This Feeling’s Big in 2018 Round 2: Jimmy’s NQ, Manchester (20.1.18)

Not that you should compare. Each and every single night the guys at This Feeling decide to gift us with is quite literally one of a kind. Night one of Big in 2018 in Nambucca (London) last week was just like ascending into another dimension. Every single person in that room truly entered the #Zone. But Manchester…well, it is The North. Need we say more?

We all know there’s something with Manchester and good music, and if you disagree, you are wrong. It is after nights like this when it feels safe to state the obvious: not only is the Manc vibe alive, but it will probably never die. A venue with character and an atmosphere that gets you in the mood as you venture up the set of stairs welcoming you in, an audience like the old times. The thirst for proper music is eager to be quenched and This Feeling are here to cater for the widest repertoire of pallets. Get here, get involved, go buy a ticket, listen to all the quality emerging bands Mike Jonns and his squad are giving you the opportunity to do the hipster thing and be the first to talk about. Do it now, thank them later.

At around eight PM, Voodoos had the job to kick things off. It's never an easy task to get things started on a night like this and WHAT-A-START is as much as I can say. Presenting us with a singularly tight and polished sound for a band so young, their sound is a foot-stomping, head-nodding delight which will put a smile on your face. Massive potential from these Glaswegian lot. Influences from bands like The Strokes and Palma Violets transpire and a terrific sense of rhythm gives this band their quickly defining identity. Edgy guitar lines and a rather pleasant lead vocal setting the bar high for the remaining three acts to come.

Matter of mind were up next. My matter of mind* was totally and completely blown away by these lovely lads who—in my humble opinion—are safe to be proclaimed next Stockport´s talent sensation. By far my favourite act of this second edition of This Feeling´s Big in 2018; the presence on stage, the fire, the energy. They even dared to perform a little choreographed jumping routine, which gained the heart of this already very impressed audience. Remarkably sharp G U I T A R S, a smooth base line, and one of the most talented drummers I’ve come across in a while make these guys a must see. Even the fillers played in-between songs are worth a mention. If you are guilty of having a bit of a taste for pop-punk of the like of The Devil and Go’s, Brand New, or Taking Back Sunday, you are definitely in for the win. Your next chance to catch them live will take place on the 17th of February in Rebellion, Manchester.

"If you have come as a rock star, see it through as a rock star" would be my way to sum up Mint. With an old school rock and roller attire and an attitude which most certainly matches the shower of tunes they’ve come to deliver. A sold out Jimmy’s was inevitably in front man Zak’s pocket from the very second they stepped on that stage, which has welcomed bands of the size and talent of Cabbage, Hello Operator, and Carnival Club in the past. If this was anything to go by, the boots were filled more than tightly. They do what they do for the sake of playing live, which is the one and only reason there should ever be for anyone to take over a stage, and you can tell. They’re loud. They’re fun. They’re good. If they’re missing from that playlist featuring Catfish & The Bottlemen and Circa Waves, well… have a word with yourself, you fool.

And as it happens, biblical events like this cannot last forever, as much as we’d have sold our poor souls to have this party live forever. It is that time, Proletariat are ready to top this beast of a cake with vigorous sounds that will bring you memories of early Kasabian, Nirvana, The Hives, White Stripes, and one or two hints of The Stooges in their own Mancunian, careless ways. Proletariat are here to tell it like it is and they seem to have mastered the do through that stripped back punk feel which got us all dancing and bouncing our lives away.

So, if you are stuck in the past, wishing for old glories to magically make a return, and dreaming of the sounds of yesteryear, I can only advise you move on. Get over yourself, get loose, go with the flow, and embrace the wonderfulness currently coming up from everywhere around you. Nobody loves the whole back in the day guitar indie scene more than I do, and #BigIn nights are bringing it back.

What This Feeling have been working on for the last few years is unmistakably paying off. They are making history. They are changing things. They are delivering real, authentic, proper guitar music right to your social media feeds, local venues, festivals, magazines, blogs, radio stations. Take advantage. Take part.

Familiar Quirk.