It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what made Los Bitchos the obvious choice to top the bill at tonight’s New Century Hall opening party - or at a party of any description, really.
The four-piece - founded and based in London, but drawn from Australia, Uruguay, Sweden and the UK - have become one of 2022’s breakthrough indie success stories, thanks to their unique, tequila-infused blend of everything from surf rock to Turkish psych, as well as their riotous live shows. It’s an energy that was smartly captured on their aptly-titled debut album, Let the Festivities Begin! , back in February.
Tonight, they’re actually bringing a close to the celebrations, at a launch party for the revived New Century Hall that brings the curtain down on a week that also saw turns from The Charlatans and, poignantly, John Cooper Clarke. The latter was once turned away from a Jimi Hendrix show at the the venue in its sixties heyday for not wearing a tie, which must have been one of the few times in recorded history the usually crisply-suited punk poet was caught without one.
For all the Hall’s illustrious heritage, though, and as lovingly preserved as its wood-panelled walls are, a quick glance over the coming months’ gig listings suggests that this is to be a forward-thinking venue, with touches like the eye-catching illuminated ceiling confirming it. It’s fitting, then, that support should come from genuine up-and-comers in the form of Welsh outfits Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard and The Bug Club, the latter in particular promising plenty with their incendiary brand of crackling psych-pop marking them out as ones to watch.
It sets the stage nicely for Los Bitchos, too, a band also rooted in psych and who’s intricate mix of South American influences makes them unlikely interlopers on an often staid indie rock scene. It’s little wonder, though, when their live shows are like tonight’s - irresistibly danceable exercises in joie de vivre.
The band hurtle from the swaying rhythm of opening one-two ‘FFS’ and ‘Change of Heart’ to the pointed swagger of ‘Pista (Fresh Start)’ via the 80s calypso pop of ‘Tropico’, all the while handing around the tequila and cracking wise with the audience. An atmospheric take on their album closer, ‘Lindsay Goes to Mykonos’, only gets underway once they’ve confirmed that its namesake, actress Lindsay Lohan, is not in fact among the New Century crowd.
Beneath the frenzy that the band whip up, though, is a superb musicianship, especially on the scintillating ‘The Link Is About to Die’, which sees de facto frontwoman Serra Petale flit effortlessly between crunching riffs and extended bongo solos. Closing the set with a thunderous take on The Champs’ ‘Tequila’, Los Bitchos have set the tone for the New Century - now it’s over to a stellar winter line-up to re-cement it as one of Manchester’s most vital venues.
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