Live Review: Hot Milk - O2 Ritz, Manchester 03/02/2023
England’s screaming and there’s only one band to answer the call.
After a phenomenal night in London, it was Manchester’s turn to get their power-pop punks back on the hometown stage. In one of their biggest headline shows to date, Hot Milk are showing they have what it takes to dominate the country and take control of the radio waves.
Before the northern collective rocked the night, they recruited three acts to welcome the crowd and warm everyone up the right way. Kicking things off is the brand new fresh face of pop Clarence.
Only recently bringing his debut single to streaming services, Clarence didn’t let the newness of his career show in his loud and lively on-stage persona. He had bolts of energy storming through his body, his soul and when he wielded the guitar, through his very fingers. Wasting no time to sing to the crowd, face to face, and running along the barrier like an athlete, he was bringing his brand to the hundreds before him and the advertisement was successful.
Celebrating his single, the celebrity-inspired ‘Leo With The Gun’, he guaranteed that his first song will be his most memorable and his most successful. If this was just one-third of the support, then this is about to be a night for the ages.
Following on was fabulous ferocious powerhouse Jools. The Leicester-based group boomed onto the stage showing the divine diversity within the punk subculture; a case made when singing and dancing with bright pink feather boas while donning simple-but-effective all black outfits. Getting the audience dancing, their own unique take on alternative sounds is something that will get stuck in heads and feet throughout the night and beyond.
The five-piece fascination blew all attendants away with their energy and their visual captivation, and it’s getting closer to the main show. There is only one support act left and they may be one of the most anticipated live acts in the British alternative scene right now. The sweet and sour sounds, the soft and rough aesthetics, it’s all about to take off with the night’s final support. Welcome to the stage, As December Falls.
The Nottingham act have been on the rise over their almost ten-year-long career, and the love and care from all the fans was big and too strong to ignore. From playing the fan-favourite tracks such as ‘Afterglow’, to getting everyone on board the ADF train with the venue-wide changing for ‘No Money’, they were a band truly having fun with their music and playing more than working as musicians. Frontwoman Bethany Curtis looped her bright and bubbly personality into every track as she hopped and bounced around while singing her heart out. That energy moves from person to person, and she sprinkled it upon everyone before her during their half-hour set. That is what one would call the ideal pop-rock stage presence.
With the opening acts respectively coming and going, it was time for everyone to get ready. Prepare for madness, sadness, joy, and one of the most cathartic nights everyone needed whether they knew it or not. It’s time to bring on the guests of the night. Manchester’s very own children of rock and punk, Hot Milk.
Opening with one of their most recent hits ‘Bad Influence’, following on with 2019’s ‘Wide Awake’, it brings together the new and the old. The very beginnings and the current point in their unfinished chronology, a wonderful capture that will be the leading theme throughout the night.
The band highlight their career over the last few years with a full collection of their songs; from singles to EP tracks, from the most famous tunes to the little-known ditties that only the most hardcore of their fanbase will know as well as the performers themselves. However, for this one night, everyone came together with no divisions, no differences. All love, all respect, all family.
This show gave the group a chance to promote their latest EP The King and Queen of Gasoline, only releasing last summer but already becoming a popular play of fans and critics. Performing the title track, vocalists Han Mee and Jim Shaw were drowned out by the voices surrounding the room. A chorus of passionate voices took the spotlight in the right way, to show the fantastic four-piece just what their work meant to them. As loud as their hearts and throats could let them.
There was never a dull moment, and everyone made sure the attention was kept and the dials were turned up to 11. From sneaking in a snippet of Wheatus’ ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ midway through ‘I JUST WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I’M DEAD’ to uniting everyone with reciting the chorus to introduce ‘Candy Coated Lie$’, they know what the people want and give them what they need.
Cheers, screams, singing and swaying filled the O2 Ritz interior and there was no other way to celebrate the homecoming of their latest punk export. Hot Milk have teased their upcoming work, including an exclusive performance of an unreleased featuring track ‘Horror Show’, and if this is the direction they’re heading in, there are no worries about their future. Their debut full-length is currently in the works with no confirmed release date in sight, but patience is paid off and with Hot Milk, everyone will become much richer for it.
England’s screaming, and Hot Milk are screaming back.
Words by Jo Cosgrove
