Oceansize performing 'Effloresce' @ Roadhouse, Manchester, 16/10/08

The roar from the crowd that follows the start of the ringing sound that starts off ‘Effloresce’ is immense. It practically shakes the foundations of the Roadhouse. As Oceansize then come onstage it gets even louder. Most of the people here bought their tickets for tonight back in March and the 7-month wait has been agonizing. Can the first night of their 10th anniversary gigs (where they’re playing all their albums in full) really live up to expectations? Well, quite frankly, it not only exceeds expectations, it beats them down to a bloody pulp. Standing silently on stage, the band kick into ‘Effloresces’ first track, the haunting ‘I Am The Morning’. Its slow guitar riff vibrating throughout the venue making way to the full post-rock workout is truly special. It finishes in a wash of feedback, through which the familiar drum tapping from Mark Heron announces the start of former single ‘Catalyst’. As the songs explodes into painful noise and guitar crunching the crowd literally go wild. Mike Vennart finally steps towards his mic to sing his first lines tonight. Straying between melodic hush and piercing screaming, he truly has one of the best voices in rock today. ‘Catalyst’ continues its sonic voyage into hard-edged territory before coming to a halt, to which Mike announces ‘I can’t believe it, we’re actually here doing this!’

‘I’d now like to introduce some guests, Mr Sel Balamir of Amplifier, and Mr Jon Lee of Kong. This now brings the number of guitars onstage, to 6. I hope you enjoy it.’
Thus is the introduction to ‘One Day All This Could Be Yours’, with Sel and Jon standing on a now much cramped stage with their respective guitars, and bassist Steven Hodgson putting his bass down and picking up his own guitar. When all 6 guitars enter halfway through the song it feels like it’s powerful enough to destroy the world. The heavy riff swirls round the room whilst Mike screams through the noise. Once it over, the guest’s leave, and Mike addresses the crowd again. ‘I had to get a replacement muff pedal the other day, and it happens to be called ‘Le Twat’. I think it’s appropriate as this song has got a lot of twat in it’. The crowd laughs and smiles appear throughout the room. The band are starting ‘Massive Bereavement’. It opens with its slow hypnotic guitar lines, and Mark Heron’s precisely hit drumming. After 4 minutes, it starts to break down. Feedback resounds, the bass riff starts to grow louder, the drumming more panicked. Then it stops. The feedback shakes the venue for a minute. The Mark produces a roll that leads into the heaviest riff of the night. The crowd can’t stay still and the next 5 minutes reach some of the most epic peaks ever as the band plays around each other in perfect harmony finishing with blistering tremolo’s before it’s full stop. 10 minutes of shear beauty. One of the definite highlights of the evening.

It calms down for a bit now. ‘Rinsed’ quiets reels out its deep bass notes and delayed guitars just long enough for everyone to recover from the previous onslaught. Barely a second after it’s over though and ‘You Wish’ kicks in. A song that hasn’t been played in 5 years. Mike’s hushed tones give way to raw shouting as the song reaches its transition from soft to hard, easily the catchiest of the hard driven songs on the album. It’s dedicated to Fran once it’s over ‘Cos she’s been asking for it for half a decade.’ What nice chaps. The night takes a weirdly groovier tone with ‘Remember Where You Are’; the epic build up is spectacular, with Mikes haunting lyrics about abuse shining through. ‘Amputee’ kicks in not long afterwards. Another of the more catchy songs off ‘Effloresce’ with ‘You Wish’, its probably the only song on the album with a straightforward pop song structure. It’s amazing live though. The crowd sing along enthusiastically, and the quiet loud dynamics work beautifully. After a minor technical delay there’s another calming break from proceedings with ‘Unravel’. The piano led number is beautiful and intricate, a definite balance to the more in the face rockers of the night.

The next section should be special though. The chiming guitar intro of ‘Women Who Love Men Who Love Drugs’ fades in through Steve Durose’s wah pedal, and the epic song builds up to it’s beautiful peak, visibly making lots of people in the room emotional. It’s meandering ending still surprises those who expect it to explode into noise again. Its intricate guitar outro is still one of the most beautiful pieces of music committed to record. Then the song I’d waited all night for started up. I’ve wanted to hear ‘Saturday Morning Breakfast Show’ live since I first got into Oceansize and tonight was the night it would happen. The slow build up sends shivers up, down and sideways across the spine, before entering the bizarre western film-esque verse. The panoramic sound of the song makes the Roadhouse seem bigger than it actually is. Then when the first breakdown begins the room feels suddenly small again as the crowd go wild yet again. The ambient mid section again make many people in the room visibly emotional, with the chiming guitar lines and harmonised vocals ringing perfectly clear in the room. Then the final metallic breakdown and stop start outro again make the room feel like it should be splitting apart any second. It’s a monumental 10 minutes of music, which is nothing more than perfection.

‘Well, we’ve got one song left now and I’m sure you can guess what it is. The only problem with these sorts of gigs is that there’s no surprises. Or are there?’ Mike Vennart is teasing the crowd obviously. Who knows what to expect once the sad and claustrophobic ‘Long Forgotten’ finishes? Another emotional song, but this time because everyone knows it the last song on the album, and thus the evening is coming to a close. The tremolo lines and driving drums make way for a final flourish from the band, who leave the stage to the same chiming sound they walked onto. Everyone in the room wants more, so the band come back onstage to perform ‘a cheeky few more songs’ as Vennart puts it. And what songs they are. ‘Paper Champion’ and ‘One Out Of None’ from the ‘Music For Nurses Ep’. ‘Paper Champion’ deafens the venue with its bizarre mix of trip hop and metal, whilst ‘One Out Of None’ virtually murders it with the heaviest riff heard all night, and a large group of people at the front jumping for joy through it. The night ends finally and there’s barely a disappointed person in the room. The crowd cheer for a long time knowing they’ve just experienced a truly special night.