Live Review: Fu Manchu – Manchester

Live Review: Fu Manchu – O2 Ritz, Manchester
Support: Spaceslug, Torus
21st October 2024
Words: Matthew Williams

This was another one of those bands to tick off my “must see” list, and even now I’m still perplexed and confused as to how I’ve never seen Fu Manchu, unless I have done whilst in a drunken stupor at a festival somewhere. Nonetheless, I was very excited as I headed up to Manchester on a Monday evening.

Upon entering the venue, Milton Keynes trio, Torus, were just opening their set with “Avalanche” but the room was devoid of energy and no more than a quarter full. Perhaps the 7.30pm start caught people out, as with this being one of only 3 UK dates, I would imagine people had travelled far and wide to catch the gig.

Torus did try their hardest to whip the crowd up, with singer/guitarist Alfie Glass making many forays across the stage, and headbanging along to the music. They’ve got some catchy songs, with “Downfall” and “Crash Wave” but it was “The Overload” with its indie tinge and slightly slower pace, that I enjoyed the most, as it bounced along nicely. “This is a dream come true for us to play with Fu Manchu” comments Glass and encourages people to “come over and have a chat at the merch stall” as they end with “Speed Trial” from their latest release “Torus”.

Next up were Polish galactic travelling trio Spaceslug, who after a slow intro, and doused in orange lighting, kick off with “Grand Orbiter” all 3 band members joining in on the vocals, with guitarist Bartosz Janik, doing most of the angry, gruffer sounding vocal leads. “In the Hiatus Fall” has a sumptuous groove running through it before it explodes into life. “We are Spaceslug from Poland, welcome to our show” shouts Janik, before “Tears of Antimatter”.

“Are you having a good time? It’s Monday night, so let’s go” commands Janik again, as they launch into “Proton Lander 2020”, but it is “Ahtmosphere” that steals their set for me. The song was full of atmospheric music, that flowed so smoothly and makes me wonder if they did it without any vocals, that their music would speak for themselves. After a lightening quick change of a broken guitar string, Janik announces that “I’m back” and they conclude with “Half-Moon Burns” and a cover of “Gardenia” with the bass from Jan Rutka sounding perfect throughout.

Then it was what we had all been waiting for, some for longer than others. And with the room now much fuller than earlier, Fu Manchu take to the stage to huge applause, as they lead off with the powerful “Eatin’ Dust” which sounds amazing and ends with a chorus of “Fu Manchu” from the packed crowd. “Hell on Wheels” sees the crowd get a but raucous up front, with heads banging and bodies moving, and ends with a “Thank you very much “from Scott Hill.

Yes, I know they’ve been a band for a very long time, but live, they are a well-oiled machine, all playing their part to majestic heights, with “Clone of the Universe” and “California Crossing” being examples of just how good they are, whilst Bob Balch just oozes quality with his solos. “We’ve got a new record out, and this one is on it” as the heavy sounding “Hands of the Zodiac” comes booming across the PA, and then they unleash the stunning opening section of “Evil Eye”, which gets the crowd even more worked up, and it’s one of the highlights of the set.

Hill then gets involved in a bit of crowd chat, as he says to someone at the front “I don’t know what that means” whilst giving them a wry smile and leading with “This is an old song from the In Search Of record” as “Cyclone Launch” powers up and then we have my favourite track from the new album, “Loch Ness Wrecking Machine” which sounds astonishingly good and gets a full clap along section mid-way through.

Show me someone who doesn’t like a cowbell being played in a song, and I’ll direct them to Scott Reeder playing it during “Laserbl’ast!” as it transforms the song, and sounds so much better live than on record, that crunchy guitar sound coming through loud and clear. And Reeder’s backing vocals are heard more on “Squash That Fly”. Hill once again thanks the crowd for coming and introduces “the title track to the new record” as “The Return of Tomorrow” swings into action with a swagger and lots of groove.

The chap in front of me, who is hopefully reading this, as he said he would, ha ha, went off on one as he heard the epic “Mongoose” riff, as it was just so damn heavy, before “King of the Road” just zips along at a rapid pace, leaving carnage across the venue. With Hill standing as close as he can to the front barrier, he announces that this is “the last song of the evening”, which if course most people know it isn’t, but “Saturn III” would be a more than worthy way to end the show.

With the heavy applause ringing in their ears, the awesome foursome re-emerges with Hill standing front and centre, “thanks to everyone for coming down tonight, we really appreciate you. What song do you want us to play” which leads to lots of shouting at the stage. “What song? Godzilla? It’s up to Reeder” as the guitars, drums and bass are all fired up for the cover of the Blue Oyster Cult classic, with the crowd fully immersed in the vocal experience. The bass sound from Brad Davis was just out of this world and they end with another quintessential Fu Manchu song, “Boogie Van” to bring the curtain down on one hell of a performance, from one hell of a band, leaving this reviewer smiling all the way home.