Words & pictures by Rachel Bywater
It’s been three years since Tunng last played in Manchester and, if another three years pass before the city is treated to the same festival of merriment that took place on Tuesday, it will a crying shame.
The fans that packed out Band on the Wall were treated to a polished set of tracks from the British folktronica band as they weaved their way through new material from their latest album ‘Turbines’ interspersed with favourites from their back catalogue.
Tunng are renowned for their use of alternative instruments to create their brand of electrofolk music and tonight was no exception.
Alongside the usual guitars, drums and synths on stage there is an abundance of more unusual instruments including seashells, a Tibetan prayer bowl, a sort of mini chandelier made of keys and one of those cans that make a sound like a farmyard animal when you turn it upside down.
The band kicks off the set with ‘Once’, the opening track from their new album. It’s full of beautiful, soul-warming harmonies and is a glorious way to open the evening.
Tunng look at home stage – almost literally. Ashley ‘The Wizard’ Bates, sips a glass of red wine between tracks and drummer, Simon Glenister, plays in his socks.
The band chat and exchange grins and jokes with each other and the audience and it’s impossible not to get swept up in their amiability and enthusiasm.
At one point they pass some of their maraca-type percussion instruments down to revellers on the front row so they can join in with the music. It’s like watching a band play to a living room full of their mates and has to be one of the friendliest, happiest gigs to come to Manchester this year.
‘Tales from the Black’, a chirpy little number about a murderous old woman who writes about her victims on a typewriter inked with their blood, gets the whole crowd bouncing.
‘By Dusk They Were in the City’, a spaghetti-western-esque instrumental piece, is capped by a joyously over the top electric guitar solo by front man, Mike Lindsay, leaving the audience whooping with delight.
They save ‘Bullets’, probably Tunng’s best known song, for the encore and the room is filled with the sound of people happily singing and stomping along.
So contagious is the vibe that even the bar staff join in with the merriment. It’s an infectiously cheery crowd-pleaser and a fitting end to a wonderful night.
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