On Friday the 17th November punk, grime and hip hop hybrid Bob Vylan graced the Manchester Ritz stage. The duo best known for their hectic live shows and upfront, political lyricism, visited Manchester as a part of their Viva la Vylan tour.
The last time I saw Bob Vylan in Manchester was in The Pink Room to a sold-out crowd of 400 people, this show at the Ritz saw a huge upgrade from that capacity with it holding 1500 people. I was excited to see how their sound would translate in a much larger, less intimate venue. I am very happy to say that the band’s explosive live sound translated perfectly in a larger venue with flashing lights and even pyrotechnics to accompany the mayhem the duo brought to the stage.
Upon the band walking onto the stage there was a massive round of applause from the crowd that must’ve lasted for almost two straight minutes. The band who are usually uber confident seemed taken slightly aback by the overwhelmingly positive reception. They soaked in the cheers for a moment before launching into their hour plus set of pure fire. Opening with their now guided meditation and light stretching which involves a couple minutes of limbering up which the band suggested the crowd join in with, it really felt like it was serving as a calm before the storm for the rest of the show. Following that was the fiery, rage against the machine-esque ‘I Heard You Want Your Country Back’ which whipped the audience up into a frenzy right away setting the tone for the rest of the night. Front man Bobby Vylan ended the track by launching himself into the crowd into the pit of wild, sweaty fans.‘Take That’ followed which is one of my favourite tracks from the band’s most recent album ‘Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life’. The song’s electronic, almost grime backing really exploded in the live setting as one of the highest energy moments of the night.
The songs in the set were spread apart with speeches about the police, political parties and Palestine, topics that were clear not only Bob Vylan were passionate about, but that the crowd were too with them being completely engaged throughout hanging onto every word they said. One of the highlights in the set was new single ‘He’s A Man’ where they asked for there to be no men in the mosh pit so that the women and non-binary people in the crowd could have the chance to come to the front and mosh on their own. It’s something I have never seen at a gig before, and it really put a smile on people’s faces of those who were running towards the front feeling more comfortable to get involved in the crowd. It was a really nice moment.
The back half of the set was packed with fan favourites including The Delicate Nature which features guitar from SOFT PLAY’s Laurie Vincent, Pretty Songs which takes aim at faux punk bands who struggle to stand for anything outside of their music and highlight of the set, Wicked and Bad. Wicked and Bad felt like a celebration at the end of the set, with sparklers flying out of the stage and the crowd deafeningly all chanting the chorus together. Its breakbeat drums paired with the triumphant horns in the instrumental are a perfect backing to the more hip-hop delivered vocals on the track which makes it come together to create not only an amazing live moment, but also one of the best songs of last year.
Following Wicked and Bad, the band left the stage to riotous applause and screams for one more song. The boys came back on stage and launched into a surprising yet absolutely euphoric cover of Nirvana’s Territorial Pissings to finish the night. It was a perfect way to close the evening.
The show was a perfect demonstration as to why Bob Vylan are not only one of the most important bands in the punk scene today but are one of the most exciting live bands you can see that are around now. They put on a live show that is so unique to them as a band, it’s truly something you can’t get anywhere else. Bob Vylan has truly levelled up their live show from the last time I saw them two years ago and I really can’t wait to see how they continue to progress pushing their sound onto even bigger stages in the future.
