It’s near enough a guarantee that when you go to a Blossoms gig in their home city of Manchester you’ll bump into someone you know - especially if you are a proud Stopfordian who has closely followed the band's meteoric rise.
The Stockport lads have played their fair share of Manchester venues over the last decade - from Night & Day and Gorilla to Albert Hall and AO Arena, but tonight the crowd is literally fizzing with excitement at Castlefield Bowl, as the five-piece prepare to take to the stage as part of the continuing Sounds of the City open-air gig series.
It comes off the back of a sold-out, twenty three date UK tour at the of last year, which concluded in Manchester as part of a four-night residency at the 02 Apollo, and a third UK Number One album for the latest studio album, ‘Ribbon Around The Bomb’.
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Support comes courtesy of Oldham TikTok star Seb Lowe who, at just 19, has already played at Glastonbury and supported Richard Ashcroft. He’s followed up by a pitch-perfect set from Manchester legends Inspiral Carpets, who back in April headed back out on tour after a seven-year hiatus.
With the beer flowing and the crowd blaring out renditions of She’s Electric, Not Nineteen Forever and Sweet Caroline at a volume that almost engulfs the sound system here in the bowl, it’s time for the main event. Confidently sauntering onto the stage, frontman Tom Ogden decked out in a signature vintage-style black suit salutes the crowd before the unmistakable base line of Your Girlfriend - the lead single from their third studio album - fills the bowl.
They dive straight into the synth-heavy Honey Sweet, and a rousing rendition of Oh No (I Think I’m in Love) from their third album Foolish Loving Spaces, featuring some gentle teasing from Tom - “Oh stop it” he smirks, before the five-piece theatrically freeze in place for what feels like a lifetime, before launching into the always tight gem, The Keeper.
The set feels incredibly tight, partly on account of the strict curfew, but also because the band, who are celebrating their tenth anniversary - “let's raise a tin for our ten-year wedding anniversary” jokes Tom - are seasoned professionals by this point. With the addition of percussionists and an extra guitarist, the setlist is polished, thoughtful and jam-packed full of singalongs.
Blending the playful, glossy anthems of their self-titled debut, with the synth-heavy follow-up, boundary pushing Foolish Loving Spaces and their most recent release, the evolved Ribbon Around The Bomb, the crowd are treating to the very best of Blossoms back-catalogue, with renditions of How Long Will This Last, I Can’t Stand It and Blow with an extended outro hitting all the right notes.
Peppered with anecdotes and check-ins from the frontman - “anyone get the 192 down here” - it feels like a gig especially for those who have followed the band since their formation. Ode to NYC off their latest album is prefaced by a story of how Tom wrote the song for a Netflix show before the streaming giant decided to “f*** them off”, and followed by Sulking Poet and its undeniably catchy chorus ‘ooh-la-la Juliet’.
As we near the end, a sublime rendition of the velvety My Swimming Brain lulls us towards oldie but goodie My Favourite Room with an extended outro of ‘Angels Edition, ‘You’re Gorgeous’ and ‘Half The World Away’ snippets, which leaves the audience singing along even as the five-piece leave the stage.
Returning for the encore, Ogden shouts “I said do you have anymore left in the tank?” before launching into two of the band’s biggest hitters - There’s a Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Calls) and Charlemagne. The latter is perhaps their longest rendition of the smash hit on account of the band introductions and the frontman forgetting drummer and brother-in-law Joe Donovan’s shout out. When he does get his turn the crowd lap it up before bidding farewell to Stockport’s Finest.
Setlist:
Your Girlfriend
Honey Sweet
Oh No (I Think I’m in Love)
The Keeper
Cool Like You
Ribbon Around the Bomb
How Long Will This Last
Getaway
Ode to NYC
The Sulking Poet
Blown Rose
I Can’t Stand It
If You Think This is Real Life
Care For
Blow
At Most a Kiss
My Swimming Brain
My Favourite Room
Encore:
There’s a Reason Why
Charlemagne
