|
|
Whoever had the bright idea of moving tonight's show from the main Academy to the cattle pen that is Academy 2 had obviously miscounted the number of tickets sold, as the place is absolutely heaving tonight. Not only that, considering the freakishly warm and very un-Mancunian heatwave we've been experiencing over the last few days, the atmosphere in the venue is oppressive to say the least; in fact, it's so humid in here, even the walls are sweating...
Opening up tonight is the Far East Movement, who bound out on stage, all decked out in shirts, ties, and, rather interestingly, astronaut helmets. They're good at what they do (which is basically rap over other people's music and overuse a vocoder), but it's by no means groundbreaking stuff. That said, they certainly get the crowd going, so they're obviously doing something right.
As members of N*E*R*D start appearing on stage, the screams grow gradually louder and louder, and by the time frontman Pharrell walks out, the sound from the crowd is more akin to that of a boy band show (not that I know what that's like, of course...). The parallels don't end there, either; judging by some of Pharrell's on-stage antics, it looks as though he's been taking pointers from the Backstreet Boys in ways to interact with the audience, ranging from reaching longingly toward the screaming girls at the front through to ripping off his shirt. The band are far from being some manufactured pop outfit, so I'm surprised they've taken to such antics, but considering the crowd tonight primarily consists of the aforementioned screaming girls, all the posturing is clearly working.
Musically, it's a solid enough performance, but from where I was stood at least, the band, for the most part, couldn't look any more bored if they tried. Not only that, for reasons best known to himself, Pharrell saw fit to end the show before actually completing the full set. Having caught a glimpse of the setlist stuck to the stage earlier in the evening, it seemed as though we were a good few songs short, including, most notably, the band's most famous track, 'Lapdance'. Whether this was for altruistic reasons (he had voiced concerns over the welfare of the crowd a couple of times, due to the heat), or if he himself had had enough of the stifling atmosphere, is open for debate. Either way, the die-hard fans must have felt pretty short changed, but personally, it was a welcome relief from a lacklustre performance.
Picture by Gemma Louise Harris
TAGS: N*E*R*D Words by: Mike Perry |
