One day after leaking their new album, “Simple Math,” for free listening on Columbia Records’ website, Manchester Orchestra played their first St. Louis show since October 2009. After cancelling their show with Thrice in February 2010, many fans were left heartbroken and disappointed.
The only disappointing part of M.O.’s show on Tuesday, May 3, was the crowd size. While it was a respectable size, the fact that the balcony of The Pageant wasn’t even open was a bummer.
Over the past few years, M.O. has managed to get quite a bit of exposure, from soundtracks to radio time and almost everything in between (including nation-wide praise for frontman Andy Hull’s gnarly beard), and I expected to see a lot more people there.
The modest crowd size did lead to a more intimate show, though. And honestly, this was probably the last chance to see M.O. play for a small group. Their new album, “Simple Math,” will most likely bring the Georgia-rock band a huge boost in fan base.
After hearing numerous requests for songs off previous albums, Hull sarcastically said, “I’m glad you guys like the new album.”
But “Simple Math” is new and follows the dynamic sound of the band, evolving their sound from each album to the next. It wasn’t a matter of people disliking the album, it was just that we were all unfamiliar with it, and so was the band.
Before playing a track off the new album, the members of the band struggled to remember how to play it.
“You guys are pretty much just watching a practice session right now,” Hull said to the audience as he laughed. “We’re going to do our best to play it.”
With only a few minor hiccups that were revealed only when the members of the band started to smile and laugh at each other, they managed to please everyone.
After one of the most energized shows I’ve seen, Hull showed how genuinely grateful he is to be a musician. He chatted with fans for 10 minutes at a time in the cold weather over topics ranging from the new album to the NBA playoffs.
From heartfelt songs to humorous remarks, from songs where everyone knew the words to ones that even the band almost forgot, the concert was a well-rounded and great show.
Maybe it was a good thing that not many people know about M.O. yet, but a band this good deserves a listen from everyone.