Artist: Therapy? & Ricky Warwick

Venue:  Club Academy, Manchester

Date:  26 October 2009 

Ricky Warwick
Armed with only an acoustic guitar and his natural, god-given charm, Ricky Warwick takes the stage and proceeds to be far more entertaining than what you would expect from a one-man show. Whilst many people in Ricky’s position struggle to entertain on their own due to a lack of stage or a tendency to overdo on the self-deprecation, the former Almighty frontman manages to steer clear of both traps. Not once does the stage look too big for him and no point do you feel like you’re bearing witness to the sort of self-indulgent whinge-fest these sets can often turn into (David Gray, Newton Faulkner, etc – take note).

No, what we get instead is a mixture of a new twist on a couple of Almighty classics (‘Wild and Wonderful’, ‘Free And Easy’), a few cuts from Ricky’s solo career that are both heart-warming and intelligent without forgetting the need for a good, old-fashioned, sing-along chorus and some thoroughly entertaining cover versions including ‘Ace of Spades’ and interestingly, a version of ‘Running Free’ by Iron Maiden played in the style of Johnny Cash that really shouldn’t work but strangely enough, does. 

Never boring, always entertaining, it’s great to see Ricky Warwick having such a good time on stage playing the music he loves, doing things his way and connecting with the audience with such 
honesty and in the end, isn’t that what live music is all about?

Therapy?
Combining elements of punk, metal, rock and roll and the odd moment of avant-garde weirdness, Therapy? have always refused to be pigeon-holed and continue to be in a league of their own. Not quite metal enough to be lumped in with that genre, too different to grunge to be included alongside Cobain and co. and too introspective and deep to be grouped with the one-dimensional, happy-go-lucky pop-punk bands (“happy people have no stories”, remember), Therapy? have remained an enigma since they burst onto the scene some 20 years ago and the UK rock media (desperate to categorise and to pigeon-hole everything) have never really known how to handle them. 

Given that this was the same media that hailed them as brit-rock saviours some 15 years ago, the band’s uniqueness was always going to work against them when it came to the likes of Kerrang!, etc and eventually, because of Therapy’s refusal to compromise and their passion for doing things their way, they faded from the magazine pages but kept a very sizeable and steady following over the years and from the looks of Andy Cairns and co. on stage, they wouldn’t have it any other way. The band look like they are genuinely having the time of their lives tonight and for a band approaching their 20th anniversary, it really is a sight to see. They bounce around the stage with more gusto and energy than most bands half their age and proceed to treat the fans to a genuine career-retrospective set as all their albums are represented tonight, from their debut 'Babyteeth' right through to this year’s excellent 'Crooked Timber'.

Proving that they were more than worthy of playing the usually more-metal-than-metal Damnation Festival a couple of days ago, they open with some rare gems from their first two records and when they play ‘Punishment Kiss’ immediately followed by ‘Meat Abstract’, the crowd go ballistic and spark a moshpit the likes of which Destruction would’ve been proud of. And when this is followed by more rare gems from the band’s early albums (‘Innocent X’ and ‘Fantasy Bag’) you get the feeling that this no usual setlist and a far cry from the run-of-the-mill ‘greatest hits’ run-through that most bands are prone to delivering these days.

Despite some technical problems with Michael McKeegan’s bass early on, the band plough through like the professionals they are and the packed audience don’t seem to mind (or notice) and sing every word back at them, including the new songs which are just as well-received as the classics. And this shows the strength and dedication of Therapy’s fan base as new album 'Crooked Timber' is well represented tonight with no less than six songs getting an airing and each one of them sparking as big a crowd reaction as the band’s 90’s material such as ‘Teethgrinder’ and ‘Trigger Inside’. 

One of the biggest crowd reactions tonight however, comes when the band play a cover of ‘Isolation’ by Manchester’s own new-wave heroes Joy Division which nearly brings the house down, rivalled only by set-closer ‘Screamager’ during which the entire room is seemingly jumping as one huge throng from front to back. Therapy? may not have achieved the dizzy heights of fame that was predicted for them some 15 years ago but neither band nor fans care anymore, especially when the shows are this good and you’d be hard-pushed to find a more honest and hard-working band than this. And if tonight is anything to go by, their 20th anniversary shows next year should be something very special indeed and ones that are not to be missed.

Setlist: ‘Punishment Kiss’, ‘Meat Abstract’, ‘Innocent X’, Fantasy Bag’, ‘I Told You I Was Ill’, ‘Clowns Galore’, ‘Nausea’, ‘Teethgrinder’, ‘Opal Mantra’, ‘Trigger Inside’, ‘Isolation / She’s Lost Control’ (Joy Division cover), ‘Bad Excuse For Daylight’‘,‘Exiles’, ‘Stories’, ‘Sister’, ‘Die Like A Motherfucker’, ‘Bloody Blue’
Encore: ‘Crooked Timber’, ‘Enjoy The Struggle’, ‘Turn’, ‘Potato Junkie’, ‘Screamager’

Review by: Adam G.

 

 

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