It’s not everyday that there’s a gig on my doorstep. Instead of the 60 minutes to Manchester I take regularly, I hop on the train for not even 10 minutes to reach tonight’s venue. Tonight Matthew, I’m at Delamere Forest.
Noel Gallagher (that’s Liam’s Brother), is headlining tonight as part of the Forest live series, but I’m actually here to suss out support act Confidence Man. An unlikely billing maybe, but I actually found out that the Aussie outfit met NG while out partying in Melbourne. Needless to say, they hit it off and were invited to support Noel on his UK summer dates.
My first experience of Confidence Man was only a few weeks ago, watching an energy fuelled performance on Later With Jools Holland. A few spins of their ace new record ‘Tilt’ later and I was eager to catch them in the flesh. As soon as half of the band walk on dressed as shadow people, with huge black lace veils covering their whole body, I could already tell this mixed crowd of Cheshire folk weren’t sure what was going on….
When dual vocalists Janet Planet and Sugar Bones walk on wearing massive blazers puppeting their shoulders to the house grooves of ‘Toyboy’, there is more confusion. I, on the other hand, am in bliss. That only escalates further across the set, as we enter the wonderfully camp, party universe of Confidence Man. There’s four costume changes, light up bras, lots of shirts being ripped off and fuck loads of choreography. Musically, they sport a strong 90s dance vibe, blending funky house melodies, electro bass lines and some super catchy pop hooks.
There’s so much going on throughout the set and it’s fair to say that it’s certainly a feast for the eyes. Sugar pulls out cans of beer and bottles of champagne and subsequently pours them all over himself, seductively slicking his hair back, more than once. Janet on the other hand dances as if her life depends on it, especially on the euphoric chorus of ‘Feels Like A Different Thing’. The shadow people on the other hand do a great job in slowly warming up the crowd, pumping their fists in the air and building up their electro pop hooks as the other two run off for a costume change.
As the set progresses, I can see the crowd getting very much into the swing of things. By the time the band come to the closer, summer smash ‘Holiday’, hands are in the air. I even spot a few Dad’s dancing! With Janet politely thanking us and Sugar telling us that we’re all sexy, they run off stage, still brimming with energy. To be honest, I’m ready for more.
It’s really cool to see a support band put in so much thought and effort into the show. It’s one of those sets that genuinely had me wondering what was going to happen next. And that’s something I’ve not felt watching a live band in a long time. Confidence Man threw all the right shapes tonight and ended up being one of the best things I’ve seen in ages!
Like what you see? Why not stick around and check out the other articles and interviews!
Don’t forget to follow Birthday Cake For Breakfast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
Birthday Cake For Breakfast 