“It's been a long time” a euphoric Rob Cross mused aloud (was he quoting RAKIM?), but last weekend saw self-confessed short-tempered Council popsters ORPHAN BOY make a triumphant return to the live stage on their 'adopted' home turf. Though last here in support of THE ENEMY just five months ago, incredibly this was their first headline show in Manchester in almost two and a half years.
Saturday's enthusiastic audience at a packed-out Ruby Lounge provided the perfect foil for the disaffected trio to bounce off. And bounce we all did.
Dysfunctional dissatisfaction, vitriol, intrigue, self reflexivity and mayhem (both on and off stage) were central to a gig where volatility and the feelgood factor co-existed like intangible blood brothers in a super-giddy atmosphere.
Onstage hysterics were in evidence from the start, as Cross, who spent the whole gig guzzling blue WKD, found himself struggling to keep a straight face during opener 'Letter For Annie'.
Gazing into trademark middle distance as he flooded the follow-up with spitfire guitar, Cross went on to embellish track that, along with Smiffy's thumping bassline/Chris Day's bass-heavy percussion, saw the trio firing on all cylinders
'Harbour Lights' set sail off the back of another massive Chris Day drum kick plus Cross's warped 'eff-off' keyboard playing style (requiring the use of just two fingers!) were the dominant factors, but deeper within, from a source that was hard to pinpoint, the irresistible melody shone brightly.
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We were treated to a truly vintage, carousel-driven slice of the avant garde in the form of 'Popsong' as the hurdy-gurdy hit full tilt.
“This is the North-east coast. no-one escapes...” Epic and eccentric, this track pushed their performance to stratospheric extremes – a spoken-word ranting, raging anti-eulogy blessed with more superbly inane & atonal 2 fingered keyboards.
Cross was back on his trusty cheapo guitar for a rabble-rousing rendition of 'Middle Class Roots' before the night's biggest blast from the past saw OB's first-ever single 'Trophies Of Love' dedicated to Adam Casino (former Casinos guitarist and Manchester's first-ever Orphan Boy fan!)....I rub my eyes and glance at the stage, and there's the man himself adding drunken backing vocals via Smiffy's microphone!
'Passion, Pain & Loyalty' figurehead track 'Some Frontier' saw the Cleethorpes Three come close to tearing the roof off, as of course we knew they would. If ORPHAN BOY'S intent was to remind is that they're still right here, then tonight couldn't have been any more effective.
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