Blossoms performed their biggest ever headline show on Sunday night as twenty five thousand people trekked from all corners of Greater Manchester and further afield to Wythenshawe Park to witness the band confirm their status as a band that can headline festivals and remind us of the depth of their back catalogue crammed full of the very best indie pop around.
The first band we catch as the rain starts is Shed Seven, who promise to bring rock and roll as well as the weather, a curveball in a line-up of bands close to the Blossoms story. With their first ever number one album in their back pocket with A Matter Of Time, they’ve taken control of their own destiny, made clever use of album multiformatting and dictated their own renaissance.
Their set touches on both their nineties first heyday with Getting Better, Going For Gold, Disco Down and an inevitable singalong finale of Chasing Rainbows but the inclusion of Talk Of The Town and In Ecstasy (the latter with a guest appearance from Rowetta) as well as Waiting For The Catch with Issy Ferris from their forthcoming Liquid Gold album means they’re not just resting on their laurels. Rick Witter engages with a crowd down the front, many of whom weren’t born when the band first started, and they get a very warm positive response.
Last summer Blossoms supported Inhaler at their own big homecoming show in Dublin and they’re here to return the favour. They’re a curious band, an accomplished rock band with anthemic songs that have gathered a faithful audience that have adopted the uberfan mentality of queuing overnight and unveiling a banner with a picture of the band with a background of Charli XCX’s Brat album.
They’re a band, like Blossoms, that served an apprenticeship in small venues despite accusations to the contrary. Songs like My Honest Face and It Won’t Always Be Like This were roadtested in spaces not much bigger than the gap between stage and barrier but feel like they were built for big stages like this. The more recent songs like These Are The Days and Love Will Get You There from their second album Cuts And Bruises don’t possess the same raw energy as their sound develops but they still connect big time.
This is Blossoms’ biggest ever headline show, a far stretch from their early days in The Castle, Gullivers and Night And Day that they namecheck when stripping back to a five-piece for their first two singles Cut Me And I’ll Bleed and Blow. That they can now comfortably outsell New Order, who played here the previous night, to the extent a complete extra entrance was opened, is testament to just how big they’ve become.
With a stage decked in orange in reference to their forthcoming excellent fifth album Gary they take to the stage after a medley of audience favourites from the eighties to the noughties that lay down the influences that have shaped their joyous earworm indie pop that delivers an hour and a half of song after song that has twenty five thousand people smiling, dancing and singing to every single word.
Whether it be the simple joy of Gary’s title track that opens the encore complete with fibreglass gorilla and policeman on stage, any potential eyebrows raised at the slight silliness of the subject matter overwhelmed by the sheer unadulterated fun of it or the inevitable finale of Charlemagne, Blossoms take us on a ride through eleven years and five albums without pausing for breath. Twenty one perfect examples of how to cross the boundary between pop and indie.
Whilst the end of the night is slightly overshadowed by the Oasis teaser on the big screen - and it’d be a poor show if Blossoms weren’t linked to that announcement in some way - the roars of appreciation at the end of each song might possibly be heard up the M60 in their native Stockport. There’s no bickering band members here, session musicians replacing original members, just five friends living out a dream. There’s moments where they congregate on Myles’ keyboard platform and Joe’s drum riser where those who’ve watched their ascent from five lads in matching black turtle necks to this let out a little sigh of joy at how far they’ve come. Tom reflects on how they went together to big Oasis and The Stone Roses gigs at Heaton Park and wanted to do their own big outdoor show.
The stage set up is simple, the backing musicians (Ryan on guitar, John and Colette on percussion) perfectly entwined into the songs, letting the music work its magic. There’s moments of faux drama like the extended pause in Oh No (I Think I’m In Love), crowd singalongs in The Keeper and My Favourite Room, Natalie Findlay comes out to sing last year’s standalone single duet To Do List (After The Break Up). Ribbon Around The Bomb segues gorgeously into a section of Dancing Queen whilst Tom demands Myles gives “the public what they want” as he delivers the theatrical slide along the keyboards in the joyous Care For.
The most telling moment though is when they go from debut single Blow into most recent Perfect Me, one of their strongest ever, and all the dots are joined, the stars aligned and a decade of them being (Greater) Manchester’s most important band of their generation gets hardcoded.
Blossoms played Your Girlfriend, I Can’t Stand It, Oh No (I Think I’m In Love), What Can I Say After I’m Sorry, The Keeper, To Do List (After The Break Up), Cut Me And I’ll Bleed, Blow, Perfect Me, Care For, Honey Sweet, Ribbon Around The Bomb, If You Think This Is Real Life, My Swimming Brain, Blown Rose, At Most A Kiss, Gary, My Favourite Room, There’s A Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Call) and Charlemagne
lead photo taken from Blossoms' Facebook page - uncredited
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