40 smackers to a dodge seller out the front of Manchester Academy and begrudgingly walked in. All on my laz and out of pocket - my mood was certainly dampened, but what better night is there to vent if not at a hardcore punk concert with fresh acts to observe? Here’s what followed…

Rival Bones

Strolled into the concert hall mid-way through the first act’s set and straight off the bat, I could tell a lot of people would make a connection between this band and Royal Blood. I even thought their name was Royal Bones when I heard frontman, James Whitehouse introduce the two-piece, man band. In fact, their name is Rival Bones, and Whitehouse’s choice of weapon is a Gibson ES-335 6-stringer as opposed to Mike Kerr’s similar model bass guitar. I imagine that as this band expands in popularity, they will likely have to wade through a lot of tedious remarks concerning their similarity to Royal Blood – but it’s early days so I may as well get the ball rolling… I know I wasn’t the only one wishing that there were more bands of Royal Blood’s flavour when they first boomed, so I think it will ultimately work in Rival Bones’ favour. I also think there are areas of Rival Bones’ sound that are advantageous to Royal Blood’s. The vocals are just as raw as the tone – like, they do sound as if they have some things to be upset about and the current display of lyricism is quite powerful – not necessarily meaningful but serious potential, nonetheless. I’m interested to learn what they have to say or if they’ll dedicate their songs to vague subject matters and catchy hook lines. Rival Bones’ live presence was uplifting and attention grabbing – even to a room of punk and metal heads which I deem a typically difficult audience to impress - head bobs were granted as reward. They also demonstrate an ability for a softer side with songs such as ‘Lost along the Way’ where James Whitehouse’s vocal capabilities are made apparent. They highlight the importance of a build and well positioned use of alternate time signatures. Tasty licks are a must if they hope to contend for the guitar and drum duo setup. Find them in tracks like ‘Marceline’ and ‘Hives’.

I would like to see these guys make a mess and have their names known in the industry. On the other hand, they may also be faced with the task of unboxing themselves from a tone that people are going to landmark as Royal Blood’s. They do have the room for creativity due to their currently low demand and they are seemingly bringing something a bit more unique to the table. 2017 saw the release of their self-titled debut ep and the recordings do their live set justice. My eyes will be peeled to see where this band can take that sound – and I hope, even further than their rivals in royalty.

Good Tiger

Good Tiger have a different idea of chaos. Taking after the likes of bands like Arcane Roots and even hints of 30 Seconds To Mars – especially thanks to the calibre of Elliot Coleman’s lungs and vocal ranges explored and the almost math rock worthy beat patterns and changes which I have to admit, left me a bit lost at times. However, each time I began to drift from a song there would be a change of element that would reel me back in. They have a way of wrapping lots of surprises into a 3-minute bracket. They can swap between stop-start indie disco riffs to utter wall of sound and discord. Double and half-time changes will catch a fresh listener off-guard. This repeatedly satisfied the crowd of Manchester Academy though, as I say. Coleman even took moments to prove that a microphone is merely a prop to him. That man could be heard reaching notes way up high without even singing into the microphone. There’s something very sensitive about their sound. Like it could lash out at any moment. Their track ‘Snake Oil’ is no tame feline.

Mongol Horde

So, it begins. Hall filled, lights down and heads up! The warning comes in the form of a slowed down, high pitched dial phone – it rings. The same that introduces their final album track, ‘Hey Judas’ – a song that tells the story of how John Lennon and Paul McCartney are time travellers who stole their songs from bedroom songwriters and took them back to the era of rock and roll. Mark Chapman was sent back in time to assassinate John Lennon. Paul is left but the questions is - who will be the T-1000? According to the genius lyricist, Frank Turner - the answer is Keith Richards. This is the kind of tongue and cheek song writing that made its way into the singer’s side-project band, Mongol Horde. I immediately grinned as I heard that phone ring, and certainly not the song I expected them to open on! But I have more than that to be concerned about as the pits begin to open, the drop is only a minute away and I need to make sure I don’t lose my hat. So much carnage ensues and I and every other person in this hall is screaming the lyrics as best as they can while the crowd moves as a stormy ocean does. At this point my heart was beating through my chest – a reminder of my currently lacking fitness. Blood seeps through into my lungs and I can taste the metal on my breath (not even a pun). I’m covered in sweat that isn’t even mine. It’s brutal, but we love it, and if a man is down, you help them up - that’s the unwritten law. Frank screamed and boogied and admired as his fans reflected the lethal vibes that him and his band churned. They played some rarities too that left my grin to widen further. Tracks that Turner and drummer Ben Dawson were starting up their punk career on back in 2000 as part of the post-hardcore band, Million Dead. This is before Frank Turner’s solo career and judging by the crowd’s reaction to the ‘Smiling at strangers on Trains’ and ‘Pornography for Cowards’ versions - it was well received. Introducing the tracks, Frank joked, “we’re the middle aged, middle weight, Take That tribute band. But we know all the classics, even the B-sides’. Frank expressed how the band weren’t sure how many people would honestly care about this “third reunion tour” and considering the overwhelming responses on the four-show tour, a new album will arrive. Frank Turner told of the carnage displayed at King Tuts, Glasgow the previous evening – Burnes night, nonetheless. He challenged Manchester for the same. Not only did they play some of the raucous and frankly filthy new material, but they even played a melodic hardcore cover of Madonna’s ‘Like a Prayer’ and that was honestly so sick. Seriously – what an incredible night and all finished on the band’s anthem, ‘Make Way’. Frank Turner showed his surprise to the tour’s outcome and was grateful. As he introduced the last songs he said how he doesn’t feel Mongol Horde is an encore band so once it was over, it really was. Defeated and bruised, the sea of people made their way through the fire exit, down the stairs and to the merch stand. I, however had to save my money and caught the busiest bus I could find to let the passengers smell how much of a great time I had. Bring on album #2!

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