The Wedding Present / Miki Berenyi Trio - O2 Ritz, Manchester - May 20th 2023

The Wedding Present / Miki Berenyi Trio

O2 Ritz, Manchester

May 20th 2023

OK so bear with me. Thom, Jon and possibly even Harry are at this so why can’t I?

19th May 2023, letter to 17 year old me, delivered by a time travelling carrier pigeon whilst stood on Piccadilly Station, Manchester en route to Birmingham.

“Dear Iain, 

I’m writing to you from 2023. I just wanted to let you know that the cassette you’re about to listen to, the one with that song that mentions ‘Manchester town’ is about to change your life. The guy that wrote it, David Gedge, is gonna be a constant in your life until you’re an old fart in your 50’s. The line up may change, there will be ups and downs, but The Wedding Present are about to become you favourite band. 

You’ll be obsessed, they’re gonna record tracks in Ukrainian, Welsh, French and German; you’ll buy them all; hell you’ll buy things over and over, even on formats that haven’t even yet been invented. At some point in the future you’ll interview him and even contribute to a book about the band. Your favourite tracks won’t appear for a while, but they really are something special. You’ll see them more than any other band, you’ll lose track of the number of gigs you go to though, you’ll even forget who you went to gigs with… although some life long friendships will be born from your love of The Wedding Present. 

You should probably be careful in 1989 when you see them at Manchester International 2 as your mates car will get stolen from outside the venue and you’ll lose the 12” by A Guy Called Gerald which you bought earlier that day. The day I’m writing this is the day you’re taking your 16 year old son to see the band for his second time. He’s doing his GCSE’s at the moment, just like you did your O’ Level’s last year. Time flies eh? He'll have your passion for music and you’ll bond especially over The Wedding Present. He'll occasionally ask you to put together a 'best of' playlist (like a tape but on your phone, it'll make sense to you one day) but that'll be impossible. 

Enjoy the ride”

20th May 2023. I fucking love The Wedding Present, I have since I was 17. They’ve been a constant throughout my adult life. I’ve seen them more times than I can remember. Does it make me a bad fan that I can’t remember the exact number? I guess I should have started counting at some point in the 80’s or made a list. My mate Danny has always made lists, and latterly spreadsheets and websites of gigs he’s attended. The band have never disappointed, even when there was that weird period in the mid 90’s when I saw them play at the Roadhouse in Manchester (a great venue). A lot smaller than where they’d usually play but it was packed and a great night. Their popularity seemed to be on the wane, but the true believers kept faith. We embraced Cinerama (and still do) but I guess were all secretly delighted when the Wedding Present name was used again on 2005’s Take Fountain.

I am blessed that my son, now 16 has my passion for music. He saw his first gig aged 10 and experienced Mr Gedge and co for the first time, pre pandemic, aged 13 in December 2019 at Manchester Academy. We spent most of that night at the barrier, me shielding him from the mosh pit until the band were about to play Take Me. I could already feel the bruises appearing after shielding him from flaying limbs and the odd elbow to the back. Tonight's his second time of seeing the band and I don’t know who is more excited. Thankfully in the 3 and a bit years since the last experience has seen him sprout more than a foot and can now more then more hold his own.

I’ve seen the band at the Ritz on a few occasions over the years, the first being 4th February 1990 for a benefit gig. It’s one of my favourite venues for seeing bands. Upon arrival, before visiting the overpriced bar we head over to the merchandise desk. The boy wants to say hello the bands frontman and to check out what’s for sale. He settles on a grey 24 Songs t-shirt and he also gets a quick snap with Mr Gedge.

The evening beings with The Miki Berenyi Trio, with Miki ‘supported’ by KJ McKillop; formerly of Moose and her partner in Piroshka and Oliver Cherer, a member of numerous bands over the years. They play a strong 11 song set, with tracks picked from the back catalogue of Lush and the aforementioned later project. They’re well received and, as Miki says, even on tracks people have never heard we stay and listen rather than piss off to the bar or toilet. While not that familiar with Piroshka I did note that that the Lush tracks were all from the more ethereal, pre ‘Lovelife’ years; including tracks from Split as well as the Scar mini album and Mad Love EP. I’ve been meaning to seek out more of Miki’s recent recording following the release of her autobiography Fingers Crossed, so tonight is a timely reminder to do so.

The Wedding Present’s arrival is heralded with the opening pieces from Take Fountain, the slow, building moody On Ramp followed by its partner in crime Interstate 5. I can’t remember ever seeing it performed at a gig previously and it’s an epic way to get things going. The last time I saw the band was on the Seamonsters tour in late 2021 boiler-suits were de rigueur; these may have gone but but the band are almost all resplendent in black, as is Jessica as she swaps out David’s guitars between songs. They perform against a minimal backdrop; which is only right as we’re here for the music. Well, the music and the anecdotes and quips from the frontman.

Go Go Go! is introduced with bassist Melanie Howard duetting with Mr Gedge; the track then segues into A Million Miles and then You Should Always Keep in Touch With Your Friends. Following the latter he, maybe jokingly, suggests we’re all family. Looking around I recognise a few people, and imagine many of the crowd of ‘a certain age’ there aren’t many of us who haven’t been to a few Wedding Present gigs over the years. Wedding Present gigs are indeed a place to keep in touch with your friends.

This tour is to celebrate the release of the 24 Song album which had come out the previous day; compiling the tracks released during 2022, albeit many in ‘extended’ form plus a couple of extra tracks. The set tonight turns out to be s good mix of old and new. Introducing Astronomic we’re told there is a sci-fi link on at least 4 of the songs this evening. Following the mid tempo piece and a spirited No from Bizarro all hell breaks loose as the band kick into Brassneck. The Ritz’s sprung dance floor comes into full effect as the mosh pit threatens to spread back to the mixing desk.

There’s plenty of onstage banter between Jon, David and Mel with the occasional bit of crowd interaction. Of all the ‘incarnations’ of the band I’ve seen this is perhaps the most personable with a real feeling of camaraderie. We Interrupt Our Programme; We All Came From the Sea and Monochrome follow. The middle piece being a rare time that the band have used a pre-programmed track. I’ll be honest, the original single wasn’t one of my favourites however the Utah Saints remix elevated it. Seeing the band perform it tonight with various items of percussion (including drummer on Nick Wellauer on bongos) has perhaps given me cause to revisit it.

Before the next of the ‘new’ tracks we get a couple of late 80’s / early 90’s favourites in Crushed and Corduroy. The latter seems a little more visceral this evening. The pairing of Science Fiction and ‘the fan favourite of the 24 Songs written by David’, I’m Not Going To Fall In Love With You follow. Even though many of these tracks are only around 12-18 months old they fit seamlessly into the set. Credit should be given to Melanie as she’s the one that puts these things together; or as David says, to blame; carefully mixing the newer tracks with themany classics and fan favourites to choose from in a catalogue spreading over nearly 40 years. I guess that's part of the beauty of the band, after so many years, with a repertoire is so vast, even if they don’t play ‘your favourite’ then you’ll still pretty much love every song anyway.

A spirited Give My Love To Kevin leads into My Favourite Dress, which (obviously) sees the audience erupt in a mass singalong. We then get a blistering take on Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me). It’s another track I can’t remember ever seeing being performed live myself but it’s worth the wait. The Wedding Present version in my mind having an edge on Steve Harley’s original.

I know from being in touch with a number of fellow fans on Facebook and Twitter that it’s a fairly regular thing for parents to indoctrinate their offspring to the music and lyrics of David Lewis Gedge. It’s a rite of passage which I’m only too happy to buy into. The penultimate track is ‘the apple pie song’ as my son used to call it. I watch with pride as he sings along to Kennedy with all his heart, smiling has he does so.

Ahead of the the closing track the regular pantomime begins, the house lights come up a little, and the question is asked, ‘is there anyone whose never seen us before’… before we’re reminded that the band never do encores; complete with a couple of comedy heckles. Although I had seen the set list online I still get a shiver down my spine as the first chords of Flying Sauce ring out. It’s been my favourite for more than 30 years and it’s always great to see / hear it performed and a great end to the evening. Each performance I’ve seen over recent years has been a ten out of ten and tonight is no different. Whilst I don’t have the stamina for mosh pits nowadays I envy those that were down the front for the exhilarating final 3 tracks.

As we file out into the Manchester evening I think back to something the frontman had said towards the end of the show, ‘think of this as less of a concert and more of a journey’… Prophetic words. As l look around many of us apparently on that journey. Long may it continue, we’re all enjoying the ride. 

Be seeing you.

Thank you to Naomi for letting me share all her pictures. Find her work on Instagram

All words by Iain Key. Copyright 2023