Manchester Orchestra with The Features, Chris Staples, and O’brother

Posted 03 March 2010 Live Music Review, Music News

February 28, 2010

Revolution Live, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

written by Catrina Banks

On the last day of February, rock lovers of all ages gathered at Revolution Live in Ft. Lauderdale to see the band Manchester Orchestra. As the anticipation grew, along with the size of the crowd, the curtains opened to the first act– O’ Brother, hailing from Atlanta, Georgia.

O’ Brother, who is touring alongside Manchester Orchestra, wasted no time in setting the pace for the evening. With the lead singer’s haunting lyrics that seem to dig into your soul, you can’t help but digest every word he belts out. O’ Brother mixes the best of both worlds. At times their songs are slow and dreamy, then without warning they speed things up and put the crowd in a crazed frenzy. In addition to their unique singing style, the added xylophone makes for a nice change from the standard drums and guitars. Gauging the crowd’s reaction to O’ Brother, you would think they were the headline act instead of a bright, up-and-coming band

The next act to take the stage was Chris Staples from Pensacola, Florida. Staples and his acoustic guitar slowed things down just a bit, but added his own distinctive flavor to the venue. Staples exhibits a more folk style of music than the rest of the line up, but he entertained the crowd with his catchy beats and humorous commentary after each song. As you stand and listen to Staples you can’t help but feel like you are in an intimate gathering at your local coffee shop, relaxing and reflecting on the day.

Taking the stage after Chris Staples is a band from Tennessee, The Features. Starting off their set with a high-powered song immediately makes the crowd go crazy. Mosh pits quickly form and several members of the audience take to crowd surfing. Try as hard as you will, but you can’t help but dance along to their music. Sharing similarities with Kings of Leon, this Southern style rock this band is quickly making a name for themselves. After a few songs you find yourself wishing you had a tambourine in your hand and a spot on stage. The Features, feeling the vibe from the crowd, asked them to sing and sing they did!

Just when it felt like the place couldn’t get any more hyped up, Manchester Orchestra from Atlanta, Gerogia took the stage. Beginning their set with their new hit “Shake it Out” they had everyone mesmerized by fluidity in their music. Everyone in attendance seemed to know the songs and if you didn’t, you wanted to. The crowd fed off of Manchester Orchestra’s sound and song with mosh pits and head banging ensuing. Just when the roof was about to blow off of Revolution Live, the band slowed things up with a tempered song in between. At the end of the night, Manchester Orchestra thanked the enthusiastic crowd for being so supportive and even let us in on some inside jokes. They ended on a song and walked off the stage, but the audience was having none of that. They screamed for an encore, and got their wish, with the band happily playing three more songs before ending the night with their high-powered song “I’ve Got Friends,” and they did have friends, lots of them, in South Florida.

Photos by Christina Mendenhall