Manchester’s geekiest were out in force to watch Jonathan Coulton last week and Academy 3 was rockin’.
I really do hate the term “rockin”, I have no idea why, but that’s besides the point. It really is the only way to descibe last Thursday’s gig. There were people dressed up, the crowd were in full voice and JoCo was fantastic.
The New York-based singer played all of his best loved songs and had the audience hanging on to his every word. The set spanned the majority of JoCo’s work. Songs like Shop Vac, The Future Soon and 1st Of May all made appearances. He failed to disappoint those who’ve only heard his stuff in videogames either. A rendition of, probably his most well known song, Still Alive (a song used in, videogame, Portal) went down a treat. Everyone in attendance singing in harmony (sort of).
Alongside these more traditional tracks, JoCo even had time to break out, what looked like, a drum machine. After we all looked on, wondering what this device could be (he said it was there to distract us) we were treated to Mr. Fancy Pants, a song Coulton doesn’t seem to like very much. I can’t see why, it’s awesome.
As expected the night was filled with laughter, but not just because of the songs. At one point the fire alarm went off, suffice to say no one moved and the gig continued. During breaks in songs people would shout stuff out, much to everyone’s amusement. “Freebird” being the ‘weapon’ of choice for many during the gig. Paul & Storm even got some of that too, if not more.
Speaking of those guys, support act, Paul & Storm did perform with Mr. Coulton a few times during the night. Something which went down really well with the crowd. That said, I think the guys might have regretted playing The Captains Wife’s Lament as the shouts of “Arr” were deafening at points. So, yeah, there was a bit of banter and audience participation. So what if it wasn’t always planned. Audience participation was a big part of the night. Paul & Storm had us shouting at them during their set and JoCo had us all act like a choir of zombies during RE: Your Brains.
The most interesting point of the night came during the encore. After coming back on, with Paul & Storm in tow, JoCo asked the crowd what we wanted to hear. After numerous chants of “Freebird” alongside requests for Baby Got Back we were treated to an unrehearsed song. George Michael’s Fath. You could tell it wasn’t planned, but that’s what made it so great.
All in all, it was a night to remember, for all the right reasons. That’s what happens when people don’t throw bottles.
