Words: Louis Barrett
First on stage were Rascalton, a four piece from Glasgow who brought huge amounts of energy to the beginning of the night. Among the madness and some general hiccups throughout their set they remained tight and presented sweet, melodic riffs and licks along with some catchy call and response. ‘Lust’ is a stand out track and a perfect example of their classic British style.
Benjamin Booker needed no introduction and didn’t even give one; he casually strolled on stage and proceeded to play a seriously slick set. Starting with ‘Slow Drag Under’ you could tell by his individual husky vocals and gospel like style it couldn’t be anyone else but him. The fact he chose to have no backing vocals or harmonies whatsoever shows how strong the tone of his voice is on its own. The four piece from LA played song after song with almost no space in-between, keeping the crowd on a high of continuous bouncing bass-lines. You can feel the soul and passion Booker puts into his music through standout track from his most recent album ‘Believe’ as the dynamics of the set shift and become calm.
Gorilla is one of my favourite venues in Manchester, every time I’ve seen a gig here I’ve always been impressed with its sound and general set up, and last night for Benjamin Booker it lived up to its high standards once again.
Towards the end of the set- grooving guitar fills the room as Booker’s best known song ‘Violent Shiver’ adds huge amounts of life to the audience. He finishes with track ‘Slow Coming’ giving it edge by incorporating casual country style metal slide guitar. The show was scattered with a mix of huge flourishes of energy and passionate soulful song writing which gave for an overall fantastic performance.
Benjamin Booker tickets available here
Website – benjaminbookermusic.com
Facebook – /bennybookmarks
Twitter – @bennybookmarks
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