Half-way across the land
Me and my boogie van
Movin' on down the line
Here we go one more time
Not a proper full-on live review this, just a gentle appreciative nod in the direction of one of my very favourite bands. I reckon it has been 8-ish of your Earth years since I last saw Fu Manchu in Manchester^.
Taking my place down near the front of a respectably full Ritz I was very happy to be part of this happy, benign crowd. You could tell that this was the type of crowd who would be up to the challenge of singing along to any lesser visited album track the band cared to dish up to us.
When they ambled on stage and cut lose with ‘Eatin’ Dust’ after a bit of noisemaking we were all in Fu heaven, especially when they followed it with ‘Hell On Wheels’ – still one of my fave lines in rock ‘Hell on wheels, it’s no big deal’.
I was stationed right in front of the avuncular looking Bob Balch and it was a treat to clock his playing close-up. Brad Davis stands stock still stage right, resplendent in a Hawkwind ‘Miss Stacia’ t-shirt. Scott Reeder is a great, showy drummer who just grins all night long. And Scott Hill, is Scott Hill, same stripey tops and benevolent smile, albeit topped by wispy late-period J Masics hair these days.
The set had all we wanted^^, new cuts ‘Hands Of The Zodiac’ and the awesomely-named ‘Loch Ness Wrecking Machine’ sounded like they had always been there and we got to shout for ‘Godzilla’ as our request choice to start the encore, which was great.
Highlights for me, as always ‘Mongoose’, ‘King Of The Road’, ‘Laser Bl’ast!’ and ‘Evil Eye’ were all superb. The surprise choice of ‘Cyclone Launch’ from In Search Of… was a nice touch too, as was finishing with ‘Boogie Van’.
We all had a great time. Fu Manchu just exude pleasantness and a clear joy at being there, even as they tear into the material with a real hardcore punk fervour, the least we could do was reciprocate tenfold and get really into it; I can barely move my head today.
Go see Fu Manchu next time they’re in town, it’s briefly like living in a far better world to the one we do inhabit.
Loch Ness
Loch Ness
Loch Ness
Loch Ness wrecking machine
1251 Down (still)
^ I had tickets to see them before the Covid lockdown stopped Fu Manchu from truckin’ on over.
^^okay I would have loved ‘Seahag’ and ‘No Dice’ if I was picking, but I’ll let those slide for fear of being Mr Picky.
Great great great!!! Man is it cool when expectations are met. Just to let you know, CB is sporting the “Wispy” coiff, to my gals utter horror especially when I let it all hang out. I’ll be doing the exercise bike on Friday to the rhythm of Fu Manchu. An hour of good burning.
Looks like a great night out. Loch Ness Wrecking Machine is a fantastic title for a song..lol.. Great pics as well….
Cheers Deke! It’s good to bang my bald head on a Monday night!
All looks fantastic and you had a great night. It also reminds me that I desperately need to see a live gig.
long hair.
damn.
that rather ruined the joke.
I do so admire you young people going out to–what do you call them?–giggles, I think. Though the long hear is rather off-putting. I hop you care for your flowing locks better than those gentlemen appear to.
I polish my skull assiduously Bruce