Manchester Orchestra
Subterranean – Chicago, IL
12/03/2008

Manchester Orchestra, a lyrically driven indie rock group straight from the heart of the south (Atlanta, GA), played one hell of a show at Chicago’s Subterranean. Opening for MO was All Get Out, Dead Confederate, and Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band where Andy Hull made his first appearance of the night. Hull helped sing “Another Bag of Bones,” (my favorite KD song) while rocking an official Chicago Cubs hat with a Kevin Devine hoodie and a Grizzly Adams beard that would suit the man himself.

There were 375 people packed into the tiny Subterranean venue after the last of the tickets were sold just after doors opened which left more than a few fans stranded outside. In support of their new album due in early 2009, MO kicked off the set with four new songs in a row squeezing in only a few old songs along the way (“Alice and Interiors“, “Sleeper 1972“). According to the band, the new record just finished mastering and it’s pretty damn good. As Hull stated, “I’m not a proud man but our new record is really good.” Expect a review as soon as promotional copies are released.

The climax of the set came just before the band minus Hull walked off stage. MO, accompanied by members of the supporting acts, played an instrumental circus that was “Where Have You Been.” Other songs the band hit throughout the night were “I Can Barely Breathe” and “Wolves At Night” with a finally of “Golden Ticket.” The only omission was “Colly Strings” that members of the crowd were shouting out all night. After a while, Hull looked one of them in the eyes and thanked him for the enthusiasm but “we’re not going to play that song.”

The bands are finishing up the tour on the east coast heading down south to Florida where they will wrap it up. Tour dates can be found on the bands website and you may want to get tickets ahead of time because a lot of the shows have been selling out the closer to show time it gets.

Popularity: 1% [?]