GIG REVIEW: Millie Manders And The Shut Up + Air Drawn Dagger @ The Cluny, Newcastle, Wednesday, 25 October 2023
More than 52,000 people might have been packed into Newcastle United’s St James’s Park for a Champions League football match a couple of miles away.
But rising star Millie Manders and her band The Shut Up (MMATSU for short) showed their own champion quality on the main stage at The Cluny just eight months after appearing at the much smaller Cluny 2 (reviewed here).
Millie on vocals, Joe Quigley (guitar), Pete Wright (drums) and the effervescent Georgina Boreham (bass) are a band who are difficult to define. There’s punk, ska, post-hardcore, hip-hop and metal in their sound. But at the centre of it all is Millie’s amazing voice.
Whether it’s Slipknot-like bellowing on early EP cut Bacchus or hitting high notes that I swear could shatter crystal glass on standout cut Your Story, she can handle any genre – and looks like she’s genuinely having the time of her life while doing it.
But why wouldn’t she be when her band is as good as this, and preaching to a wonderfully mixed and inclusive audience of like-minded souls who want to put the world to rights?
A sign at the door says ‘No Ableism, No Ageism, No Fascism, No Homophobia, No Racism, No Sexism, No Transphobia‘, and the audience at a MMATSU show is one of the most welcoming you could wish to meet, as well as the most diverse.
Off stage, Millie’s a PR man’s dream, personable and happily posing for selfies while selling her own environmentally-friendly merch.
But put a mic in her hand and she becomes a feisty, outspoken champion of the underdog. Maybe that’s why tonight she wears a crowd-pleasing black and white dress emblazoned with the word ‘champion’.
They open the set with new single Shut Your Mouth. Part-rap, part rager, it’s about fairweather friends, and if the rest of the work in progress that is their much-anticipated second album (due out in spring 2024) is half as good as this, it’ll be a belter.
MMATSU are an alternative act, but have huge pop appeal. Check out One That Got Away from their 2018 Shutup EP or Here We Go Again, from 2020’s superb debut album Telling Truths, Breaking Ties (reviewed here).
Their songs explore themes such as loss, betrayal, anxiety, heartbreak, environmental concerns, and political unrest, all while showing compassion, punk rock attitude and no little musical prowess.
Millie uses her platform to speak her mind about the issues of the day, whether it’s the human tragedy being played out in Gaza, or the occupants of No 10: (“Fuck our Government, they’re a bunch of cunts, it’s time we got rid of them” before launching into Poor Man’s Show).
All 10 songs from the album get an airing, along with a handful from earlier EPs, and there’s fresh material too. Rebound, an anti-Valentine’s anthem, is a breakthrough hit in waiting, while Me Too, a new song about rape and blame culture, packs a powerful punch, and another example of how the band’s writing is progressing.
MMATSU don’t do encores, so close with three ‘non encores’ which sum up everything they’re all about. Kicking off the closing run with Your Story, they show a different side with Glitter Mix, and round off a stunning show with their mental health anthem Not OK.
They’re a band who improve every time I see them, and these intimate gigs are where they’ve honed their craft. But they’re just as comfortable playing to 2,000 people at a festival, as they’ve shown over at Blackpool’s annual gathering of the punk clans, Rebellion, which I have no doubt that they’ll one day headline.
A few words, too, for tonight’s openers: Air Drawn Dagger are a three-piece emo/angst-pop band from Sheffield, who have just released their latest EP, Songs To Fight The Gods To, via Silent Cult Records.
Guitarist Lewis and vocalist Maisie began writing songs in the back of a cake shop before they cut their teeth playing to diverse crowds, from old punks to young couples, and there’s plenty of both here.
Like Millie Manders, Maisie is a spellbinding performer, with impressive stage presence. She apologises for being late, but takes the blame, as she was driving and got lost (even though ADD played here with MMATSU just eight months ago!).
The crowd quickly warm to the trio, who embrace being outsiders, and this clearly resonates with their growing fan base, as when Maisie asks for a circle pit she soon gets one. Indeed, it’s noticeable how full the room is for their set, which suggests she’s already preaching to the converted.
Sound-wise, Air Drawn Dagger are like a heavier Paramore, and new tracks like Title Fight and Ghostsghostsghosts sit nicely alongside older songs like Hexed.
By the time their enjoyable set ends with You Should Have Known Better, the lead track from the new EP, they’ve won a few more fans, and they’re definitely a name I’ll be looking out for. Check them out on Bandcamp HERE.
Tonight’s show had two bands right at the top of their game, and one important lesson to take from it was that while football can – and often does – result in disappointment, music rarely lets you down.
