Manchester’s biggest ever In The City Celebrations saw the likes of ORPHAN BOY and TWISTED WHEEL steal the ‘official’ sun, with the likes of Fat Northerner at the forefront of the labels showcased. You only get one stab at ITC ‘proper’, a long weekend that sees multitudes of A&R men, would-be moguls and industry types descend upon the city in order to network themselves silly and check out the best of the region’s rookie acts.
This time around saw a staggering 200 bands play the fringe events that took place across seven venues, and remained packed-out throughout the long weekend despite the crowd-pulling, coincidental arrival of artists such as STEPHEN FRETWELL, whose UK tour saw him headline the Academy on the Saturday night.
Even so, none of this would have seemed complete without an appearance from King Gobshite himself, and thankfully LEE GRIFFITHS, who arrived at the Briton’s Protection with his band just after I did, had timed and placed his appearance in suitably traditional surroundings. One of the last ‘real’ pubs in the centre of Manchester, it’s a warren of dark corners, corridors and alcoves with a creaking wooden staircase leading upstairs to a function room that was heaving with bodies come showtime.
With the windows already steamed over from the steadily rising heat, Lee cut through the excited chatter in true Gobshite fashion, bringing a hush to the room that bubbled with gasps of shock and nervous laughter:
“Just because you’ve had a beer, this is not Essential on a Saturday night, I want to make that quite clear from the start” he asserted.
Singling out others for gabbing and aiming further sardonic swipes at those trying to sneak through the door without it creaking, Griffiths then (“OI!”) spelt out his name with the help of his blowfish backdrop to shouts of approval before introducing his band.
Thom Greensil brushed out gentle percussive accompaniment in a line-up that also included ever-present acoustic maestro Colin Ridyard, with some karma-assisted bass playing from Cheyne Towers.
They began in style, with an inspired ‘Build Me Up’ that sparkled as those dramatic pauses and the sweeping current of the chord changes marked out the gentle and beguiling emotional freefall.
As Lee G. matched his fingerpicked chord progressions with that headspinning rollercoaster vocal, the last gobshites were left well and truly gobsmacked. The applause was deafening.
“GowonnLee” someone shouted as Griffiths jerked to the blues, making his guitar ring like an extension of his livewire persona as he hammered out a raw and aggressive version of ‘Society’s To Blame’. The biorhythmic connection he has to this earthy sound was all too apparent as the room rocked
Lee’s party piece. a deep-groove version of Melle Mel and Grandmaster Flash’s legendary ‘White Lines’ was a trip down memory lane that sparked yet more empathy for a performer already in full step with his audience, bringing the house down, as did a stunted, almost-spoken ‘Golden Rule’ that seethed with the anger of several head destroying domestic arguments.
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In between, there was the crazed account of his journey to the venue, an absolutely believable tale of lost keys that took in the fact that his mam was at slimming world and swiped at the ‘total knobs’ who live in city centre apartments. And pay £1000 for a fucking parking permit! Belly laughs meant that the audience was released suddenly from the grip of his shared tension. The atmosphere in the room was electric.
“I know that there are people In. This. Room, who are wearing DICKHEAD SHOES!” ranted Lee as the laughter continued during this roundabout introduction to his views on A&R falseness.
“Who the fuck are you to tell me anything?” he spat as the dizzy defiance of ‘Shoes’ condemned arselickers everywhere, with singalong approval in the kick-ass chorus.
‘Meet Me Halfway’ was absolutely stunning, as was the other mind-blowing track from brand-new album ‘Armchair Anarchy’, ‘Hippy Dippy’, which was delivered in emphatic style, at first solo, then with the band joining in to build the hypnotic and compulsive groove to this played-down version of a modern clasic. In between, the nature of a life that’s been turned on its head came filtering gently through both ‘Scared’ and ‘I Won’t Do’ as the sweat poured off us all.
Finishing with the gorgeous ‘Astronaut’ from ‘Northern Songs’, this was another gravity defying gig that crackled with pure adrenaline and sheer, breathtaking talent. Tempered by the backing of Ridyard and Towers, THE LEE GRIFFITHS are at their uncompromising best on a stage like this, and the reaction from those packed in here was almost enough to induce total meltdown.
The cold air outside was a relief after the upstairs heat, but the half midnight start I had for work had me running for the last train with no time for immediate reflection.
You are strongly advised by this writer to see this supremely gifted songwriter in action before the stages and the venues become altogether bigger during 2008. Appearances scheduled for the Millenium Dome amongst other bookings at big halls mean that Manchester’s best-kept secret is about to reach the kind of audiences more suited in size to an artist who is, without question, one of the finest there is in his field.
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