Live Review: Against The Current – Nightmares & Daydreams – O2 Ritz, Manchester

Against The Current at the O2 Ritz, Manchester was an exciting show from start to finish. Joined by an two incredible supports in the form of LØLØ and Call Me Amour, the night promised big, and delivered hard for the Manchester masses. Here’s what went down.

Kicking off the show was Call Me Amour who’s short but memorable set got the crowd ready and warmed up for second support act LØLØ and much-anticipated headliner, Against The Current. The most memorable moment of their set was when they got the audience to all film for a music video asking them to submit their clips to the band for a chance to win merch. Front man, Harry Radford, carried the set with immense energy and enthusiasm, rushing into the pit at multiple points to get the audience hyped up.

Next up was LØLØ, who took to the stage with a burst of colour and energy. She got her fans singing every word and even gave out bright pom poms to the audience to get them fully engaged. Based on the crowd’s reaction, it seemed to me that her fan base made up the younger portion of the audience in attendance. I think it’s great to see artists brining a younger fresher audience into the scene, which is why artists like LØLØ are so important – the softer vocals and more melodic nature make it easier for people with more mainstream taste to make the transition to heavier music. Her lyrics on topics such as heartbreak clearly appeal to her fans despite how young some of them were. She closed her set with an incredible cover of ‘I Love It’ by Icona Pop, followed by her song ‘boohoo’ to finish.

Against the Current were amazing from the second they stepped on stage, the lighting of each and every song being completely unique and dynamic, capturing the vibe of the song being played as a way to complete the experience. Vocalist, Chrissy Costanza had a perfect combination of energy, passion, and emotion when performing. She seemed humble but knew she had the venue hanging on her every lyric. Her vocals were just as amazing as they are on record and I think that just goes to show truly how good of a band they are.

The chemistry the band has with each other was beautiful to watch, as they not only performed to the audience but also to each other which drove each of them to perform at 100% to keep up. ‘that won’t save us’ was a stand out song for me and was performed so well with so much passion. That being said nothing got the crowd as excited as their encore when they played ‘Legends Never Die’, performed to a standard that any League Of Legends fan would be ecstatic about. Costanza’s vocals for that song were unmatched and completely incredible.

The well established American band really know how to put on a show and definitely left their fans hoping to see them again as soon as possible. Bringing along both Call Me Amour and LØLØ was just the cherry on top to make this an extra special night for those that attended.