Venue: Club Academy
Face value: £14
Support Act: Har Mar Superstar
Gig buddy: Phil
It's hard to go to a gig where you rated them 5/5 last time around. Like a second viewing on a house you've been excited about to the point of considering putting an offer on, there's the worry that it will fall short of your expectations. Will cracks show, will it seem less impressive? So it's with cautiousness that I enter the Club Academy venue (same location in the Unversity of Manchester, but downstairs with a large area to relax in at the back) to a sold out performance. Already on stage is Har Mar Superstar, who's throwing out some urban-pop tunes - if you close your eyes, it's not disimilar to Justin Timberlake. If you open them, it's like your fat, balding dillusional uncle. He's working himself into a frenzy with catchy-sleaze disco tracks in a voice that defies the image, and even if the audience is only really amused by it all, there's a good vibe. His performance ends with him singing only in his sweaty pants. Enough said.
Sia's show starts with 'Buttons' and as last time, in neon suits and black light. It's still funny, but I've seen it before. Annoyingly enough a group girls wearing comfortable footwear (nothing wrong with that) are in front of me and begin chattering noisily and it gets the goat of everyone around them. We put up with it for a song, but it gets beyond a joke as they are clearly not into the music (why are they even here?) and a woman on the small balcony behind them tells them just how annoying they are being. Back to the performance, it's strong and Sia loses none of her appeal second time around. She giggles infectiously and belts out all our favourites in addition to the new tracks from her recently released album ('some people have REAL problems'). Each song is delivered flawlessly - her voice ever the more amazing when heard live. It's hard to believe such strong vocals come from an otherwise shy, childlike-spoken woman.
Overall, still great and definitely worth going - experience only tainted by the people in front of us, particuarly as one was rather fragrant.
Rating: Yeah, still a 5.
Postscript: Kro Bar across has the strawberry beer back on, but it tasted a little funny.. :(
