Live Review

Kids In Glass Houses – Academy 2, Manchester

• 17th May 2010

Northern Ireland’s General Fiasco appear relatively unknown to the gaggle of teenagers gathered here to see headliner Kids in Glass Houses. There are a few bunny ears and ‘Let’s get Wasted’ button badges to be seen on the front row, making existing fans easily identifiable, but the rest of the audience seem hesitant as the unassuming trio take to the stage. These are three boys who are clearly here for love of music. Without a trace of arrogance or pretention in their stances, they introduce their band and throw themselves into the show.

Their sound is less aggressive and more mature than the act they’re preceding, who are famed for their pop-punk tunes and some may assume they’d be more appealing to fans of mainstream rockers such as Snow Patrol. However, General Fiasco are unphased as they proceed to showcase the best of their recent album Buildings and prove they are far more diverse than other bands of the same genre.

They set themselves apart from the pack with quirky, ironic lyrics (I’m Not Made of Eyes, for example) and an unpredictable setlist which moves from their signature upbeat guitar riffs to a tender solo performance of bittersweet track Sinking Ships.

Their debut single ‘We Are The Foolish’ visibly strikes a chord with the crowd and by the time they play their penultimate song, Ever So Shy, they have won the room. Arguably their most memorable track, it sees the majority of hands raised to the roof, where they remain for their last song – Rebel Get By. It’s a triumph which send theirs newly converted fans to wait eagerly for them to appear at the merch table. If the rest of this tour is equally successful, next time General Fiasco play here it will be a sold-out headline tour of their own.

Everybody in the building crams back into the room as soon as the lights go down for Kids In Glass Houses. The stage looks wonderfully weird, with fairy lights and flowers which are in-keeping with the new album (Dirt) artwork and appeal to the audience, a large proportion of which is teenage girls in jeggings and KIGH t-shirts. The band themselves are very well turned out in outfits which complement one another without matching too much, and they ooze professionalism as they launch themselves into the set.

It’s obvious the new album has been well-received when the crowd goes wild for song after song, with Aled playing the role of the front man perfectly, coaxing the crowd to jump higher and sing louder than last night’s crowd. The rest of the band may not interact with the crowd as much, but it’s evident in their stances and faces that they are just as pleased to be here and they perform beautifully, almost as a single organism, with Aled’s distinctive vocals sounding particularly strong.

The only song from the new album that lacks something live is Undercover Lover, but perhaps that’s due to the absence of a female vocalist (The Saturdays’ Frankie features on the track on the album). Some old favourites from their first album are played, including ever-popular Me Me Me but notably (and disappointingly!) absent from the set is Easy Tiger – though the encore includes Saturday, a song which never fails to get a room moving in time. Despite the fact the band have been playing for around an hour, and it’s now past at least half the audience’s bedtime, there’s no sign of either flagging as the band close with recently released single Sunshine. It’s a feel-good anthem of positive thinking and the whole Academy radiates energy and enjoyment.

Thunderous applause and screams for a further encore when they finally depart suggest the Kids have got their foot another rung up the fame ladder, as a rosy-cheeked audience reluctantly filter out, still breathlessly singing their favourite songs to one other.