Live Review : Black Spiders + Cola Bay + Attic Theory @ Retro, Manchester on March 12th 2023

It's very easy to lose a sense of perspective when you get the opportunity to review shows in arenas, theatres, and cavernous academies. But it takes evenings like tonight to remind you that minuscule basement venues like retro here in Manchester is where rock 'n' roll came from and, for the majority of the North-West scene, continues to dwell.  Peter from The Black Spiders continually describes the confined surroundings as being someone’s living room, and he is not half wrong. The stage is tucked into a corner by the bar and you can tell that opener Attic Theory are inwardly cursing the fact that there are six of them. 

The triple axe attack setup works well for them and gives their sound a beefy and fuller feeling. However, it does mean that they are almost playing on top of each other and there would be difficulty swinging around a shrew or field mouse, let alone a cat. In fact, for the last two tracks vocalist Peter Donnelly decides to break the fourth wall and leave the stage entirely. He wanders around the rapidly filling room sharing fist bumps and crooning directly at anybody who catches his eye. He even attempts (and partially succeeds) with a level of audience participation, encouraging us to sing the melody with him. What they do ain't half bad. It's melodic rock with a purposely crunchy backline. They describe themselves as alternative groove rock but whatever you want to call it, it certainly provides an engaging half an hour.

Cola Bay are pretty anonymous online (aside from a number of tracks available on Spotify (other streaming services are available). This is a real shame as I wanted to particularly lauder plaudits on the exploits of their vocalist. Some frontpeople just sing. They stand there as themselves and simply regurgitate the words that they have been given. But then there are those who embody the very essence of the tracks that they are performing. Cola Bay’s main man is very much in the latter camp. He feels like a sage or storyteller and the songs come across as great oratory tracts that he is passionately retelling. He puts every ounce of his essence into his performance, and you can feel his soul being laid before you. 

Musically Cola Bay unashamedly raids the inspiration box labelled "late 90s American alt-rock”. There are tracks that sound like Foo Fighters, there are tracks that sound like Stone Temple Pilots, there are tracks that sound like Red Hot Chili Peppers and there is even a track that sounds like Blur when they decided to go off and rip off Pavement. Originality may well be in short supply, but the way that Cola Bay deliver their wares is simply quite stunning. They have a confidence about them that is all-consuming. The biggest compliment to make, is that even though the musical stylings that they ply are by a long shot not my cup of tea, I still find them engaging and enthralling. Not bad for a band you can find bugger all about on the Internet.

It must feel for Black Spiders that they have at some point annoyed the fuck out of the gods of rock 'n' roll. You see for them luck has sadly been in short supply. When they formed in the late noughties their brand of driven hard rock had the traction of a Gary Glitter reunion tour. They were bloody good at what they did and won over the hearts and minds of anyone have the good fortune to cross their path. But in the end, they succumbed to the general indifference about what they were doing and split in 2017. As this came just as a new wave of British classic rock was emerging it can only be perceived as incredibly bad timing. 

Fast forward to 2020, rumours of a reunion began to emerge. Which would be have been wonderful if we weren't all bloody locked in our own homes unable to get out to see the newly resurrected Black Spiders. In fact, they only managed to get back on the road for Bloodstock ’21 and then a November tour, which itself had to be curtailed when Pete was struck down with Covid. And then adding insult to probable injury, this run of shows was put in jeopardy when long-term guitarist Ozzy Lister decided to take a step back from touring.

However, Black Spiders are resilient bastards and tonight in Manchester we get a newly expanded five-piece iteration of the band that is determined to show they are still the last word in filthy riff-driven rock 'n' roll. Putting aside the ongoing soap opera surrounding them, tonight they are utterly excellent and use the claustrophobic confines of the tiny room to their distinct advantage. Pete points out jovially that they haven't even been able to get the backdrop down the stairs, let alone in situ to its rightful position behind them. He also, with tongue stuck very much in cheek, points out that their Stonehenge stage set is also outside the van. However, logistical problems aside, the most endearing thing about this evening is how well the new line-up has bedded in. 

If you haven't come across Black Spiders before you would be convinced that the new guys have been belting out ‘Stick It to the Man’, ‘Creatures’ and ‘Teenage Gang Knife Gang’ all their natural life. Inexplicably they have managed to retain the band’s unique selling point, which is the beautiful synergy between sonic polished performance and spontaneous anarchy. You know that they have played every track here tonight a gazillion times but the pulsating energy that they pour into their performance makes this evening feel unique, exciting, and utterly invigorating.

Pete is in a particularly affable mood and banters along with the audience with style, panache and dollops of self-deprecation. In a meandering intro to ‘Blood of the Kings’, he completely fails to find anybody in the crowd with Viking ancestry and ends up having to dedicate the track to the barman. However, it is during ‘Stay Down’ that he, as always, comes into his own. The track breaks midway through so he can enquire how many times people in the audience have seen the band ("once or twice" comes the deadpan reply from an obviously seasoned veteran). He marvels at the fact that one attendee this evening is celebrating their 50th encounter with them but then proceeds to initiate those "virgins" amongst us into the ways of Black Spiders. We have to do it twice but eventually he is satisfied with the venomous intentions of the screamed refrain of "fuck you Black Spiders”.

For all the adversity that they have had piled upon them, Black Spiders are a band that revels in the bounce back. They have a new album in the can and ready to be unleashed upon us (pre-orders available here). Tonight, they prove that you can’t keep a good band down. They may well not be the great white hope they once were, but it is obvious tonight that they don't actually care. This is rock 'n' roll in its purest essence, a band playing music because they love playing music and that adoration is quite simply infectious.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!

Black Spiders, Cola Bay, Attic Theory