Skillet, Like A Storm, Eva Under Fire, Live Review – Manchester Academy, April 14 2023

A headline show and the first one in Manchester demanded the classics and with 'Comatose', 'Monster', 'Rebirthing' and 'The Resistance' wrapping up the show, everyone bounced, sang, drank and danced...

Words & Pictures: Adrian Hextall / (C) MindHex Media

Manchester, officially the wettest city I’ve ever visited. Every time I go, it rains and true to form, the trip up to Manchester from London gradually got darker and darker and greyer and greyer. By the time the train had pulled into Piccadilly Station, the heavens had opened and as my kind Uber driver pointed out, I was being blessed with an abundance of pure Pennines water and that “if” I made the effort to stay over an extra day or two.. Spring would be with us a couple of days later. 

Whilst I dashed between puddles and headed into the venue to chat to the opening act and the headliners (interviews to follow), the queue was already stretching down the side of the large Academy venue with eager Skillet fans keen to push through to the barrier to watch what would be the band’s debut show in Manchester. As the venue rapidly filled to capacity, we got ready for Detroit’s newest hard rock outfit Eva Under Fire.  

Eva Under Fire

If the price of the ticket could be justified with the open act alone, we’d all go home happy after each and every gig we attended. In the case of Eva Under Fire, that statement is completely accurate. Featuring Amanda “Eva Marie” Lyberg – Vocals, Rob Lyberg – Lead guitar, Chris Slapnik – Rhythm guitar, Ed Gawlik – Bass and Dave Miller II – Drums, the band who had a debut album back in 2015 have completely restyled and reinvented themselves with the resulting opus ‘Love, Drugs & Misery’ a hard hitting, sassy outfit fronted by a woman whose delivery hits you like a freight train coming out of nowhere. 

That approach on the new album is carried through to the live show and Eva Under Fire really could be renamed Eva On Fire as they tore up the venue with ease, warming up the crowd so much several concert goers were seen moving to the back of the venue to have the smouldering embers in their hair put out by the on site fire crew. They rattled through tracks from the V2.0 debut, and even threw in a cover of Journey’s ‘Separate Ways’. Closing with the opening track on ‘Love, Drugs & Misery’ , ‘Blow’, the title is the one thing they didn’t do. Fantastic. 

Like A Storm

Touring on the back of latest album ‘Okura’, New Zealand’s Like A Storm also bring something different to the table. Sitting squarely in the centre of the stage in front of the drum kit, the band had placed two pairs of, what looked like, shiny, chrome plated, exhaust pipes, each of which had a chrome skull sitting between them. “What gives?” we wondered. Death and totems are hardly something you expect to see at your typical Skillet concert so for me, seeing the band for the very first time, my interest was piqued immensely. Just where would they go with this? 

Didgeridoos…… to the uninitiated, that was hands down the surprise of the day. As was the fact that lead singer and guitarist Chris Brooks was the one who stepped back to play the instrument during what is probably the band’s best known number, ‘Love the Way You Hate Me’. 

Of course before then, the band kept the momentum going. With this being only their second show since COVID struck back in 2019 (the other being Wetzelland Motorcycle Rally 2022 according to Setlist.fm) the band were clearly happy to be back on stage. A rousing cover of AC/DC’s ‘T.N.T.’ had the crowd bouncing and singing back to the band, much to the delight of the guys onstage. The relief, the ability to play once more and that fact that it was happening, all too evident in their eyes and their words spoken to the crowd. Much love was shared amongst the rock and the world (well, Manchester at least) was a better place for it. 

With Matt Brooks also handling the vocals as well as lead guitar, Like A Storm definitely mix it up on stage and suggests that even with four albums under their belts, they’ve got more to say and if they and Eva Under Fire can bottle that onstage enthusiasm, I think we could probably solve some of the planet’s energy problems. 

Skillet

Our headliners are no strangers to these shores although this is the first time since 2014 that the band have played more than one date on a tour and the first time they’ve come up to Manchester. We saw them at Download in 2022 but of course a festival slot doesn’t offer the fans the opportunity to hear a full headlining set so, as expected, the buzz inside the packed Academy felt like it could fill the yellow canisters from Monsters Inc with ease. 

The band opened with my favourite song ‘Invincible’, the chugging riffs on the intro delivering the sort of Crunch that the Captain of the famous cereal brand would have been proud of. If we thought that the previous two acts had brought the energy (and fire) to the soggy city, then Skillet, who do of course have the big man upstairs looking out for them, ripped the energy dial off the wall, replaced it with their own supercharger and didn’t look back. 

That supercharger emerged triumphant during song 3, namely ‘Surviving the Game’ as John Cooper strapped on a pair of CO2 cannons to his arms firing them out over the audience. If spectacle alone sold tickets then Skillet should be headlining arenas. The fact that they aren’t and also have the songs to back up the spectacle and showmanship is a travesty that the crowd in Manchester (and London the following night) would surely love to address. 

Hit after hit followed with both ‘Awake and Alive’ and ‘Hero’ seeing Jen emerge from behind her drum kit to take up mic duties at the front. She remains one of the key components to the band’s overall sound. It’s hard to imagine a Skillet album without Jen’s voice punching through the grit of John’s performance and when she does sing her gorgeous tones give the songs more layers than would otherwise be possible. It’s a style of delivery that sets the band apart and with the Brit’s family present on the Academy balcony to cheer her on, this truly felt like an intimate homecoming show for her. 

A headline show and the first one in Manchester demanded the classics and with ‘Comatose’, ‘Monster’, ‘Rebirthing’ and ‘The Resistance’ wrapping up the show, everyone bounced, sang, drank and danced themselves silly for the last thirty minutes. A triumphant show and one that showcases just why and where John pus his faith. Taking a moment to recognise the one being outside of his family that he puts his trust and faith into, John achieves what few other Christian musicians manages to do, find the line, for the fans between those who do and don’t have the same beliefs as he does. He acknowledges his faith at every show I’ve seen him perform, as is his right as the man on stage, but it’s done so well so as not to alienate anyone in the crowd. 

We can’t ask more, other than more dates the next time they hit the UK. From a passing conversation with John before the show, Scotland and Ireland may well be on that list next time around. 

 

SETLIST:

Feel Invincible (With extended outro)
Rise
Surviving the Game
Legendary
Awake and Alive (Extended intro with Jen upfront)
Back From the Dead
Hero (Drum tech on drums, Jen performs with John upfront)
Not Gonna Die
Whispers in the Dark
Psycho In My Head
Anchor
Comatose
Undefeated
Finish Line
Monster
Rebirthing
Encore:
The Resistance

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