Filled with modest pride and glistening gratification, the electrifying headliner of November’s This Feeling club night (held at the glorious Night & Day Café), Jake Evans, turns to the rough-and-ready bassist, Ash Earlam on his left, and proclaims: “this man saved the day”. With a: raucous round of applause; a sheepish head-bow and a stage invasion from an elderly, self-promoting DJ, later, it’s fair to call Saturday November 28th’s, This Feeling club night, one of the most obscurely successful Manchester has ever seen.
Opening with Mancurian monsters and Beatle-enthusiasts, Hey Bulldog, and up-coming four piece, Puppet Rebellion, the night’s vibe is already off to a rip-roaring success. Quickly following suit, heavy game-changers, Hello Operator, take to the intimate stage to raise the bar of expectation even higher than possibly thought.
Garnishing boisterous lead vocals and rock-tainted indie guitar riffs, with a sprinkle of cheeky, chirpy oh-so-cocky stage presence; Hello Operator successfully court the hearts of the crowd while securing their place on many fans’ ones-to-watch in 2016 list.
With a gracious exit from the Yorkshire band and a social media scroll to discover the penultimate band of the night: a serious discussion breaks out concerning the grunge-pop, main support, Otherkin.
The pairing of grunge and pop itself is a tricky combination to successfully master. Throw in an intensely indie-dominated bill as well as a crowd full of Red Stripe chuggers to the mixture, and we seemingly have a sink-or-swim recipe. On paper: completely impossible. At This Feeling’s club night, where anything can happen, Otherkin manage to snuggly settle into their pioneering sounds, sending ripples of pure adrenaline through the Night & Day Café.
Finally, the innovative ambience of Otherkin settles, making way for the veil of intense excitement to completely blanket the fans of Jake Evans. It’s time for the main act to present himself.
A short but tremendously sweet set. The modest Mancurian with the vibes of The Verve and the skills to rival Johnny Marr sweeps through his crowd-pleasing, indie-rock setlist. Packed with serious punches from his debut solo record, Day One, including ‘Easy On My Soul’ and forthcoming single, ‘Glorious’, the ideology that Evans is something seriously special sends tremors of euphoria rippling through the crowd.
Humbly expressing his gratitude towards his fans, the night ends with a burst of enthusiasm from a stage-crashing DJ, urging the crowd to “listen from about 11am” to his show. Causing tremendous laughter and ending the night on a high – there’s no doubt that This Feeling has once again delivered.
Ella Scott
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