G’day mate! Australia’s upside-down-playing band have arrived in Manchester, crikey!
Airbourne have been blazing the trail of authentic rock n roll for more than two decades, serving as one of the many bands that have bridged the gap between rock and metal. While not excessively heavy, their mind-blowing guitar skills lay the foundation for a band attempting to transition from rock to metal, but with a gentle embrace. The music slithers its way into your soul like a cosy kitten – it’s just that delightful!
For certain individuals, Airbourne has been playfully labelled as the Australian version of AC/DC. This could be seen as either sarcasm or irony since AC/DC is actually an Australian band themselves – quite the plot twist! But really, is being compared to one of the greatest rock bands ever truly a negative thing? Absolutely not! It’s the perfect gig for getting pissed and having the best time of your life while forgetting anything serious. And let’s not forget: if their lead singer isn’t shirtless and seemingly utterly intoxicated while having the time of his life on stage, can we even consider it a genuine rock n roll experience?
Opening up for these upside-down guys is one of Sheffield’s upcoming finest rock bands Black Spiders who are actually doing some live footage for their new music video. Having launched their fourth album, Can’t’ Die, Won’t Die, back in May, the setlist was still a good mix of their older work too which did keep the die-hard fans happy!
Lead vocalist/guitarist Pete ‘Spider’ Spiby Tells the crowd to “Put up their middle fingers and give a big f*ck you” to keep the band psyched and to add a nice touch to the footage too!
As the melodious strums of the guitar filled the air, the charismatic band members exuded joy and enthusiasm, captivating the crowd with their entertaining performance. The atmosphere was electric as Deroy, the talented guitarist and birthday celebrant, relished in his biggest gig to date. The audience joined in unison to sing a heartfelt rendition of “Happy Birthday,” adding an extra touch of loveliness to the celebration.
By narrating the tale of their origins, from Sheffield’s industrial revolution to the rise of Arctic Monkeys, and by energizing the audience ready for Airbourne, Black Spiders not only set the mood for the night but also exemplify how miracles can occur. They continue the music revolution keeping Sheffield on the map, carrying forward the legacy.
Fret not if you didn’t make it to this gig; these incredible performers will soon grace Manchester again.
Airbourne time! Get your beer on, but please don’t launch it [why do people do that!? It’s so expensive]. Before the band come on stage the crowd get riled up like kangaroos on heat as the intro songs ‘Run to the Hills’ and ‘Ace of Spades,’ are played through the PA. Like the machines they come onto the stage with the Terminator 2 Intro on and bam it’s straight into the action with ‘Ready to Rock’ quickly followed by ‘Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast’ [and I’m in the photo pit avoiding flying beers from the band, talk about the danger zone! What a time to be alive].
Vocalist/guitarist Joel O’Keeffe tells the crowd that they are stoked to be back in the UK and especially back in Manchester where they can riot! It’s been a while since these foul-mouthed Aussie legends came to Manchester and they are back in the game, also “f*ck London” says Joel before going on to say “Anyone know a pub called a pub called Big Hands, had a good time in Big Hands, saw some beautiful girls there at Big Hands, this song is for the girls, girls in black”. And yes there is an actual pub down the road called Big Hands. By this point, beers are flying and the crowd is going bananas, now this is a rock show!
During the performance of ‘Burnout the Nitro,’ there was a technical malfunction that seemed to have caused an abrupt blackout. However, Joel, being the charismatic frontman he is, skillfully filled the silence by engaging with the crowd like a true champion.
“Do you wanna rock Manchester!? Lil bit of Boneshaker for ya!” he says.
Following that electrifying moment came ‘Bottom of the Well,’ which I believe delivered one of the most impactful speeches on mental health anyone could give. Joel spoke passionately about empathizing with those going through tough times; he firmly believes in facing adversity head-on rather than running or hiding from it as he states “Grab it by the fackin’ horns and go fackin’ through it”. This song served as his powerful expression of that philosophy. And just to add some excitement, they unexpectedly incorporated snippets from Ghostbusters into their performance because… why not?
For ‘Breaking out of Hell’ Joel demands a circle pit urging the crowd to seize this moment as their own. The pits erupted with intense energy!
Joel delivers yet another heartfelt speech stating “We wrote a song about the greatest Englishman who ever lived. He was a god. We’re talking about Lemmy you fackin’ idiots! He was the real deal, from birth til death, you the fans kept him alive. We miss going to Motorhead shows, he drove the fucking bus when we broke down!”
The raw emotion in Joel’s voice as he spoke about Lemmy resonated deeply with all of us. It is moments like these that remind us that bands are more than just creators of music; they forge profound connections with their audience and establish an unbreakable bond. Through rock ‘n’ roll, we find unity and a shared sense of belonging – simply having a great time with our friends!
As the song plays on, there sits a table adorned with an abundance of beer and whiskey. With each member introduced by Joel’s gracious hand pouring pints for them, memories flood back to when Lemmy first joined us on this journey – only requesting two bottles of Jack Daniels while he got hired to drive the truck in ‘Running Wild’. Joel gives his pint to the fans to share the sweet sweet adult sippy juice and with that ‘Stand up for Rock n Roll’ is played.
The atmosphere turns completely pitch black as they bring out the iconic air raid siren and playfully tease us with it for a few minutes before cranking up the volume for ‘Live It Up.’ I can’t think of any other band that would do something like this; it’s absolutely incredible! And now, things get even more exciting. Joel calls for more fans to be lifted onto shoulders while he continues to throw beer into the crowd. The first person gets hit on the head, but the second one catches it effortlessly, earning praise from Joel who suggests he should join the cricket team. Some throws are caught successfully while others miss their targets, but there is one particular throw that travels well over half of the venue’s length and miraculously gets caught by a fan – what an impressive catch!
Joel decides to include another song in their setlist “As you are Manchester it’s called, raise the flag for every fan in Manchester” as he raises the flag. They end with ‘Running Wild’ – a perfect way to end an Airbourne show!
RIP to the mass amount of beer that got launched as it’s like 7 quid a pint it’s like liquid gold or it could have been piss.
Airbourne shows us that rock n roll is far from dead. It lives inside all of us, some of us just haven’t discovered it yet.
