Live Review : Therapy? + Enola Gay @ O2 Ritz, Manchester on April 10th 2022

Two gigs in one weekend? Yes. It’s good and bad now everything is back up and running again, feels like everything is coinciding and not sure I can keep up. However I wasn’t going to miss this gig for anything as I bought my ticket back in 2019 and after 3 or more postponements we are finally here! We arrive early and the place is quiet, much quieter than expected. I do not know if this is due to all the rescheduling or because it’s Sunday night, but by 8pm the place is starting to fill up for tonight’s support band. 

Enola Gay wander onto the stage and the first thing you notice is these guys are really young! As their Facebook bio states they are “Belfast based Post Punk, Noise Rock, Hip-Hop Shoegaze” which saves me trying to figure out how to describe them. Formed in late 2019, they guys are obviously finding their way and this performance does feel a little like you are watching band practice in someone’s garage. There is very little interaction with the audience from shell-suited front man Fionn Reilly but he does thank Therapy? for inviting them onto the tour. They are a good choice as they definitely remind me of early Therapy? They are loud with vocals going at a million miles an hour. Not sure if that is just nerves as when checking them out on YouTube you can definitely decipher the lyrics much better. The guitarist looks like he might be having a few issues with his kit but the sound is still good with a booming bass and accompanying drums. The final song sees them hitting their stride with a song that definitely has Therapy? influences, mixed with Joy Division, a smattering of Rage Against the Machine and perhaps a nod to ‘Born Slippy’ by Underworld. I will watch their progress with a beady eye… 

By 9pm the place is much busier, dominated by a not surprising middle aged male audience, but in a slightly more spacious venue than my last Therapy? gig, which was at Gorilla in 2018. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen them. This was the “So Much For the Thirty Year Plan” tour then soon became the 31 then 32 Year Plan. I’ve been with them for most of the journey, though strangely I think I just bought singles and probably listened to/copied my brother’s albums as all I can find in my treasure trove are a few records, the CD single of ‘Diane’ and a rather cool cassette copy of ‘Loose’ which came in cigarette packet style box. So it’s a nostalgic night and I’m glad to be sharing it with my mates, including one I have not seen for at least 6 years and if you want nostalgia… we met by writing to each other over 20 years ago when there was such a thing as penpals, not all this social media weirdness! 

For those who are unaware of Therapy? they are a three-piece from Northern Ireland, formed in 1990. The line-up still includes original members Andy Cairns (vocals and guitar) and Michael McKeegan (bass and backing vocals), plus Neil Cooper on drums who joined in 2002. Which seems really recent but then I remember what year we are in! They break straight into ‘Nausea’ and the crowd are delighted. Next up is ‘Stories’ and I still absolutely love this track “Happy people have no stories” so simple, yet so profound. This can be said for many of the lyrics to their back catalogue, including the following song ‘Kakistocracy’ with the timely and rousing reminder “It’s okay not to be okay” repeated over and over. Throughout proceedings Andy speaks to the crowd, discussing the pandemic, the amazing work of the NHS, the saddening situation in Ukraine and thanking us for our patience while waiting for the tour. They are genuinely ecstatic to be here.

Andy turns our attention to the tragic passing of Taylor Hawkins with a heart-warming tale from a festival in Sweden; having met him on numerous occasions before, they were delighted that despite super stardom he made a beeline for their dressing room to go and say hello. What a remarkable guy. Not sure I liked the choice of tribute song for him with ‘Die Laughing’ but an epic song nonetheless. This is followed by ‘Opal Mantra’ which I have on 7” clear vinyl! The slightly menacing ‘Turn’ which I have on 12” vinyl and 1994’s ‘Trigger Inside’ from their best-known album “Troublegum”.  What is striking about these songs is that despite their age they do not sound dated at all, and the crowd are lapping up the sharp and shrill drums, thundering bass lines all coupled with Andy’s unique riffs and vocals. 

There is lots of praise and gratitude for Manchester and the rock and metal community, coupled with an agreed hatred of the Tory party, in particular Rishi Sunak. Andy reminds us all that in lockdown, artists, musicians, actors were told by him to re-train but instead suggests Sunak re-trains in “decency, understanding and empathy”. I totally agree.  

Back to the songs I know and love… the ever-so energetic bassist Michael (who must be at least 50 years old but jumping all over throughout) introduces ‘Loose’, a song about wearing your partners clothes, shortly followed by their cover of eerily creepy Husker Du’s ‘Diane’. Then it’s the gut-punching earworm ‘Teethgrinder’ from 1992’s album “Nurse” which really showcases Neil’s immense drumming skills. I first saw the deeply disturbing video to this track on Noisy Mothers in 1994 (interview and videos still available on YouTube). 

Quick intermission and the band are back for the encore with ‘Knives’ introduced sarcastically as one of their well-known ballads... Lots of accompanying singing and jumping about before they break into ‘Potato Junkie’ from the second album “Pleasure Death” and much chanting of “James Joyce is fucking my sister” plus a wonderful drum solo. Then the stage is filled with smoke for two back-to-back covers, Joy Division’s ‘Isolation’ and Judas Priest’s ‘Breaking the Law’. They round off the night with their two most popular songs ‘Nowhere’ and the obligatory ‘Screamager’ and I feel 15 again… for a moment it’s a Monday night on the bouncy dancefloor of the Ritz (yes I did start clubbing age 15). The band say thank you, how much they love us but before they say goodbye they make a promise that they will keep making music if we keep turning up to their shows.  I know I certainly will. 

The tour continues throughout May in Europe before they hit a few festivals and onto Ireland and Northern Ireland in the summer