We recently caught up with The Summer Set on their headline UK tour. To read our interview with front-man Brian Dales CLICK HERE.
And want to know what happened when The Summer Set took to the stage in Manchester? Click below...
 |
| The Summer Set front-man Brian Dales on stage in Manchester |
 |
| Josh Montgomery rocks Manchester |
It’s
fair to say that Arizona five-piece The Summer
Set has an ever growing and dedicated fanbase over here in the UK. Not only is
the Manchester Deaf Institute show sold-out but the queue wraps around the
venue long before the doors are set to open. By the time the band takes to the
stage the temperature in the room is rising and is only set to soar as they
burst on with the catchy and incredibly energetic “Fuck U Over”. Infectious
chorus after infectious chorus, The Summer Set are a rock-pop dream. Sure they
aren’t breaking down huge musical boundaries, but their sound is unique and
they do rock-pop so undeniably well that why shouldn’t we embrace it? And by
the amount of people in the room, the majority of which are girls, Manchester is definitely
embracing The Summer Set with open arms. Playing
mostly from the new album, The Summer Set also slip in a few older classics
such as “Love Like This” and typical of the band’s sound it has a huge chorus
and anthemic upbeat feel. The beautiful and heartfelt “About A Girl” also gets
a little make-under in the form of a stripped back acoustic version performed
by John Gomez and front-man Brian Dales.
After a respite from the rising heat ,the
other three members return to the stage with guitarist Josh Montgomerary joking
that this is the only show where he has ever needed an outfit change. And it
isn’t going to get any cooler as the pace picks back up with the vintage rock
anthem-sounding “Legendary”, the title track from the new record. It’s songs
such as this (from the latest record) that mark how The Summer Set has finally
found their sound, a new found maturity.
 |
| The Summer Set on stage in Manchester |
 |
| Bassist Stephen Gomez at The Deaf Institute |
It
may be the end of a long tour but they’re by no means flagging and go out on a
high; on stage dancing to tracks such as “Someone Like You” and “When We Were
Young” only encourages the crowd to join in the infamous floor in The
Deaf Institute suitably bouncing. The Summer Set also treats fans to a track
from the new record that they’re debuting on this UK tour. “Lightening In A Bottle” is
spontaneous, care free and everything that the show tonight is celebrating. Brian
perfectly commands the audience as they hang on his every word and shouts of
“We love you Brian” fill space between songs. A confident performance
throughout, and as The Summer Set are called back on stage for the last encore of
the UK tour, they throw everything into closing tracks “Boomerang” and
“Chelsea”; both equally stirring and Manchester sends them off with a bang.
A
live show beckoning to be brought to a bigger stage and, with a string of sell
out UK
dates under their belt, we’re sure it won’t be long before the quintet is back
playing to even bigger audiences. 8/10
CLICK HERE to read what happened when we caught up with front-man Brian Dales to
chat about touring, feeling like a brand new band and being a compulsive over
packer
