Live Review: Bleachers - O2 Ritz, Manchester 22/03/2024
New Jersey’s finest Bleachers smash their first ever Manchester show, bringing nostalgia and pure energy to the sold out Ritz.
Jack Antonoff is one the modern music industry’s elite talents. With his retro, drum machine and synth laden style, Antonoff has been operating at the peak of his production powers on some of the biggest records of the last 10 years. But it’s within the live shows of his primary project Bleachers that you really get to understand the entire continuum of talent he possesses.
Friday night, at O2 Ritz in Manchester is the second night of the bands ‘From The Studio To The Stage’ tour. The staging of the set reflects this title, covered in black-and-white studio checkerboard flooring - as if Jack’s packed Electric Lady studios and brought it on the road for us all to witness. To the right of the stage sits a classic ‘Recording: Studio In Use’ sign. Everything about the stage setup oozes class.
Opening for Bleachers was Scottish trip-hop inspired artist Kaeto. Backed by a 3 piece band, Kaeto’s set was truly inspiring. With a sound mixing elements of Portishead and The Clash, Kaeto has a sound that is unmistakably hers – fusing indie, electronica and trip-hop into one palette. My favourite track of her set was the recently released single ‘Don’t Ask’ featuring some infectious vocal hooks and keyboard riffs. It was also one of the best mixed support acts I have seen, every element of each track was perfectly balanced. An incredibly strong start to the night.
Next up, Bleachers. The band stepped onto the stage and opened the set with ‘I Am Right On Time’ - the opening track from their latest self-titled record (also quite ironic as the set started 30 mins late). With 2 powerful drum kits, numerous synths, vintage guitars and of course the iconic duo saxophones - Bleachers create a sound that is larger than life. It’s quite unbelievable how unreal the show sounded. The band rattled through cuts from the latest record, following up with ‘Modern Girl’ and ‘Jesus Is Dead’. An array of saxophone duelling, Mikey Freedom Hart’s guitar shredding and Juno synth warbling greatness ensued throughout these opening songs. The stage presence of Antonoff is also something to behold - akin to seeing Springsteen in his 1970s peak. It’s miraculous how he goes from being the technical producer studio techie, to godlike rockstar oozing with nostalgic confidence. He’s a pure frontman - throwing himself around, standing atop his piano stool, and rushing around the stage to jam with every band member.
Older cuts such as ‘Everybody Lost Somebody’ and the Bowie-esque ‘Goodmorning’ burst the crowd into huge anthemic singalongs. Jack even played an acoustic version of ‘91’ for a fan in the front who was going through health difficulties - a true class act. The Springsteen featured belter ‘Chinatown’ was something else. It’s difficult to describe how enormous it sounded - layers of synths and the doubled drums of Sean Hutchinson and Michael Riddleberger meshed perfectly together, for the greatest wall of sound. It was probably the best mixed show I’ve ever witnessed. Even Antonoff spoke “that was the best performance of Chinatown we’ve ever done” and declared Manchester a “Bleachers city”. He’s certainly not wrong.
It was during the rare quieter moments of the set you got a glimpse into the enormous character of Antonoff. He could genuinely be a stand up comic, with his off the cuff wit and hilarious responses to heckles in the crowd. Mid-set rendition of the ‘Strange Desire’ hit ‘Rollercoaster’ felt like an encore, with the floorboards shaking and the crowd whipped up in a frenzy. Shoutout to saxophonists Evan Smith and Zem Audu who’s virtuosic and soaring playing was surely making Clarence Clemons smile down from above. Jack introduced the entire band during the chaos of ‘You’re Still A Mystery’, a trick straight from Bruce’s E Street Band playbook, with each band member frantically soloing when highlighted. True rock ‘n’ roll showmanship.
Seeing Bleachers live felt like what I could only imagine seeing the iconic touring bands of the 70s and 80s was like. Jack Antonoff has surrounded himself with some of the finest, like-minded, New Jersey spirited, players - and created a truly special live band. Antonoff has modernised the Jersey-sound, and brought the raw, spirited energy of his hometown to Manchester.
Words by Euan Blackman
Photography by Maryleen Guevara
