Fcukers live in Manchester: a permanent party
In a post-Brat world, what constitutes cool? While Charli XCX has popularised the party girl lifestyle over the past few years, donning dark wrap-around shades as she sings about doing a line or two, you can’t help but feel like it’s all gone a bit mainstream now. Even Taylor Swift has stuff to say about Brat.
That’s not to say that Brat isn’t good. But with the album’s popularity demonstrating an interest in fun and hedonistic partying – a reflection of the times, no doubt – it feels a little ironic that to experience this live, you have to show up to an arena. Now, I’m not trying to compare, but if you gave me the choice of being confined to a seat at Manchester’s Co-Op Live versus being in the sweaty crowd of the city’s 520-capacity venue Gorilla, I know which one I’d rather pick.
When I found myself crammed into the latter last night for Fcukers’ sold-out headline show, I felt like I was experiencing something a lot more authentic to the party girl brand that has become unignorably popular in recent times. There’s a sleaziness to Fcukers’ whole world – the clue’s in the name – that was matched by the flooded, graffitied toilets of the venue, where I overheard drunk girls exclaim, “I’ve been drinking since 4pm” and “We’ve just done loooads of tequila shots.”
Everything felt a bit messy and cramped, with the venue rapidly filling up as openers RIP Magic played their bass-heavy songs, their sound rather undefinable as they blended electronics, indie, and trip-hop. They look like a bunch of former skater-boys, with lead vocalist Marco Pini throwing his limbs about with the carefree cool sensibility of someone who is secure in what they’re making.
There’s a certain layer of mystery to the band, who seem to encapsulate an underground buzziness. They’re only going to get more popular from here, I’m sure.
Half an hour later, Fcukers blasted through a 45-minute headline set, cycling through previously released singles like ‘Play Me’, ‘Homie Don’t Shake’, and their most popular track to date, ‘Bon Bon’, as well as a large chunk of unreleased material. You’d think that with half a set consisting of songs that people haven’t heard before, audience members might start twiddling their thumbs, but the band had no need to worry about that (although I’m sure they weren’t).
Rather, the band teased more club-ready anthems like ‘To My Party’ and ‘Shake It Up’, buoyed by their use of live instruments, with Jackson Walker Lewis’ synths and bass a vital part of the band’s sound. When he’s not brandishing his bass guitar, which cuts deep through the speakers, he’s probably hyping up the crowd alongside vocalist Shanny Wise, his experience as a DJ in New York bringing exactly the right kind of energy to the room.
Wise is great, her voice moving between nonchalant party girl and angelic displays of real skill. That’s the magnificent thing about Fcukers – they make everything look so fun and easy, dancing about the stage and singing about champagne in their cornflakes, but really, this effortless sense of cool is underscored by a clear sense of authenticity, excitement and incredible talent. You can tell that they love what they’re doing – this isn’t a vanity project by any means – and they want everyone in the crowd to have a good time before anything else.
The set was non-stop, and for 9pm on a Tuesday, it was the closest you could get to being in a sweaty club. I left the venue with my fringe sticking up in all the wrong places, my face glistening in the lamplight, only to check my phone and see that it wasn’t even 10pm yet. How the band had managed to condense what felt like a whole night out into such a short amount of time is impressive, and a testament to their ability to start a party no matter the conditions.
