Gig review

Promoters Northern Parasol hosted a high- energy gig featuring three Manchester based, new to the scene bands, and the headliner, Hungry, a band formed in Cambridge in 2018.

Aatma was the venue for the music-fuelled night, creating the perfect atmosphere with enough room for a mosh pit and a fair sized crowd.

Spicy Leviathan were first to the stage, bringing good old rock to the Aatma stage for their fifth gig ever. The front man Dan held his phone speaker to his electric guitar pickup to add a sample of dialogue and a guitar solo to their set. He fiddled with the reverb on the effect pad in front of him. 

"What does everyone think about the government?" Dan asked the crowd. There was a shout of "sh**" from the crowd, before he introduced the next song, Tory Skanks. He got a huge cheer from the audience as he finished his set with a headbanging guitar solo 


Giovanni's Room were next up, with the singer, Mia, being only 17. Despite not even being of drinking age, she had an incredible stage presence. Even when singing she was moving her feet, encouraging the audience to boogie along to the tunes

Mia's voice was that of a quintessential rock band frontwoman, supported by two electric guitars, a bass guitar and drums. She danced around the middle of the stage as the boys behind her had their moments.

One of their songs started with what seemed to be a poem about snails, which was unusual but an interesting touch.

Mia left the boys to do their own thing as she jumped down from the stage to join the audience for a song, headbanging at the front.

With a powerful belt and a playful but controlled higher register, Mia was the glue sticking Giovanni's room together, receiving a massive applause at the end of their set.

Vespertines were the penultimate band, announcing "we've just been eliminated from the World Cup but don't worry we'll make everything better"

They started off with classic indie brit pop tunes, upbeat melodies that told stories, but their lyrics were also politically infused, commenting on race and injustice.

The lead singer told the audience that the next song included belts, that he'd written into the song because it sounded impressive, but that he'd come down with a cold and his vocal ability had taken a hit.

He soldiered on, although a bit nasal and with a few voice breaks, but the stage presence and the energy of the band was enough for the audience to have a good time.

They finished up with a cover of Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin Stevens, which really got everyone in a Christmas mood.

Hungry were the headliners, taking the stage and telling the audience to come forwards, they encouraged the sea of people to bounce around to the fast paced hip hop infused rock that they played, and suggested that audience members crowdsurfed.

The four piece's talent was undeniable, with groovy bass lines played by Jas Malig and Stan Rankin's crisp drum beats carrying the flow. Sometimes Jacob sang, but sometimes he rapped, words coming out of his mouth like he was competing against Eminem for the most words per minute. The lyrics wouldn't be out of place in a slam poetry show, but the drums, bass, and lead guitar played by Kit Thomas carried it on stage.

Two gig-goers crowd surfed, bathing themselves in the green and purple lights with very little room between their feet and the ceiling.

The sea of people stopped throwing themselves around the dance floor momentarily to support them.

"Boundaries that we're breaking apart, turning s**t into art" Jacob raps in 'Usain', and the four piece really are breaking boundaries. They played songs that spanned from indie heartbreak tunes that should feature over the ending scene of a sad film to political commentary rap rock. Whatever genre they've slipped into, they're always leaving their audience hungry for more.

Northern Parasol put on an amazing night, creating a safe, fun environment for all to enjoy and support live music.

Their policy 'Stop the set, call it out' is a welcome change to the mainstream gig attitude, encouraging audience members to be 'active bystanders' and stand up to discrimination and creepy behaviour. This means that if anyone is being made to feel unsafe or uncomfortable, they will stop the set and deal with it.