Manchester Academy 3, 14 May 2006

Morning Runner’s WILDERNESS IS PARADISE NOW is one of the best mainstream rock albums to be released in 2006, and is a superb debut – FACT! And while the album is blessed with a very ‘live’ sound, I just had to see the guys in action. After a couple of false starts the opportunity arose to catch the band at the small Academy 3 in Manchester. Problemo! I had to attend a friend’s wedding in North Wales, and the bloody photographer decided to 1) Take his time, 2) Take more photos than you could poke a stick at; in more positions and places than the bloody Kama Sutra. Now all this meant that lunch became dinner, I was starving but had to leave to watch Morning Runner. So, ‘afternoon runner’ took off like a bat out of hell to get to see a gig that turned out to be as special as anything I’ve witnessed in 2006…

But first another new band whose debut album was released at around the same time as Morning Runner’s. The Fallout Trust’s album, however, did not impress although there is one super cut called When We Are Gone. The small stage was crammed with six players with Jess Winter on keyboard and violin perched just above my head, where I had a great view of her pleasant ankles. Lead vocalist Joe Winter started tenuously and seemed to struggle, with his voice sounding pretty ragged. But he improved as the set progressed although it was the last song that eventually forced me to take serious notice. The song, of course, was When We Are Gone and the rendition was superb, with truckloads of passion and commitment. But it was the one and only highlight of the band’s set…

As Morning Runner slid onto the stage to a capacity audience I sensed a feeling of resignation, mixed with tension. Suddenly there seemed to be much more space on stage for the band to breathe, to express themselves… A superb guitar riff rang out as lead man Matthew Greener started his vocal assault, and that friends was that… It’s a superb song and in a matter of seconds the audience was seriously on-side. Greener was superb, and immediately impressed with a vocal of tremendous quality, passion and assurance. Tom Derrett on bass guitar, Chris ‘Fields’ Wheatcroft on keys, and Ali Clewer on drums provided a tight instrumental backdrop, and a live sound that is at least as good as anything I’ve heard in 2006.

By song two (Have A Good Time) the band recognised that they were playing amongst a typically friendly and knowledgeable Manchester crowd, and let go with two smoking barrels… What followed was of the best performances from a UK band that I have seen for some time, and eclipsing the likes of Coldplay, Keane, and many others I could mention. The band’s songs are bursting with meaning, melody and originality. Greener looked and sounded the part too and has to be one of the best front men around at the moment. The dark and slower Punching Walls, with its fabulous keyboard and drum backdrop, had the audience waving arms and inching further towards the stage to catch Greener’s vocal magic and dynamic presence.

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After an unknown song, Can’t Get It Right, the pace slowed again with a moving rendition of Hold Your Breath that had the many girls in the audience in swoon mode, and reaching their arms out to Greener. Then another unknown song in Gather Up that I understand is appearing on a new, limited edition EP. It was superb! The crowd’s response lifted the performance with each song until it could go no higher. The epic The Great Escape, with a fabulous drumming display from Clewer, sounded even better than it does on record, and finally convinced me that this band is so much better than anything new and British right now. It also provoked a punter to jump onto the stage and then dive out onto an unsuspecting audience who just about saved him from breaking his neck…

Best For You is a magical, emotionally-charged, slow song that must have affected one female onlooker to the extent that she dashed onto the stage to hug and kiss the messenger. By this time the band members were looking in amazement or puzzlement at each other as if this was the first time they had received such a positive crowd response. That in turn puzzled me… Has the music media downplayed or even ignored this superb band? Has radio airplay bypassed the guys? At least a partial answer came in the form of, “You’re our best ever audience, thank you Manchester,” from a visibly moved and sincere Greener.

Three more excellent album tracks (Work, Gone Up In Flames and recent single Burning Benches) were played from a band that could not possibly have given more. As the guys departed the stage the demands for them to return was unparalleled in my experience. Hands were thrown towards the departing players who tried to shake as many as possible. Within thirty-seconds the guys were back and into my favourite album track, It’s Not Like Everyone’s My Friend with its heavy rock opening, and thundering bass line. Ocean and Them Folk completed the show that I’m sure had gone well beyond curfew.

I’ve seen some great gigs in 2006 and a few that will remain anchored in my memory. This was one such gig. The band excelled in each and every compartment, and one in particular – audience involvement. I want to see the band again, in a larger venue, and I would also like the guys to give the USA a serious shot – I think they would create quite a stir and secure seriously extensive radio airplay. In comparison terms, the band resembles Ireland’s fabulous Frames, and of course they would go down a storm in the Emerald Isle. You really must go see this band live, before or after you buy the superb album… And I promise you, you’ll want to do it again and again…