On a Sydney weekend stacked with Laneway Festival side shows as well as Laneway, it was an impressive crowd hitting Metro Theatre for Atlanta emo-rockers Manchester Orchestra on a Saturday night (3 February), and it was a crowd that, impressively, packed the room early.
This was undoubtedly due to support act Slaughter Beach, Dog, aka Jake Ewald, one of the two singers and songwriters in Modern Baseball.
Ewald, who put out one of the best records of 2017 in 'Birdie', played his heart-on-sleeve tunes to an attentive crowd that was considerably hushed for 9pm on a Saturday night in the city.
With Sydney the only east-coast city to miss out on a Slaughter Beach, Dog headline show, it was no surprise to find many punters there for the early set.
By the time Manchester Orchestra hit the stage, Metro Theatre was full and more than ready to share some feels. The band didn’t disappoint, either, tearing through big anthems like 'The Maze', 'Shake It Out' and 'I've Got Friends'.
Tight and loud, Andy Hull and co. came across as far more passionate and in the moment than thy have the tendency to appear on record, which makes them a far more impressive live outfit than they’d seem on paper.
With no shortage of hugs being shared around the room, the highlight of the set was undoubtedly 'Simple Math', showcasing Hull’s soaring vocals and the band’s knack for a melody.
Not sounding unlike their friends Brand New, Manchester Orchestra were hard to fault; and fittingly, the crowd loved every moment of it.
