Jade Bird at the O2 Ritz is one of those gigs I’ve had in the diary for MONTHS. Since announcement – which was at the start of 2019 – it’s been in the diary. Excitement has been building for a while then, as you can probably guess.
I rushed from work to Wagamama’s and wolfed down a lovely dish, full of veg, salmon and noodles – there was meant to be wasabi too, but I asked them to remove it, as I don’t do spice very well. That was washed down with a pint of Asahi and off we went, to The Ritz.
This was a family affair – me and the mother & sis – so we pledged to do a round each. I was up first, “3 pints of your cheapest lager please” I whispered, hoping they wouldn’t hear. Mosa Wild entered soon after and delivered a set of dreamy alt rock, reminiscent of Tame Impala, The National and Foals, their harmonies absolutely splendid, their cover of The Waterboys’ ‘The Whole Of The Moon’ even better. We were warm by that point, but you’re always warm at The Ritz – it’s a sweaty, sweaty venue.
It was the sister’s round next – “San Miguel please, Sis.“ – before Superwoman arrived. In her shiny, black, trademark jumpsuit, Jade Bird showed she’s a rockstar. An hour long set of album-favourites, debut material, new material and covers, she killed it. Her voice during ‘Uh Huh’, ‘Going Gone’ and ‘I Get No Joy’ was ferocious, turning these usually tame acoustic ballads into riot grrl rock tracks with extended outros and vicious vocals.
Jade was enjoying herself too, not hiding the fact she loves Manchester, and has been looking forward to this show ever since the Manchester faithful forced Bird into upgrading to a bigger venue – twice. Us Mancunions are already arrogant enough, and Jade only enhanced that by telling us MCR is unbeatable as a crowd – you hear that UK? We are unbeatable as a crowd. The best crowd in the UK. SUCK IT!
The album material sounded class, but it was the newer stuff that impressed. The handful of potentially new singles sprinkled throughout had a swagger and confidence, whilst the cover of Blondie’s ‘Call Me’ was an unexpected delight.
With her genuine personality, smile that lights up a room and voice that’ll kill you with kindness, Bird is ending the year just like she started it, with a motherfucking, riotous bang.
Listen to Jade Bird on Spotify and Apple Music. Oh, and grab a copy of our magazine HERE.
