Live: Give It A Name festival - Manchester

Sunday April 30th 2006

Sunday’s event opened with South Wales’ Taint on the second stage. They were well received from the generous crowd, after leaving no lasting impression. Honorary Title followed on the second stage, an American indie pop rock band. Clearly able to carry a tune, their performance was fair but not so uplifting.

The Bled were the first band to play the main stage. As the name suggests, this band is loud, obnoxious and hardcore, with a performance that inevitably woke the standing section up into a jumping frenzy, yet did little to impress myself from the comfort of my padded seat. The word ‘samey’ was what came to mind as song after song screamed through the arena, indistinguishable from its predecessor. Scremo sextet Underoath left an impression following their performance; mainly of sheer pandemonium as frontman Spencer Chamberlain destroyed his microphone as part of his mic-swinging performance, before leaping into the crowd and surfing to safety.

Paramore came before Underoath, and were another impressive act to emerge from the unknown to me. Lead vocalist Hayley Williams was the only female to grace the stage all weekend (and yes, I did fancy her!); one of the youngest singers of the weekend, but was very confident and won over the crowd with relative ease. The biggest compliment I could pay this band is that before the gig, I’d never heard of them. I left the gig in a Paramore shirt!

If My Chemical Romance were the band everyone had come to see, Panic! At The Disco were runners up to that accolade. The lovable emo princes’ meteoric rise was their only downfall for this performance, as their time limit was so much shorter than hoped. Everyone was on their feet to the techno rock sound so unique to Brendon Urie’s band, who by now must be getting used to the never ending screams of teenage girls. The second time I have seen them in a week, songs such as The Only Difference... and I Write Sins… don’t fail to lose their charm, and the fresh band once again proves their undeniable talent.

Men, Women & Children, who opened for Panic! At The Disco on a selection of their UK tour dates, had the difficult duty in keeping spirits up after a short Panic! set and keeping as many of the crowd from retreating to the foyers and toilet facilities. A good-time electro pop-rock band from New York, MW&C have unique stage performances at their disposal. Including a bubble machine and a bone prop for the song Monkey Monkee Men – which requires simple audience participation. Thrice’s presence on the main stage triggered the countdown of the final headlining bands of Give It A Name. Uncharacteristic of them to thrash around on stage like a wind up toy, Thrice left their impression musically, Red Sky being the highlight of an earnest set. Atreyu could also be accused of displaying a mature approach in their set, without losing touch with the upbeat audience. Crowd participation was high with pumping fists and a frenzy of dancing.

Billy Talent were another highly regarded band to perform. One or two humorous remarks about ex-girlfriends and their private parts kept the audience well in tune. Frontman Benjamin Kowalewicz performed new material from their forthcoming album, as well as older tracks such as Try Honesty and River Below. The Atari’s were the penultimate act of the weekend, and as such the expectation to deliver a good performance was there. Sadly, this expectation wasn’t met; as song after song was met with polite applause from a crowd that mustn’t have helped but wondered why Panic! At The Disco performed so early for such a short time, when The Atari’s clearly could not provide a cutting edge. Luckily for them, the building was buzzing for the weekend’s final act. My Chemical Romance.

As MCR, led by idolised frontman Gerard Way emerged, the building was screaming and jumping as mosher’s choice Thank You For The Venom kicked in. The Setlist was mostly comprised of tracks from the massively successful Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge album, including Cemetery Drive, To The End (a personal favourite), and possibly the three most anticipated songs of the entire festival; Ghost Of You, Helena and the addictive I’m Not Okay. Our Lady Of Sorrows was the only representative of the debut Bullets, with no time for covers, bonus songs or new tracks. I, like many others, was of the opinion that this was undoubtedly the best act of the weekend, as the newest rock kings made their return to the scene in explosive style.

Verdict: Two acts stand out – Panic! At The Disco and My Chemical Romance. Arguably the best bands of the weekend, they near enough saved Sunday’s line up from probable disappointment. Never the least, this was an enjoyable day and a very enjoyable weekend. One or two sound/technical problems marred some performances, but with experienced bands still able to improvise, there weren’t too many complaints from the colourful audience.

Liam