CHARISMA IN OVERDRIVE | PEACH PIT’S RAUCOUS MANCHESTER SHOW

Thursday evening saw Peach Pit headline Manchester Academy 2 in a starling performance, in promotion of their fourth studio album ‘Magpie’.

Tennessee singer-songwriter Briston Maroney opened the night with his vulnerable songwriting paired with his voltaic stage-presence, morphing through the shadows like some celestial shapeshifter. Maroney fostered an amicable and wondrous presence, before closing his set with crowd-pleaser ‘Freakin’ Out On The Interstate’.

‘Magpie’ released October last year and has certified the Canadian quartet a cult fanbase. Each song welcomed a reception of awes, the kind in which friends turn towards each other with their head leant back in a passive exchange of ‘I love this one’. Title track ‘Magpie’ opened the set with a teasing of Black Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs’. Meanwhile, lead singer ‘Neil Smith’ protruded the stage with his later entrance, adorning peace signs with his hoodie up and sunglasses shielded on like a rock ‘n’ roll bandit. Whilst the newer tracks undoubtedly appeased the audience, it only took dropping into ‘Drop the Guillotine’, pun intended, to certify camaraderie between the crowd. 

A stage-storming light show, hosted by one of the most enthusiastic sound engineers, ricocheted the electric set.  Lead guitarist Christopher Vanderkooy indulged in head-banging half-step solos, bursting into its own flavour that the crowd took to like crack. The band embraced a slight level of theatrics as Vanderkooy and bassist Peter Wilton weaved in and out of each other as they swaggered across the stage. 

Throughout the set, the band displayed a pronounced sense of gratuity, which reverberated through the crowd, as Smith repeatedly stated the strength of the crowd, which is valid particularly for a school night. Clusters of friends circled around, swinging and singing across to each other the pure treat of this band, reciprocating the same thankfulness. Anecdotes creeped through the set, engaging n banter regarding British culture surrounding drugs and drinking. In utter Northern fashion, the crowd chuckled and cheered in pride and evoked possibly the worst performance of the night when the Canadian indie group started the ‘Lads, Lads, Lads’ chant. It is safe to say their career is in music and not acting. 

The Canadian cluster struck a home run of fan-favourites for the latter of their set, ‘Shampoo Bottles’ striking a mini-raucous, with a nostalgic wave dusting the crowd.  ‘Private Presley’ closed the set before Smith returned to the stage for a set-defining acoustic solo of the self-titled track ‘Peach Pit’. Spotlighted, Smith shrunk the room to mimic that of an intimate 1-1 performance, reminding the crowd of there only being one ‘All’ in the first chorus.

Peach Pit authorised themselves as the kings of a niche genre of men with mullets and moustaches in flannel shirts. Track after track, the crowd seized the songs with the same joviality of someone’s Uncle when ‘Come On Eileen’ enters the wedding reception playlist. With a spellbinding set and charismatic charm, Peach Pit braved the Northern welcome as they brought their Canadian couture across the pond.

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Gracie Erskine

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