Live Review: Will Joseph Cook - Deaf Institute, Manchester 17/09/2019
Indie hit-maker Will Joseph Cook finally made a return to Manchester after two years and treated his fans to a special set at the Deaf Institute on Tuesday night. After a long hiatus from releasing new music, Cook teased his audience with the freshest tracks from his upcoming record, as well as his biggest hits.
Opening up was 19-year-old London based Matilda Mann, a singer-songwriter who played her most popular tracks such as ‘Blindly Blue’ and ‘Forget Me Not, which energized the Manchester crowd ready for the headline act.
Screams filled the tiny venue as Will Joseph Cook finally bounced onto the stage with his band, apologizing for waiting so long to return to Manchester, but promising a great show as it was the last night of his four date UK tour. Starting with ‘Sweet Dreamer’, the crowd chimed in from his first note as they proved their love for the artist by singing every lyric. Cook is known for his feel-good, summery vibe in his music, and the atmosphere of this performance was no different.
Playing hit after hit, with ‘Take Me Dancing’ following next, it was brilliant to hear his most loved and popular tracks after such a long break from performing. ‘Hey Brother’ had the audience singing not only the lyrics, but the infectious bass rhythm of the track. Cook introduced the next song, ‘Dragon’, as his next single, to be out the following day. The poppy beat and feel good vibes never fail with this artist, as evident in the new single.
Will Joseph Cook knew which tracks would make his audience go wild, treating them to ‘Daisy Chains’ and the ever beautiful lyrics of ‘Habit’. He spoke of his next unreleased song, ‘Something to Feel Good About’, by aptly stating ‘this next song is about something to feel good about, without giving too much away’. Cook intertwined his most popular hits well with the tracks off the unreleased record, meaning that his crowd were constantly teased with new music and then surprised by their favorite songs, such as ‘Girls Like Me’. He dedicated his performance of ‘Biggest Fan’ to his own loyal fans, and exclaimed ‘Manchester you’ve been f*****g amazing!’.
‘21’, ‘Fish’, and ‘Beach’ followed, while the artist spoke about having a jaeger bomb to celebrate the last night of tour, just before promptly being handed one on stage. Finishing off with the unreleased tracks ‘Proof Enough’ and ‘Where is My Heart?’, The artist and his band left their audience cheering, as his happy fans spilled out of the venue. A Will Joseph Cook gig will never fail to leave you in the happiest mood, making it is an unmissable one.
Words and Photography by Jess Foster
