I've had a nose through the search function and cannot find another thread to offer up gig reviews, so thought I'd start one.
Gig: Skunk Anansie
Support: So Good
Venue: O2 Apollo, Manchester
Date: 4th April 2025
My wife and I had been itching to see Skunk Anansie for years, and finally a tour was on and we got ourselves a pair of tickets for Manchester. We stopped at a nice hotel, and wandered down to the venue early in hope of catching sound check, maybe a cheeky chat with the band (sound check was heard, band not spotted sadly). We joined the queue in 2nd and 3rd position and blow me down, my heart monitor decided to tell me that I was in aFib with a rocketing heart rate (joys). I was adamant that I was not going to miss the gig, they would have to carry me out!
We got in the venue, and managed to get right down in front (venue holds circa 3500) and parked slightly right of centre against the barrier. Skin is well known for crowd surfing and joining the mosh pits, so my wife was super happy, I was happy to hold on to the barrier and be up close. The stage was setup for the support act with a small drum kit, a tiny Bugera amp head on a small Orange cab and a Nashville Tele for the guitarist and I couldn't see what the bass player had (apart from a Rickenbacker bass). It was then a "what in the holy marshmallow Squid Game moment is this" when the band walked out onto stage wearing bright pink track suit, painted with some stylised graffiti, wearing face masks not unlike those in Squid Game. They took their positions, and on came the girls of So Good. The band were incredibly tight, and had an absolutely massive sound given the gear they had (got to love a good PA). Whilst the song content and overall fake punk vibe was not to my liking (they seemed like they were trying too hard and forcing the act), the drummer was spot on, guitarist had some incredible chops, and the bassist didn't miss a beat for their entire set. Their set came to an end, and we prepared for the main act, the indomitable Skunk Anansie.
We watched on eagerly as techs setup Cass and Ace's pedal boards....we happened to be parked right in front of Cass who was running a nice Mesa backline for his bass setup, and an oddly large pedal board for a bassist. Ace's rig consisted of some Koch and Marshall amps, Cornford, Marshall and Zilla cabs, and a pedal board to rival all pedal boards with a large amount of space taken up for midi controllers. I was properly nerding out, loving every moment. Ace's tech was fiddling with guitars, giving them a final check, and I watched a panicked face as none of his electro acoustics were playing ball - no quiet numbers tonight it seems!
The Set List:
1 This Means War
2 Charlie Big Potato
3 Because of You
4 An Artist Is An Artist
5 I Believed In You
6 Love Someone Else
7 God Loves Only You
8 Secretly
9 Weak
10 I Can Dream
11 Twisted (Every Day Hurts)
12 My Ugly Boy
13 Animal
14 Yes It's F*cking Political
15 Tear the Place Up
16 Little Baby Swastikkka
Encore
17 Cheers
18 Hedonism
19 Lost and Found
20 Whole Lotta Love (Led Zep cover)
21 The Skank Heads
When Skunk came on stage, there was a bigger eruption of cheers and noise than a 3500 capacity crowd has any right to make. Mark was pounding the drums hard with fervent anger, Cass was rearranging our insides with sub bass so tight and focussed it has to be heard to be believed, and Ace was wringing every ounce of energy from every note he played. Skin as always looked like a demon possessed on stage, moving around with more energy, more bounce than a woman of her age should have. The years were rolled back with the second track (Charlie Big Potato), with the dark undertones of the song seeping through the bassline and snycopated guitar lines. Skins powerful vocals and intense face would cut through the tension that the lyrics bring and had the whole room bouncing. The newer Artist Is An Artist had people bobbing and weaving, as the band powered through. Secretly came on and I wished I had a lighter to wave in the air. It's one of those deep, soulful songs where you sang every word back to the band, hands waving in the air. It's one of my favourite songs from Post Orgasmic Chill (along with Charlie), and I was starting to lose my voice. Weak followed and this was my defining moment of the night - my favourite track. Deep powerful guitar and bass, intensely powerful drums and vocals more angry than they sound. Voice completely gone at this point, heart just about holding out. The next three tracks had me bouncing like a loon, enjoying every moment. I was eyeballing all the guitar and bass changes (Ace was running his own signature PRS, a Tremonit and a Mira, whereas Cass had a selection of Alusonic and others) and was eagerly watching for some acoustics to come out, but alas no sign. As the main set drew to a close, I had already made a conclusion in my mind (more on that in a bit). The crowd shouted for more, and Skunk duly delivered. They came out with another new track, the single Cheers. It is an uplifting, happy track which was a nice slow down for a bit. They then fired up Hedonism, and this was another lighter in the air song for sure. The meaning behind the song makes it extremely poignant, and more power to Skin for being able to put so much emotion into it. Lost and Found was another new track that was great to hear (can't wait for the new album next month), and they moved into the cover of Whole Lotta Love where Skin introduced everyone to the crowd, thanked the roadies and support act, and the track went down a storm (particularly with me, even though I was struggling to stand and sing at this point). Cue the last song of the night, Skin was asking the crowd if they wanted a slow one or something more up tempo. The tech was still not happy with the acoustics, which seemingly led the band to their final number of the night, The Skank Heads. A bright, brash closer of the night that had the whole crowd moving and groving, in complete gratitude to the whole band and crew.
To sum up the night, it was amazing to see a band who've been writing, recording and performing for 30 years be so tight and focussed. Cass was in his own grove the entire night, totally locked in and having the time of his life. Ace was on point, put on a killer show, and this reinforced my love for his playing. Mark was tight as the proverbial drum on drums all night long, and Skin was just a tour de force every step of the way. I've had the pleasure of seeing some of the worlds biggest bands in the biggest and smallest of venues, but if I am brutally honest, the Skunk Anansie gig was one of, if not the best live performances I've ever seen. I narrowly missed catching one of Mark's drum sticks as it whizzed past my left ear, and missed out completely on Ace's picks, but we did exchange a nod or two (I was wearing my PRS hoodie, he seemed to notice).
If you ever get the chance to see Skunk Anansie live, I strongly urge you to do it. Their music is infectious as it is powerful. Their sound is massive. Their energy incomparable.
A few people in the seats above recorded a couple of videos of the night, here's Hedonism:
And Charlie Big Potato:
Cheers all! Looking forward to reading your gig reviews!
Gig: Skunk Anansie
Support: So Good
Venue: O2 Apollo, Manchester
Date: 4th April 2025
My wife and I had been itching to see Skunk Anansie for years, and finally a tour was on and we got ourselves a pair of tickets for Manchester. We stopped at a nice hotel, and wandered down to the venue early in hope of catching sound check, maybe a cheeky chat with the band (sound check was heard, band not spotted sadly). We joined the queue in 2nd and 3rd position and blow me down, my heart monitor decided to tell me that I was in aFib with a rocketing heart rate (joys). I was adamant that I was not going to miss the gig, they would have to carry me out!
We got in the venue, and managed to get right down in front (venue holds circa 3500) and parked slightly right of centre against the barrier. Skin is well known for crowd surfing and joining the mosh pits, so my wife was super happy, I was happy to hold on to the barrier and be up close. The stage was setup for the support act with a small drum kit, a tiny Bugera amp head on a small Orange cab and a Nashville Tele for the guitarist and I couldn't see what the bass player had (apart from a Rickenbacker bass). It was then a "what in the holy marshmallow Squid Game moment is this" when the band walked out onto stage wearing bright pink track suit, painted with some stylised graffiti, wearing face masks not unlike those in Squid Game. They took their positions, and on came the girls of So Good. The band were incredibly tight, and had an absolutely massive sound given the gear they had (got to love a good PA). Whilst the song content and overall fake punk vibe was not to my liking (they seemed like they were trying too hard and forcing the act), the drummer was spot on, guitarist had some incredible chops, and the bassist didn't miss a beat for their entire set. Their set came to an end, and we prepared for the main act, the indomitable Skunk Anansie.
We watched on eagerly as techs setup Cass and Ace's pedal boards....we happened to be parked right in front of Cass who was running a nice Mesa backline for his bass setup, and an oddly large pedal board for a bassist. Ace's rig consisted of some Koch and Marshall amps, Cornford, Marshall and Zilla cabs, and a pedal board to rival all pedal boards with a large amount of space taken up for midi controllers. I was properly nerding out, loving every moment. Ace's tech was fiddling with guitars, giving them a final check, and I watched a panicked face as none of his electro acoustics were playing ball - no quiet numbers tonight it seems!
The Set List:
1 This Means War
2 Charlie Big Potato
3 Because of You
4 An Artist Is An Artist
5 I Believed In You
6 Love Someone Else
7 God Loves Only You
8 Secretly
9 Weak
10 I Can Dream
11 Twisted (Every Day Hurts)
12 My Ugly Boy
13 Animal
14 Yes It's F*cking Political
15 Tear the Place Up
16 Little Baby Swastikkka
Encore
17 Cheers
18 Hedonism
19 Lost and Found
20 Whole Lotta Love (Led Zep cover)
21 The Skank Heads
When Skunk came on stage, there was a bigger eruption of cheers and noise than a 3500 capacity crowd has any right to make. Mark was pounding the drums hard with fervent anger, Cass was rearranging our insides with sub bass so tight and focussed it has to be heard to be believed, and Ace was wringing every ounce of energy from every note he played. Skin as always looked like a demon possessed on stage, moving around with more energy, more bounce than a woman of her age should have. The years were rolled back with the second track (Charlie Big Potato), with the dark undertones of the song seeping through the bassline and snycopated guitar lines. Skins powerful vocals and intense face would cut through the tension that the lyrics bring and had the whole room bouncing. The newer Artist Is An Artist had people bobbing and weaving, as the band powered through. Secretly came on and I wished I had a lighter to wave in the air. It's one of those deep, soulful songs where you sang every word back to the band, hands waving in the air. It's one of my favourite songs from Post Orgasmic Chill (along with Charlie), and I was starting to lose my voice. Weak followed and this was my defining moment of the night - my favourite track. Deep powerful guitar and bass, intensely powerful drums and vocals more angry than they sound. Voice completely gone at this point, heart just about holding out. The next three tracks had me bouncing like a loon, enjoying every moment. I was eyeballing all the guitar and bass changes (Ace was running his own signature PRS, a Tremonit and a Mira, whereas Cass had a selection of Alusonic and others) and was eagerly watching for some acoustics to come out, but alas no sign. As the main set drew to a close, I had already made a conclusion in my mind (more on that in a bit). The crowd shouted for more, and Skunk duly delivered. They came out with another new track, the single Cheers. It is an uplifting, happy track which was a nice slow down for a bit. They then fired up Hedonism, and this was another lighter in the air song for sure. The meaning behind the song makes it extremely poignant, and more power to Skin for being able to put so much emotion into it. Lost and Found was another new track that was great to hear (can't wait for the new album next month), and they moved into the cover of Whole Lotta Love where Skin introduced everyone to the crowd, thanked the roadies and support act, and the track went down a storm (particularly with me, even though I was struggling to stand and sing at this point). Cue the last song of the night, Skin was asking the crowd if they wanted a slow one or something more up tempo. The tech was still not happy with the acoustics, which seemingly led the band to their final number of the night, The Skank Heads. A bright, brash closer of the night that had the whole crowd moving and groving, in complete gratitude to the whole band and crew.
To sum up the night, it was amazing to see a band who've been writing, recording and performing for 30 years be so tight and focussed. Cass was in his own grove the entire night, totally locked in and having the time of his life. Ace was on point, put on a killer show, and this reinforced my love for his playing. Mark was tight as the proverbial drum on drums all night long, and Skin was just a tour de force every step of the way. I've had the pleasure of seeing some of the worlds biggest bands in the biggest and smallest of venues, but if I am brutally honest, the Skunk Anansie gig was one of, if not the best live performances I've ever seen. I narrowly missed catching one of Mark's drum sticks as it whizzed past my left ear, and missed out completely on Ace's picks, but we did exchange a nod or two (I was wearing my PRS hoodie, he seemed to notice).
If you ever get the chance to see Skunk Anansie live, I strongly urge you to do it. Their music is infectious as it is powerful. Their sound is massive. Their energy incomparable.
A few people in the seats above recorded a couple of videos of the night, here's Hedonism:
And Charlie Big Potato:
Cheers all! Looking forward to reading your gig reviews!
