Gig review: Modestep @ Manchester Academy – April 20

By Claire Holden

Dubstep four-piece Modestep joined forces with Lostprophets and created a storm as they performed at Manchester Academy on Friday.

The third stop on their UK tour saw a hard-hitting set layered with dub, rock and soul, as the band displayed their talents through their songs, samples and mixes.

The gig had a feel of a band that have only just realised just how big they have the potential to be after the reverberating success of their singles over the last few months. They played as if every song would be their last, and gave their audience everything that they had.

Modestep features brothers Josh (vocals) and Tony Friend (DJ and guitar), along with Matthew Curtis (drums) and Nick Tsang (guitar).

The show kicked off spectacularly by playing, amongst others, the lilting intro of Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds before dropping some serious sounds. Once they started, the beats came thick and fast.

They have found a knack for building the crowd up and then pounding them with some serious sounds, as with their mix of Bittersweet Symphony, which displayed Josh’s soulful voice, and got the audience suitably stirred into a fever.

The crowd lapped up Modestep’s remixes of course, but it was when they played their singles Sunlight and Feel Good that the atmosphere became palpable.

The band do use a vast array of popular songs when mixing, but it would not be justice to the band to say that they merely sample material; when they do use a song they completely reinvent it and do not shy away from putting the Modestep stamp right across it.  

Not only this, but they certainly know how to put on a spectacle. While showcasing their new single Show Me A Sign, the Academy blacked out like the night sky. On request, the audience’s lighters bobbed around like fireflies before becoming extinguished by the wave of movement as bodies crashed into each other when the bass dropped.

The crush did not stop there as the swelling mosh pit got bigger and messier through the evening as Josh told them: “I want to see it reach both sides of the f******* room!”

Not only do Modestep have a unique sound and massively talented band, but they make the audience feel like they are the music; that they would not be able to perform if the crowd were not there.

This is a rare quality and one that the band should hold onto as their fame rockets.

As such, we can overlook the bleach-haired youngsters giddily swigging vodka from a shared juice bottle, as so many were there to get involved in the music and have a good time with the band – and they certainly know how to deliver.

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