Manchester Orchestra w/ Foxing and Michigander
Moore Theatre, Seattle, WA
02.23.22

When I mention Manchester Orchestra’s name to people, there are two distinctly different reactions I can all but count on. The first is along the lines of “who?” which is an outright shame. The second is “I fucking love that band,” which always shocks me, as it’s the less frequent of the two. But perhaps that’s a good thing. Because Manchester Orchestra, despite being 15 years and six records in, still feel like a shared secret amongst the knowing. Granted, at their Seattle show this week, the knowing were a sold out crowd who knew every word of every song they played.

The show kicked off with two great openers who were both stylistically and energetically appropriate for the Manchester Orchestra vibe. First up was Michigander, brainchild of singer-songwriter Jason Singer, with some solid vulnerable but uplifting indie pop rock sounds, followed by the eclectic alt-rock of Foxing, who definitely had some fans in the crowd shouting along to lead singer Conor Murphy’s stage antics. Both are highly worthy of a listen if you’re into, say, Death Cab or Lovelytheband or … just go listen to them. You won’t regret it. 

By the time Manchester Orchestra took the stage, the crowd had closed in and was fully on their feet (the venue has a main floor with seats, folks). The room was coughingly thick with fog. The lighting heavy with strobes. A majority of the setlist stuck tightly to the band’s 2021 release, The Million Masks of God, which came as no real surprise given that the album was billed as a sophomore followup to their 2017 “rebirth”, A Black Mile to the Surface, which also featured heavily. Longtime fans, however, did get a mid-set trio of deep cuts including “I Can Barely Breathe,” “Top Notch,” and “Virgin”.

It should come as no surprise to any Manchester Orchestra fans, but if you’re not sure then know this: they are a band who implausibly sound even better live — a rare feat for many. Frontman Andy Hull’s voice came through with just as much gruff tenderness as it does when you’re drowning your emotions screaming along, alone in your car. Just me? Doubtful, because the entire room was singing along to tracks like “The Maze” and “The Alien” from Black Mile. If you haven’t seen them live yet, you’re really missing out on some seriously tight, emotive rock that should, frankly, be filling up much larger venues. Maybe next time.

Setlist:

Inaudible
Angel of Death
Keel Timing
Bed Head
I Can Barely Breathe
Top Notch
Virgin
The Maze
The Gold
The Alien
The Sunshine
Dinosaur
The Internet
Telepath (acoustic)

Encore:

100 Dollars
The Silence

Review and photos by Stephanie Dore

Manchester Orchestra

Foxing

Michigander