Alkaline Trio – Manchester Academy – 11/02/09

It must be hard to support a band like Alkaline Trio.  Whilst having brief flirtations with the mainstream, the Chicago-based punk threesome have never been a ‘popular’ band, yet over their thirteen years together have accrued a modest legion of hardcore fans who would gladly follow them to Hell and back, and can certainly be relied upon to turn up when they visit their hometown.  In any case, the impatient audience seemed less than impressed with the blend of  dance, rock and funk of warm up act The Audition (a name that invites too many jokes to even bother), with a front man who obviously graduated late from the Jay-Z school of showmanship, hollering, “F**k Yeah!” at any given opportunity.  Think Justin Timberlake singing Taking Back Sunday covers, halve it and you’re nearly there…

After a prolonged interval involving a stage-hogging roadie who insisted on tuning each instrument to a Rain Man-like level of detail, (definitely E-flat, definitely…) the main attraction finally arrived, to the strains of a histrionic string section, before singer/guitarist Matt Skiba’s knife-like chords cut into Agony and Irony‘s opener Calling all Skeletons.  Clad in skin-tight black leather and complete with a bare chest, scrawled tattoos and wraparound sunglasses, Skiba looked every inch the archetypal rock star, wearing his heart and attitude on torn sleeves.  Rushing through a few crowd favourites, the band took a while to find their stride, but when they did it was everything that a punk rock show should be.

With a tightness and cohesive flow that can only be achieved through a decade of sharing a stage, twin vocalists Skiba and Dan Andriano exchanged turns in the spotlight, Andriano’s bellowed crooning the perfect counterpart to Skiba’s triumphant rasp.  Both singers supported each other’s songs with harmonies intricate enough to make Brian Wilson Smile, proving that there’s more to their particular brand of punk-rock than rusty three chord patterns.  Career defining anthem Sadie, a song documenting the true story of a member of Charles Manson’s ill-fated cult, united the arena in awed silence.  Anyone bereft of goose bumps following Skiba’s desolate howl, “the blood they found on you/Charlie’s broken .22”, to the backdrop of genuine tape footage from Sadie Glutz’s interrogation cell should have been discharged from the arena immediately, their punk licence in tatters.

Goodbye Forever was dedicated to, “the late, great Jerry Finn,” the much-revered punk-rock producer who passed away last year and who had collaborated with the band several times, giving their more recent albums a radio-friendlier sheen.  It’s a testament to how little they have compromised their sound that such an old favourite segued so neatly into the more recent Emma.  Detractors from their music would argue that too many songs sound too similar; while it is true that many of the songs begin and end with the full band crashing through a set of power chords, these jibes miss the essence of Alkaline Trio.  This band happily bleeds for their audience, no matter who they are and this is the reason why such a strong contingent of their fan base wear their show of allegiance on ink-stained skin.  The ironic lyrical blend of hope and despair, heartache and joy all coated in irreverent wit and spun amongst a melodic maelstrom of sheer punk rock unites fans from all musical avenues in the celebration of pure ragged emotion and anyone who doesn’t get it, well it’s their loss.

This show of unity was epitomised during the encore, in an achingly intimate version of Blue in the Face; Skiba, framed against the darkness by jagged spotlights, scratchily enquired, “I don’t dream since I quit sleeping and I haven’t slept since I met you….so what do you say, your coffin or mine?”    A band that would happily share eternity with its fans is certainly worth spending a lifetime with.