Like a zombie virus, Pulled Apart By Horses hit Manchester hard.
They hit the stage and take a huge chunk out of the audience, fever spreads throughout the crowd and pandemonium ensues. Then, as the lights come up, out stumble the tired and ruined shells of what was once their very alive fanbase.
Complete shock and awe.
Now, obviously anyone with any experience of Pulled Apart By Horses live, or even on record for that matter, will not be surprised by this. But on this tour it’s a little different; buoyed by the success of their most recent album ‘Blood‘ they are more vital and electric than ever.
At the Manchester Gorilla they tear through absolutely everything, the plan seems to be to repeatedly hit the audience square in the chops, over and over again. And if that’s the plan, then victory is theirs. Whether they are pulling tracks from their latest album, or digging back through tried and tested live favourites, it’s just sheer unadulterated intensity.
If opener ‘Hot Squash‘ just went on battering with its riff for a solid 45 minutes and then you could walk away happy. Sadly though, tonight it is just a few short minutes of hungry, blissful power. As openers to any show go, it’s impressive. For this band it’s merely an hors d’oeuvres, but a damn tasty one.
But it’s not just that they have such a deep set of songs to draw upon that makes them such a draw live. It’s all about the performance with Pulled Apart By Horses. They want the crowd along for the ride, they are not here to merely perform or put on a show. They are here to preach their sermon, they are here to convert all before them.
‘Shake Off the Curse‘ is quite simply brilliant, and ‘High Five, Swan Dive, Nose Dive‘, of course, never disappoints. But despite all the brilliance of their earlier material, and how well it plays live, tonight is all about ‘Blood’.
The new material feels more confident, more vibrant and more spacious than their earlier work. Not to say better, just more elaborate and detailed. Like they finally had the time and support to make the music they always intended to, and this feels even more true live. The excitement is palpable, both from the band and the crowd.
‘Lizard Baby‘ is the standout moment of the night, a wonderful change of pace, but not intensity. It drips with muck and grime, yet feels so righteous and true. It might be difficult to understand this dichotomy, but it’s so very easy to enjoy it.
And then ‘Medium Rare‘, which is the funkiest Pulled Apart By Horses have ever been, sounding like a Royal Blood track injected with pure venom: it is as razor sharp as it is raw and loose.
This is the measure of the evening, the new material adds a completely new dimension. They have always been a juggernaut live, but now they have gears and better handling. It seems wrong to suggest that being better at cornering somehow improves a performance, one that used to merely steam roll over anything in its path, yet this doesn’t mean they now go around things rather than through them. Instead this ability to change directions means they can now reach new destinations.
Pulled Apart By Horses are all about taking the audience on a journey, showing them the full spectrum of what they are capable of. Watching a truly brilliant live band find yet another gear is the true surprise of the evening, but also the true brilliance of it. And as the crowd shuffle out, drained of life after giving so much in return, it’s impossible not to feel infected by what this band has to offer.
If tonight is anything to go by, it is a fever that is spreading fast.