Live Review: Creeper - O2 Ritz, Manchester 19/03/2022
As a tour comes to its close, the band gives that final night their all. Closing their rescheduled tour in Manchester, alternative outfit Creeper pulled out all the drama, sparks and effects to finish in pure fantastic fashion.
Before hitting the stage, the crowd were about to get warmed up by Scotland’s own noise pop duo VUKOVI. Bringing the power, the lights and the energy to the Manchester stage and crowd, everyone was moving and singing; there was not one bored face in the audience. VUKOVI has that sound that gets everyone going, no matter who they are or what their tastes are. It’s a feel-good sense of alternative music and it’s there to create bonds and cause fun memories - such as this very night. Vocalist Janine Shilstone is a shining star in her own right, as she belts out hit after hit after memorable hit, never missing a beat and never dropping a note.
The band finishes with one of their biggest singles, ‘La Di Da’, and this is where the crowd feels ready. The fans are feeling pumped. The superfans are still hopping around out of adrenaline and excitement in its purest form.
It’s now time to enter the Infinite Void.
Coming on stage behind a sheer black curtain, silhouettes are formed to introduce Creeper; including an angel-winged silhouette front and centre, who is found to be frontman Will Gould. As the curtain is dropped, the band is revealed, and the wings are discarded, it’s time to kick things off exactly how they should have two years ago.
The beauty of Creeper’s recent live performances is how they’ve brought together their starting points with their more recent musical adventures. Mixing tracks from both full-length releases, along with standalone singles and EPs, it brings a spot of magic for old and new fans who are looking forward to specific songs and specific moments between themselves and their favourite group.
The live music was only half of the experience of a Creeper show; the other half is the dramatic visual side of it all. The use of pyrotechnics and sparkling fireworks; red, blue and white lighting to show death, sadness, love or pain; and even the outfit changes that both Gould and keyboardist and fellow vocalist Hannah Greenwood take part in throughout the show. Greenwood’s change into a wedding dress follows a live tradition of the singer taking part in an on-stage ceremony while she performs the acoustic track ‘Crickets’. One of the most emotional songs the band can ever play, it’s always a crowd-pleaser and it gets everyone singing along, tearing up, and cheering their hearts out for Greenwood and the entire band.
The sweetest moment of the night came from the performance of ‘Misery’; a song that the fans are famous for carrying at every live show. As the song reached its bridge, as Gould was prepared to continue, the crowd continued ahead of him. Completing the bridge section, everyone finished the song in this chorus of hundreds and hundreds as the line, “Misery never goes out of style” echoes throughout the venue. Everyone cheered as Gould and co. are left in stunned silence and near tears, as the frontman takes to the mic again to say how much he missed performing. He takes it back from the bridge to guide the fans through the rest of the song with his own vocals, and that moment right there is what keeps the fans invested in Creeper. Through the first album, through the hiatus, through the rocky release of their second album and up to this very moment, the fans love the group and they love them right back. There is no stronger proof than this.
Ending the show on “the first song we ever wrote”, ‘VCR’ and Infinite Void single ‘Annabelle’, it’s one last rush of energy to end the night on. ‘VCR’ saw everyone bouncing, moshing, and surfing the crowds more than any other track that night; and ‘Annabelle’ just saw everyone having their last seconds of partying before leaving and returning to their homes. This is not a sad finish, nor a “goodbye”. Think of it more as a “til next time” or “see you very soon”, because this isn’t it for Creeper. This will never be it for Creeper.
There’s no better place to finish a tour cycle than Manchester, and there is no better band to spend the late night hours with than Creeper. You are never alone within the Infinite Void.
Words by Jo Cosgrove
Photography by Amy Moran
