Most bands who receive mainstream success for a limited amount of time, consistently attempt to continue their career and it fails miserably. However, there’s the minority that manage to retain their fan base for over a decade and can sell out tours in a heartbeat. Imagine Spector in 10 years. Electric Six are one of those bands. Ever since hits ‘Danger! High Voltage!’ and ‘Gay Bar’ were released in 2003, the band have been touring globally and reaping the rewards. 11 albums later and it’s 2015; the Detroit band are back in the UK and playing Manchester’s Sound Control tonight.
The band trundle onto stage slightly prior to their set time of 9pm, the extremely varied crowd are hyped. Jumping and cheering as Tyler Spencer immediately informs us of how grateful he is, “I’m looking out at all you people now and feel so humble, I’m choked up’’. Dressed in full suit and tie and one leather glove, Spencer acts as commentator for his own gig throughout the evening – “This is song number 1. It’s called ‘Synthesizers’. It’s about synthesizers”. This surreal and unusual format carries on for each song, “This is song number 3. It’s called ‘Horseshit!’, it’s about horse shit”. No one seems to agree on whether this is funny or down right dull. Spencer’s ranting and raving is one of the most interesting elements of the set. The introduction of ‘Hello! I See You’ apparently depicts the “ecstasy of accepting Satan as your master”. I’m not sure if it’s ecstasy Spencer has taken but it’s certainly something dodgy.
There’s one thing that’s certain about Electric Six, you won’t be leaving feeling too familiar with their sound. Songs switch from electronic to country western to straight up punk-tastic. Heads are spinning with the diverse collection of songs on offer. Plus, the band haven’t just been squandering their money on drugs and tour budgets. Electric Six still have it going on, charisma and still musically sublime. The big hits feed the energy of an already elated crowd, with ‘Gay Bar’ and ‘Danger! High Voltage’ sending them into a frenzy of jumping and screaming. How long Electric Six will manage to keep up their reign of mid-sized venues across the world is hard to know, only time will tell. But for now, I’m impressed by what they’ve achieved.
Elli Brazzill
@littlelionelli
Elli Brazzill
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